Gold-Topped Rainbow Cake – SugarHero

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line 4 8-inch cake pans with parchment rounds, and spray the parchment and pan sides with nonstick cooking spray.

Combine the sugar and lemon zest throughout the bowl of a stand mixer, and rub them collectively between your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant with lemon. Add the cake flour, baking powder, salt, and lemon gelatin powder to the bowl, and match it with a paddle attachment. Mix the ingrdients on low tempo for a few minute to combine the dry substances.

Frivolously whisk collectively the egg yolks and a few quarter of the milk (it doesn’t ought to be a precise measurement) and the vanilla and lemon extracts, and put apart for now.

Add the remaining milk and the softened butter to the huge mixing bowl and mix on low tempo until the dry substances are moistened. Flip the mixer to medium tempo and mix for a minute and a half.

Add the egg yolk mixture in three batches, mixing for 20-30 seconds after each addition, until you’ve got gotten a clear batter. Scrape the underside and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, and offers the batter only a few further stirs to confirm all of the issues is built-in. Divide the batter evenly. When you want to be precise, each pan should get about 13.5 oz batter.

Bake the desserts for 25-27 minutes, rotating them from prime to bottom and once more to entrance halfway by the use of. Bake until the sides merely start pulling away from the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clear.

Let the desserts cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then gently flip them out and permit them to chill completely. I uncover it’s greatest to cut and stack desserts which have been chilled, so when you will have time, wrap them with plastic wrap and put them throughout the freezer for in any case half-hour, until they’re company nevertheless not frozen throughout. When you’re making these upfront, they’re going to preserve throughout the freezer for as a lot as various weeks. Permit them to partially defrost, until they’re company nevertheless not rock-hard, sooner than assembling.

Place the room temperature egg whites throughout the very clear bowl of a giant stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Place the water, lemon juice, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until the sugar dissolves. As quickly because the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has come to a boil, insert a candy thermometer and prepare dinner dinner until it reaches 245 ranges F.

Whilst you’re prepared for the sugar syrup to attain the correct temperature, begin beating the egg whites. (I usually start beating them when the temperature is spherical 225 ranges.) Flip the mixer to medium tempo and beat until the whites look foamy. Stop the mixer briefly and add the cream of tartar. Flip the mixer once more on and begin to beat on medium-high tempo until the whites are stiff nevertheless not crumbly. You probably can flip the mixer off if the egg whites are accomplished sooner than the syrup is ready.

When the whites are stiff and the sugar syrup is 245 ranges, flip the mixer once more on to medium-high and pour the syrup proper right into a cup or pitcher with a spout. Slowly and punctiliously pour the current syrup down the sides of the bowl into the egg whites whereas the mixer is working. The whites will rise in amount. After all of the syrup is added, let the mixer run on medium tempo until the sides of the bowl feels barely warmth, which may take anyplace from 10-20 minutes. The whites should be very shiny, white, and shiny, with stiff peaks.

As quickly because the egg white mixture has cooled to room temperature, progressively add the butter little by little until it is all built-in. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. The egg white mixture will deflate and should look soupy. If it appears soupy or broken, proceed to beat the mixer on low or medium tempo until it comes once more collectively. (That’s the reason it’s important to utilize butter that’s snug nevertheless cool: butter that is too warmth will merely liquefy and make soupy buttercream.) If it resists coming collectively, refrigerate the bowl briefly, for about 10 minutes, then proceed beating until it smooths out.

As quickly because the frosting has come collectively, add the salt and lemon extract to fashion. The buttercream might be made upfront and saved at room temperature in case you’re going to utilize it the equivalent day, or refrigerated. If it’s been chilled, let it sit at room temperature until it softens, then re-whip it to get the fluffy texture once more sooner than you put it to use.

Divide the frosting into 7 components. Coloration each portion a particular shade using gel meals coloring. (I used pink, orange, yellow, inexperienced, mild blue, darkish blue, and purple, and individuals are the colors I’ll reference in these instructions. It’s best to use fully completely different colors if you would like.) Place each shade in a disposable pastry bag, and snip off the tip.

Place the chilled desserts on cardboard cake rounds. If any of the desserts have a rounded prime, gently trim off of the very best so that they’re flat. Use a sharp serrated knife to slice each cake in half. Place the underside layer of your cake on a cake turntable.

Place about 3/4 cup of pink frosting throughout the coronary heart of the cake, and use a metal offset spatula to unfold it into a superb layer out to the sting of the cake. It’s improbable if some frosting extends previous the sting. Place a second cake spherical on prime, and repeat the strategy with orange buttercream. Proceed layering the desserts and frosting, working by the use of your rainbow colors, until you’ve got gotten an 8-layer cake, ending with purple on prime. Unfold a extremely skinny layer of purple frosting on the very best, and use your spatula to wash the sides of the cake, spreading the frosting that has extended over the sides throughout the cake. Fill in any bald spots with a bit further frosting—the target is solely to have a extremely skinny layer of frosting defending all of the cake, to seal in any crumbs. Refrigerate the cake for 30-60 minutes, to company it up.

As quickly because the cake has chilled, take your piping baggage of frosting colors and thick pipe stripes throughout the facet of cake, positioning them so that they correspond to the colors on the inside. Finish with purple on the very best. Take a metal offset spatula and clear out the very best of the cake, then clear it off and preserve it gently in direction of the sides of the cake. Flip the turntable while you preserve the spatula in direction of the facet. Make only a few rotations, until the frosting smooths into a superb layer and the colors combine collectively slightly bit bit. Chill the cake as soon as extra for about an hour sooner than adorning. You want the frosting to be set sooner than you add the gold leaf.

In order so as to add the gold leaf to the very best of the cake, you’ll want a razor or equally clear, pointy object, and an enormous fluffy brush—it is best to use each a make-up brush or a paint brush, nevertheless make it doable for it’s new and doesn’t have any make-up or paint on it! Some gold leaf is purchased on swap paper, and if that’s the case, it’s easy to utilize—merely separate the paper from the rest of the pack, press the gold facet on prime of the cake, then peel the swap paper off. Use an enormous fluffy brush to press the leaf onto the cake. Repeat until all of the prime of the cake is roofed with gold leaf. Lengthen it slightly bit bit down the sides of the cake as successfully.

In case your gold leaf is purchased as free leaves, you’ll ought to be further cautious. Keep the packet of gold leaves close to the very best of the cake, and use a razor, knife, or completely different precise object to slide the leaf from the paper onto the cake. Don’t use your palms, and don’t try this in a windy area—gold leaf may very well be very delicate and easily crumples, blows away, and sticks to human pores and pores and skin. It’s okay if it wrinkles, merely use the huge brush to press it onto the cake—some texture throughout the gold really appears good!

When you want to adorn with chocolate shards, soften the chocolate candy coating or semi-sweet chocolate throughout the microwave. Cowl a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper, and pour the melted chocolate onto the paper. Unfold it into a thin, even layer, and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes, until set. Reduce it into large shards.

Use edible gold spray or edible gold luster mud to color the chocolate shards gold. You can also spray or paint assorted cookies gold—I used Oreos and Pizelles.

Lastly, it’s time to brighten! Stick the chocolate shards into the very best of the cake. Add different gold cookies, candies, and sprinkles spherical it, so that it appears want it’s bursting with golden goodies. For the right fashion and texture, serve this cake at room temperature.