Pastel Rainbow Sprinkle Cake
A festive layer cake with pastel rainbow colors, coated in silky frosting and adorned with cheerful sprinkles—delightful and joyful for any celebration.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: Approximately 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 12–16
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Salt
- Sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Milk or buttermilk
- Gel food coloring in pastel shades
- Buttercream or cream cheese frosting
- Rainbow sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease three 8-inch cake pans and line with parchment.
- Whisk flour, leaveners, salt, and sugar.
- Beat in butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Divide batter into pastel shades, tinting each with gel coloring.
- Pour paints into pans and bake 20–25 minutes until a toothpick comes clean. Cool completely.
- Frost between layers and coat entire cake with buttercream. Press sprinkles into sides and top.
- Chill briefly to set before slicing.
Notes
- If you’d prefer not to use food coloring, you can skip it and create a plain cake or use natural colors such as berry purées.
- For frosting, classic buttercream holds sprinkles well, while cream cheese frosting adds a tangy flavor.
- If you’re short on time, you can use a boxed cake mix. Just add the gel food coloring and follow the box instructions.
- For even layers, use a kitchen scale for batter or eyeball equal amounts. Make sure the cake layers are completely cooled before frosting.
- If you’d like to pipe designs, frost the cake with a base layer, chill to firm up, and then pipe swirls or other decorations.
- Nonpareils or jimmies sprinkles work best for this cake. Press them gently into the sides and top to set.
- You can make cupcakes instead of a cake—fill cupcake liners with pastel batters and add sprinkles after frosting.
- If preparing ahead, bake the layers and either flash-freeze or refrigerate for 1–2 days. Assemble the cake just before serving.
- To avoid a dry cake, make sure not to over-bake it. Use a precise oven temperature and check the cake early.
- Flavor extracts like lemon, almond, or coconut can be added for extra flavor in the frosting or batter.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 25g
- Sodium: 180mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 40g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 55mg
Find it online: https://tastyera.com/pastel-rainbow-sprinkle-cake/