Rainbow Cake Push Up Pops Recipes

RAINBOW CAKE PUSH-UP POPS

Steps:

• Line as many 9x13 pans as you have with parchment, and spray with nonstick cooking spray. (I actually used 9" round cake pans, but I ended up having to split the cakes in half so all 6 colors would fit in the pops. Splitting the thin cakes was tricky, and I think just making one ultra-thin layer of each color in a 9x13 would be easier.) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
• In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and sift together.
• Place the butter and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a mixer and cream on medium-high until light and fluffy. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix it in.
• With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour. Once it's almost all incorporated, add half of the milk, then when that's mixed in, add half of the remaining flour. Add the last of the milk, and once that's gone, add the rest of the flour. Stop the mixer when it's almost entirely mixed in, and do the rest by hand with a spatula, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything's incorporated.
• Divide the batter into 6 even portions (this is easiest to do with a kitchen scale-weigh the total amount of batter, then divide by 6). Add enough gel food coloring to each portion to make a vibrant color-don't be skimpy!
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s) and bake until set in the middle, about 10 minutes. (It will be closer to 15 if you are using 9" rounds instead.) Let them cool for 10 minutes, then flip them out and let them cool completely. If you need to re-use the pans to bake off more colors, wash the pans and parchment/spray them, then repeat the process until all of your cake layers have been baked.
• Combine the egg white and sugar in the metal bowl of a stand mixer. Bring an inch of water to a simmer in a saucepan that fits snugly on the bottom of your mixing bowl. Make sure that your water level is low enough that when you place the mixing bowl on top of the saucepan, the water doesn't touch the bottom of the pan.
• Whisk the egg whites/sugar over the simmering water bath until the whites are hot and the mixture has started to increase in volume and turn opaque. When you rub the egg whites between your fingers, the sugar should be completely dissolved and should not feel gritty at all.
• Transfer the mixing bowl to the stand mixer and beat with a whisk attachment on medium-high speed until the whites are voluminous, shiny, and smooth. Beat them until they are not warm at all.
• Add the soft but slightly cool butter to the whites a tablespoon at a time. As you continue to add the butter, the whites will deflate, and might even look curdled or broken. Don't worry! As long as you waited until the whites were cool, everything is fine. After all of the butter has been added, increase the mixer speed and beat for a few minutes, until the frosting smoothes out and comes together. Add the pinch of salt and vanilla extract and mix well. If for some reason it remains curdled, refrigerate the bowl for about 10 minutes, then beat on medium-high speed until it comes together.
• Spread a thin layer of frosting on top of each cooled cake layer, about the same thickness as the cake itself. Refrigerate or freeze the cake layers until firm. Freezing is much faster, but requires a large amount of freezer space! (The purpose of this step is to create a very clean, even layer of frosting between each cake round. It can be skipped in favor of just piping in frosting, see Variations below.)
• Once firm, use a round cutter slightly smaller in circumference than the push-up containers to cut 24 circles out of each color of cake/frosting. If you don't have a cutter the right size, you can use the bottom plunger to cut out circles. It's not as sharp as a metal cutter, so the cuts won't be as clean, but it will still work.
• If the frosting has softened during the cutting stage, return the cakes to the refrigerator or freezer until it is firm again.
• Now begin assembly. Push the plunger up to the top of the container, and lay a cake/frosting round in it. Lower it slightly, and put a different color on top. Continue to lower the plunger and add cake layers until all six colors have been added. Push down to compact the layers and meld them together, if necessary.
• After all of the pops are assembled, take the remaining buttercream and pipe a swirl on top of each one.

SIMPLE CAKE POPS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
• Beat cake mix, water, eggs, and oil in a bowl using an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium and beat for 2 minutes more. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 28 to 33 minutes. Cool completely, at least 1 hour.
• Crumble cake into a large bowl. Stir frosting into cake crumbles until mixture is sticky but not too smooth. Chill in refrigerator, at least 30 minutes.
• Roll cake mixture into 1 1/2-inch balls and arrange on a baking sheet. Place 1 lollipop stick into each ball.
• Melt about 1/4 cup chocolate candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave, about 20 seconds. Dip each cake pop in the melted chocolate. Repeat melting chocolate and dipping remaining cake pops. Decorate pops with decorating icing.

RAINBOW LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Tip all the sponge ingredients, apart from the food colouring, into a mixing bowl, then beat with an electric whisk until smooth.
• Working quickly, weigh the mixture into another bowl to work out the total weight, then weigh exactly half the mixture back into the mixing bowl. Pick two of your colours and stir a little into each mix. Keep going until you are happy with the colour - the colour of the batter now will be very similar to the finished cake, so be brave! Scrape the different batters into the tins, trying to spread and smooth as much as possible - but try not to waste a drop of the batter - a rubber spatula will help you. Bake on the same oven shelf for 15-20 mins until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Don't worry if that sponges are thin, there are many layers.
• Gently turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool. Wash the tins and bowls thoroughly, and start again from step 1 - this time using another two colours. Unless you're making the optional pink layer, repeat one more time to get 6 sponges, all of different colours. Leave them all to cool.
• To make the icing, very briefly beat the vanilla and soft cheese or mascarpone with an electric whisk until smooth. Sift in the icing sugar and gently fold in with a spatula. Be careful - the more you work it, the runnier it will get, increasing the chance of splitting.
• Smear a little icing on your cake stand or plate - just a splodge to stick the first sponge. Start with the red, then spread with some icing right to the very edge. Repeat, sandwiching on top the orange, yellow, green, blue and finally purple sponges. Spread the remaining icing thickly all over the sides and top of the cake. For more expert advice on how to create the perfect rainbow cake, check out our tips, below.
• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm round sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Tip all the sponge ingredients, apart from the food colouring, into a mixing bowl, then beat with an electric whisk until smooth.
• Working quickly, weigh the mixture into another bowl to work out the total weight, then weigh exactly half the mixture back into the mixing bowl. Pick two of your colours and stir a little into each mix. Keep going until you are happy with the colour - the colour of the batter now will be very similar to the finished cake, so be brave! Scrape the different batters into the tins, trying to spread and smooth as much as possible - but try not to waste a drop of the batter - a rubber spatula will help you. Bake on the same oven shelf for 15-20 mins until a skewer poked into the middle comes out clean. Don't worry if that sponges are thin, there are many layers.
• Gently turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool. Wash the tins and bowls thoroughly, and start again from step 1 - this time using another two colours. Unless you're making the optional pink layer, repeat one more time to get 6 sponges, all of different colours. Leave them all to cool.
• To make the icing, very briefly beat the vanilla and soft cheese or mascarpone with an electric whisk until smooth. Sift in the icing sugar and gently fold in with a spatula. Be careful - the more you work it, the runnier it will get, increasing the chance of splitting.
• Smear a little icing on your cake stand or plate - just a splodge to stick the first sponge. Start with the red, then spread with some icing right to the very edge. Repeat, sandwiching on top the orange, yellow, green, blue and finally purple sponges. Spread the remaining icing thickly all over the sides and top of the cake. For more expert advice on how to create the perfect rainbow cake, check out our tips, below.