Somewhere over the Rainbow – Levi turned 5

Last week, Levi embarked, on what I believe to be, a true milestone.  He became 5.  He became 5 and loved every ounce of his birthday.  Levi knew the day was all about him and he soaked in all the attention, all the love, and all the joy.  He was very specific on what he wanted on his birthday. Breakfast was going to be my mini buttermilk doughnuts, lunch was just he and I at Factors, and dinner was Carneys with all 5 of us.

Yet, before we could get to the actual day of celebrations, we had to decide on what his cake was going to be. He and I had been talking about making a rainbow cake for sometime.  We couldn’t decide if the rainbow cake was going to be for his class mates or his birthday party (which I have yet to plan).  We decided to make this for his classmates and I have to say, this was a great project to do together. He loved picking out the colors for each layer, yet loved even more seeing the colors come to life in each of the 7 different bowls.  He was very specific on what colors he wanted and how the cake should be decorated.  Gummy worms were a must and he decided that there needed to be a chocolate component(he wanted a brown layer, but we nixed it).  M & M’s seemed like the natural choice.  He spent the entire time in the kitchen with me and took pride in everything that he did. For both of us, it was a great day!

I love sharing these moments with my kids.  Watching him add the flour to the mixing bowl, licking the spatula (when he doesn’t think I am looking), and the unexpected laughter that comes and goes is pure joy.  I am happy that I am able to give my children this gift of  these little moments.  I know I will cherish this memory for many years to come.  I am hoping that one day, Levi will look back on his 5th birthday and remember how joyful it was

All in all it turned out great, it was a real show stopper and Levi was one happy 5 year old!

Happy Birthday to my favorite 5 year old!

7 layer rainbow cake


Ingredients

(these ingredients are for a single recipe)
for the cake
8 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. lemon zest
3 cups cake flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk
food coloring

for the frosting
2 8oz. package cream cheese
4 oz. unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract

sanding sugar for sprinkling

Instructions

for the cake:
• preheat oven to 375*
• butter and flour your pans
• cream 8 oz butter and 2 cups sugar until fluffy. add the eggs, one at a time.  add the vanilla extract.
• in another bowl, sift the cake flour, baking powder, + 1/2 tsp. salt.
• add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the milk.  mix until incorporated.
• have a bowl for each color of batter.  I measured out the batter, into each bowl, in 1 cup increments.  I have to say, my layers turned out pretty even.  add your food coloring to each bowl.  i really didn’t measure the food coloring, just mixed it up until we got the color Levi desired.
• put the batter into each of the prepared cake pans.  level the batter with an offset spatula, then tap the pans on the kitchen counter to release any air bubbles.
• bake in the preheated oven for about 22-30, minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• let the cake cool on racks, in their pans for at least 15 minutes.  turn them onto racks to cool.  while the cakes are cooling, make your frosting

for the frosting:
• cream together the cream cheese and the butter until creamy
• add the vanilla and combine.
• gradually add the confectioners’ sugar.  I may have added a bit more…I prefer a thicker frosting.
• layer the frosting between the cake  layers. I did this all at once.  I wouldn’t suggest that.  My cake started to tip.  To save it, I stuck wooden skewers in the center and all around the perimeter. In the future, I would frost 3 layers at a time, refrigerate an then repeat.

top it off with some vanilla bean ice cream….

The Urban Baker / SusanSalzman.com

Showing 17 comments
  • Amanda
    Reply

    Beautiful! What a handsome kid! 🙂

  • Jun Belen
    Reply

    Happy 5th birthday, Levi! So handsome!! And your rainbow cake is so handsome, too!
    Happy holidays!!

  • Esi
    Reply

    I’m 30 and would love a celebration like this. So fabulous!

  • Rosa
    Reply

    Happy belated Birthday! Levi is very handsome.

    I love that cake!

    Happy holidays!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

  • lesli
    Reply

    stunning cake! I am going to put this in the que for when my twins turn 3!!
    LOVE your blog!

  • Kelly Lee
    Reply

    Happy birthday, Levi!

  • Maris (In Good Taste)
    Reply

    Wow! That is some cake. I bet the kids adored it.

    Merry Christmas!

  • Liz
    Reply

    That has got to be the most fantabulous cake I’ve ever seen! I know Levi will remember his 5th birthday forever! Beautiful cake. Beautiful Boy!

  • Urvashee@dessarts
    Reply

    Happy Birthday ro your lil’ one and what a lovely cake!

  • Charisse
    Reply

    I made my 5 year old a rainbow cake for her birthday this year, also. That was one TALL cake. And MAN did she love it.

  • camsieb
    Reply

    Beautiful. I’ve only managed to make rainbow cupcakes so far. I salute anyone who can manage a full on 7 layer cake. Awesomeness!

    • Susan
      Reply

      The best part about making this cake was making it with my son. Just the other day, he randomly started talking about his rainbow cake and how we made it together. What he remembers most are the gummy worms and the fact that one of the bowls of batter fell to the ground and shattered all over the kitchen. Green batter. But, those are the memories I am hoping to create, and I feel I achieved. Thanks for stopping by!

  • Sydney
    Reply

    I used the cake recipe and got roughly 2.5 dozen cupcakes!

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