Pastel Rainbow Birthday Cake
This simple and pretty Chocolate Vanilla Raspberry Pastel Rainbow Cake is perfect for birthday celebrations.
updated post from 2011
HOW TO MAKE PASTEL RAINBOW CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY CAKE
To make this cute rainbow cake I paired delicious moist chocolate cake with a homemade raspberry cake filling and cream cheese frosting. It’s so good!
- TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Chocolate Cake
- Raspberry Filling and Cream Cheese Frosting
- Fill the Cake
- Crumb coat the cake
- Frost the cake
- How to frost pastel rainbow cake
- Homemade rainbow sprinkle mix
- Pipe Rainbow Frosting Stars
- Decorate cake with sprinkles and rainbow stars
- How long does the cake keep?
- Recipes
I decorated top with homemade rainbow sprinkle mix and simple piped rainbow stars.
CHOCOLATE CAKE
To make this pretty pastel rainbow cake I used 2 baked 6-inch cakes that I trimmed and torted so I had a total of 4 cake layers that I filled with fillings.
First you need to bake chocolate cakes. Let them cool and trim the tops before filling and frosting the cakes. My easy chocolate cake recipe bakes 4 – 6 inch cakes, or 2 – 8/9 inch cakes. You can easily half the recipe and make only 2 – 6 inch cakes or bake all 4-6 inch cakes and freeze 2 cakes for later.
TIP : You can bake the cakes couple of days and even weeks before and freeze them. Let the cakes defrost overnight in the fridge before filling.
RASPBERRY FILLING AND CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
I love fruit fillings. Whether it’s tart fruit jam, lemon curd, raspberry curd or my easy to make delicious raspberry filling. Raspberry filling pairs wonderfully with moist chocolate cake and vanilla cream cheese frosting. So, let’s fill the cake.
TIP : Find recipes at the bottom of this post. And Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe is listed in the recipe card.
FILL THE CAKE
Spread a little bit of cream cheese frosting onto the cake board and then place first chocolate layer on the cake board. Spread a generous spoonful of raspberry cake filing onto the cake, (step 1-8).
Take a small cookie scoop and place 3 scoops of cream cheese frosting onto chocolate cake with raspberry layer. Spread the frosting over the cake in one even layer. Repeat layering cake, raspberry filling and cream cheese frosting, (step 1-5).
Cream cheese frosting tends to be on a softer side and so I decided to also place a support inside of the cake. Just in case cake layers decided to shift a little. I used a drinking straw as a cake dowel. Insert a drinking straw in the center of the cake. Then trim the excess with scissors, (step 6-8).
CRUMB COAT THE CAKE
Crumb coat the cake and seal in all the cake crumbs. Spread a thin layer of frosting on the top and sides. Smooth it with a spatula and chill the cake until ready to frost with pastel rainbow frosting, about 2 hours.
TIP : If frosting gets too soft and cake layers seem to be sifting, chill the cake for 20 minutes before crumb coating.
FROST THE CAKE
Divide about 3 cups of cream cheese frosting into 7 bowls. Color 6 of those with gel food colors. Leaving 1 portion uncolored ( I used this portion to frost the top of the cake). To make the pastel frosting colors only add little bit of food coloring. More you add more intense the color will be, (step 1-4).
Fill the piping bags with colored cream cheese, (step 5-8).
HOW TO FROST PASTEL RAINBOW CAKE
To frost the top of the cake I used white uncolored cream cheese frosting on the top and pastel rainbow cream cheese frosting on the sides.
First spread a layer of white frosting on the top. Smooth it with a spatula.
First take a piece of paper and measure the height of the cake. Then divide the height number by 6, number of rainbow colors. Then with a toothpick mark the sections onto the cake, (step 1-4).
Start piping red rainbow cream cheese frosting at the bottom all the way to the marked section. And then continue piping remaining rainbow colors, finishing up with purple frosting, (step 1-4).
TIP : Cream cheese frosting can become too soft. If that happens I’d recommend that you chill the cake for 10-15 minutes before you try smoothing it. Cream cheese doesn’t behave like Swiss or American buttercream. Cream cheese frosting is more flexible. And it is a bit harder to smooth it out completely. This is okay. Don’t worry about it too much.
Smooth the sides with a flat icing comb. Wipe the edge clean after each time, (step 1-2).
Smooth the top by bringing the icing inwards with a spatula, (step 3-4).
HOMEMADE RAINBOW SPRINKLES MIX
This chocolate raspberry birthday pastel rainbow cake wouldn’t be complete without rainbow sprinkles.
I decided to make my own rainbow sprinkles. It’s super simple. Into a bowl pour yellow, purple, green and pink jimmies sprinkles and stir well to combine. Aren’t they pretty?!
RAINBOW FROSTING STARS
To make rainbow stars pipe rainbow frosting onto a food wrap and form it into a pouch, (step 1-6).
Fit a piping bag with a star tip. Trim the end of the pouch and fit it into a piping bag.
TIP : For best results chill the pouch for 10 minutes before using
DECORATE PASTEL RAINBOW CAKE WITH SPRINKLES AND RAINBOW STARS
Once the cake was frosted I spread a layer of rainbow sprinkles on the top. You can use a spoon to press the sprinkles into the frosting a little so they don’t wander around. Leave a border of ¾ inch.
With a prepared rainbow frosting pipe rainbow frosting stars close to the edge.
HOW LONG DOES THE CAKE KEEP?
Store the cake in the fridge, if possibly loosely covered. Cake keeps in the fridge for up to a week. Let it come to room temperature before serving.
TO MAKE PASTEL RAINBOW CAKE YOU NEED
- RECIPES
- Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe – you only need 2 baked cakes (trimmed and torted = 4 cake layers) to make this Rainbow Pastel Cake. You can half chocolate cake recipe or make 2 – 8/9 inch cakes, or freeze cakes you won’t use for later
- Raspberry Cake Filling
- Cream Cheese Frosting – in the recipe card
- TOOLS
- Find all the tools in my Amazon Shop
- Cake Turntable
- Piping Bags
- Star Piping Tip
- Cake Board
- Food Wrap
- Rainbow Sprinkles
- Spatula
MORE RAINBOW DESSERTS :
Pastel Rainbow Chocolate Raspberry Cream Cheese Cake
Ingredients
CHOCOLATE CAKE
- 1/2 batch Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe – check notes
RASPBERRY CAKE FILLING
- 1 batch Raspberry Cake Filling Recipe – check notes
VANILLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 2 pkg full fat cream cheese at room temperature (1 package is 226 grams)
- 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (1 stick is 113 grams)
- 7-8 cups powdered sugar
- 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 4 tbsp whipping cream o heavy cream
- pinch of salt
Instructions
VANILLA CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- With a paddle attachment in a bowl of your mix cream unsalted butter (2 sticks and 1/2 stick) for 2 minutes. Then gradually beat in room temperature cream cheese (2 pkg, 2 packages are 452 grams). Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually beat in powdered sugar (7-8 cups) alternating with heavy cream (4 tbsp). About 5 minutes. Lastly beat in Vanilla Extract (2 tsp).TIP : Sift powdered sugar if it has lumps.
- Cream cheese frosting doesn't firm up like all butter buttercream. It if it is too soft chill the frosting covered for 20 minutes.
- Color frosting with concentrated gel colors. Avoid using liquid colors.
Notes
- Easy Chocolate Cake Recipe :
- You only need 2 to baked chocolate cakes (trimmed and torted – total of 4 cake layers) to make this Rainbow Pastel Cake, you can half chocolate cake recipe or make 2 – 8/9 inch cakes, or freeze cakes you won’t use for later.
- Raspberry Cake Filling
CAN I USE STORE BOUGHT RASPBERRY JAM ?
Absolutely.
This post was originally published on July 25th, 2011. On March 5th, 2020 I updated this post with new step by step photos and written text.
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Looks so yummy and love the colours! What food colouring brand and colours did you use?
Hi Julie,
Thank you. I like to use Americolor Brand food colors.
Hi Hani,
I just found your website and I am thrilled! I know the chocolate cakes can be 6 or 8 and 9 cake pans, but can you please tell me what height are the cake pans 8×2 or 8×3 inches. I have both cake pans. Is the size of the rainbow with 4 layers a double recipe. Thank you for your help, I am so excited to try your recipes.
HI Mel,
Thank you for stopping by.:-)
Chocolate Cake Recipe makes 2 – 8-9inch cake layers, so to make 4 cake layers you’ll need to double the recipe. I’d use 3 inch tall pans.
What you see in the post is 6 inch cake, I only use one batch of chocolate cake recipe as it fills 4-6 inch cake pans. I hope it helps. Feel free to ask questions. Sorry it took me a while to respond to your comment.
How would a Swiss meringue or buttercream work on this cake?
Hi Tiffany,
yes, absolutely.
The stripes are so perfect! This cake must taste like heaven on earth!
Thank you June, it was fantastic!