Rainbow in my mouth

by Mia Sancio

Having a birthday party for your little one? Want their cake to be as colourful as their attitude and lives? Well, you could do that. Bake a rainbow cake for your kids! These colourful layers of delicious cake will surely catch your kids’ attention. What makes this cake even better is that it’s not just for kids but for adults too! Here is a simple recipe of Martha Stewart’s rainbow cake.

Ingredients

• Vegetable shortening
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 1/3 cups sugar
• 5 large egg whites, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups milk, room temperature
• Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel food coloring
• Lemony Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush six 9-inch-round cake pans (or as many 9-inch cake pans as you have, reusing them as necessary) with shortening. Line bottom of each cake pan with parchment paper; brush again and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugar. Slowly add egg whites and mix until well combined. Add vanilla and mix until fully incorporated. Add flour mixture and milk in two alternating additions, beginning with the flour and ending with the milk. Mix until well combined.
3. Divide batter evenly between six medium bowls. Add enough of each color of food coloring to each bowl, whisking, until desired shade is reached. Transfer each color to an individual cake pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, about 15 minutes (working in batches if necessary).
4. Remove cakes from oven and transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 10 minutes. Invert cakes onto a wire rack; re-invert and let cool completely.
5. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the purple layer on the cake plate. Spread a scant 1 cup buttercream filling over the first layer with a small offset spatula so it extends just beyond edges. Repeat process with blue, green, yellow, and orange layers.
6. Place the remaining red layer on top, bottom-side up. Gently sweep away any loose crumbs with a pastry brush. Using an offset spatula, cover the top and sides with a thin layer of frosting (also use any of the excess frosting visible between the layers). Refrigerate until set, about 30 minutes.
7. Using an offset spatula, cover cake again with remaining frosting.

Grab your ingredients and bake this colourful and delicious cake! Have fun baking and serving it!

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It’s a Red Cupcake!

by Mia Sancio

A cupcake is a small cake designed only to serve one person. It is so small; you can eat it in one or two bites at the most. Cupcakes come in different sizes, flavours and colors but one of the most popular is The Red Velvet. It is a rich chocolate cupcake with just a kick of food coloring to entice your appetite. Plus the frosting just wants to make you gobble the whole thing up.

Here is a recipe of the red velvet cupcake with red velvet frosting by Barefoot Contessa.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting (Yield: 15 cupcakes)

Ingredients
2½ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Pernigotti
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk, shaken
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
¼ pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

Red Velvet Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3½ cups sifted confectioners’ sugar (¾ pound)

Proceedures:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 minute, until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients alternately in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mix until combined. Stir with a rubber spatula to be sure the batter is mixed.
4. Scoop the batter into the muffin cups with a 2¼-inch ice cream scoop or large spoon. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool completely in the pans and frost the cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting.

Red Velvet Frosting
Place the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed just until combined. Don’t whip! Add the sugar and mix until smooth.

With its inviting bright color, moist texture and delicious cream cheese frosting, who wouldn’t ask for more? Rush to your pantry and try making a red treat now!

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