Swirly Rainbow Cake!

This week is my last week at home before I start my job in Somerville, and it conveniently coincides with the birthdays of some of my BEST friends in the whole world - Ashley and Grace! :)

For our last minute get together, I decided to make a refined version of my Rainbow Cake with Heaven Frosting, using only one box of cake mix instead of two (it was way too much cake for four people and I didn't want any to go to waste!).

I started off making one box of white cake.

Then, I separated the batter into six bowls (a lot of this is similar to the original Rainbow Cake, just on a smaller scale), and dyed the batter six different colors (I again used red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple...but you can of course switch it up!).

Then (Noah's idea), I swirled two colors together in each cake pan (purple/blue, yellow/green, orange/red). To do this, I made a separator out of the cake box (clever, I know) and tin foil. Fold the box as if you are going to recycle it, then cut the top off...this fit perfectly in my 9" round pan. Then I covered it in tin foil and sprayed it with a little nonstick spray.

I then put it in the middle of the pan, stood it up with the can of frosting (you can use anything...), and poured one of the colors into one side of the pan! 

Then I poured the next color (in this case, blue!)

I then swirled the colors together using a butter knife, like so:

After that, I also dragged the knife from side to side to get a bit more color on each side!

More swirling pics: 

 

(The orange and red kinda looked like one color, but that's alright!)

Then I popped them in the oven for about 11-12 minutes each, and let them cool before frosting them with Pillsbury Whipped Dark Chocolate Frosting :) mmmmm, chocolate!

P.S. It's okay to have mishaps when you're cooking...the one below was NOT fun...but I managed to salvage it and it turned out beautiful! :) ("If you don't laugh, you'll cry...")

Grace and Ashley's fave candies are the sour neon crawlers and Sour Patch Kids, respectively, so I decorated the cake with those!

The cake was a huge success and delicious (although a bit odd with the sour candies!), if I do say so myself! The girls enjoyed it too :) LOVE THEM!

Aren't they beautiful!? Those are my gals! :) 

Happy baking, y'all!

-C

Cake Balls! (Memorial Day Style)

I made these for a party at Noah's aunt and uncle's house, and let me tell you...they were a hit! A bit time consuming, but totally worth it!

I started off baking a Pillsbury Stars & Stripes Funfetti Cake Mix - my favorite brand for cake - it's really moist because there's a cup of pudding in the mix!

After the cake has COOLED (you'll want to do this completely)...cut it up into four pieces, then crumble it into a bowl. TIP: I cut off the pieces where the cake had browned (sides and bottom), because those pieces didn't crumple very well! 

After your bowl looks like the one above, you add about 3/4 of a can of frosting and mix it until the cake is pretty moist and "doughy".

Then, make little cake balls out of the cake and frosting mixture! TIP: use a cookie dough scoop - it'll make your life SO much easier (and it's a great tool to have around when you make cookies!)

Then let the balls chill on wax paper either in the fridge for a few hours, or in the freezer for 15 minutes (don't leave them in for too long, you don't want them to freeze, just to stick together a li'l better!).

When they're done, it's time to coat them in chocolate and decorate! Melt chocolate and adorn with sprinkles, M&M's, maybe a little coconut or nuts!? Whatever your heart desires!

I used a spoon to roll the balls around in chocolate!

And the final product (presentation is everything!)

They were a huge hit! These are a must try for any party or get together - people will be impressed! Enjoy!

-C