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Rainbow Surprise Explosion Cake

We made this cake to celebrate Drake’s 11th coming-out-iversary. This cake is very similar to the rainbow layer cake, but it’s a 6” diameter and filled with candy and sprinkles. The way the candy ejects as it’s cut won’t disappoint. Leftover meringues make a brilliant topping for this fun cake that originated from the fantastic mind of Amirah Kassem of Flour Shop. This cake serves 15.
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Prep Time 2 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Total Time 4 minutes
Servings: 15
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cake
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter softened
  • 6 large egg whites at room temperature
  • 1 cup whole milk at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract
  • 6 gel food colors
  • 1 ¾ cup total sprinkles or candy for filling
Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 cup unsalted butter two sticks, softened to room temperature
  • 16 ounces cream cheese bars cold
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar
  • 1 cup sprinkles to cover the outside of the cake optional

Method
 

Make the Cake
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Place rack in center of the oven. Grease six 6-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper.
  2. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or hand mixer, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt at a slow speed. Add the butter and mix until crumbly all over.
  3. Add the egg whites one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl after each addition.
  4. In a small bowl, whisk the milk with the vanilla and almond extracts.
  5. Add the milk mixture, one-third at a time, to the batter. Beat 1 to 2 minutes after each addition, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
  6. Divide each batter evenly into 6 bowls. Add a different color of gel food coloring to each bowl and stir well, adding more as needed to get your desired color. We used violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and pink.
  7. Place the batter in prepared pans, gently smoothing each into a smooth layer. Bake the cakes, three at a time, at 350° F for 8 minutes without opening the oven door. Then rotate each pan 180 degrees and bake for another 8-9 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  8. Cool in baking pans for 10 minutes and then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
Make the Frosting
  1. With a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a hand-held, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese and blend together until there are no lumps. Mix in the vanilla extract. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl, making sure everything is mixed in.
  2. Gradually add the powdered sugar at the lowest speed until it’s all mixed in, then increase to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes. Add more powdered sugar if you want it thicker.
Assemble the Cake
  1. Decide the order of your cake layers. We went from bottom to top : violet, blue, green yellow, orange and pink.
  2. Use a 2-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter to cut the center out of every cake layer except the top one, in our case, the pink layer.
  3. Fix the bottom layer of you cake, bottom down, to a base (cake board, plate, cake stand) with a small amount of buttercream.
  4. Place some of frosting in a piping bag and snip off the corner (about ½- ¾ inch). Leaving some room around the hole, pipe 3 rings around the top. The trick is to start the first ring around the hole and then move out. You don’t want to get frosting in the hole impeding your explosion. Gently press the second layer on top and repeat the process until you have 5 layers in place. Note: as you place the layers make sure the holes line up, this is easier to do if you view from the top. It’s easier to adjust as you got than at the end.
  5. Pour your sprinkles and/ or candy down the hole. Pat down the filling to the height of your cake/ frosting.
  6. Add the final layer, top side down, so the top surface is flat.
  7. Apply the crumb coat- cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream frosting and then chill for a minimum of 30 minutes or until firm.
  8. Cover the sides and top of the cake with the final layer of frosting. This coat doesn’t have to be too thick as it’s just for the sprinkles to adhere to.
  9. Scoop some sprinkles into your cupped hand and move your hand along the side of the cake dropping sprinkles against the cake as you go. Start from the bottom and wind your way up to the top until everything is covered.
  10. You can devour this cake right away or refrigerate until it’s needed. Your choice.

Notes

If you want a larger 8-inch cake, double the ingredients and increase the baking time to 10 minutes per side. An 8-inch cake will serve 25.