Sweet treats in rainbow hues

These sweet treats are great for children’s parties, baby showers or kitchen teas – and will make you look like a pro!

RAINBOW CAKE

MAKES 1 LARGE CAKE Preparation: 30 min Cooking: 20 min

170g butter at room

temperature 500ml (2c) sugar 5 egg whites at room temperature, lightly whisked 10ml (2t) vanilla

essence 125ml (½c) sour cream 750ml (3c) cake flour 15ml (1T) baking

powder 5ml (1t) bicarbonate of

soda 2,5ml (½t) salt 250ml (1c) milk gel food colouring in pink, blue, orange, purple and yellow DECORATING 4½ x 250ml (4½c)

icing sugar 350g butter, softened 15ml (1T) vanilla

essence 1kg mini Smarties rainbow sprinkles Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line five 20cm springform cake tins. 1 Using a hand beater or stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. 2 Add the egg whites a little at a time and whisk until well incorporated. Add the vanilla essence and sour cream and mix well. 3 In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add one cup at a time to the wet ingredients, alternating with a little milk at a time. Whisk on low speed until smooth. 4 Divide the batter among 5 bowls and add a few drops of colouring to each. Gently fold the colour through. Pour into the prepared baking tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the tins then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. 5 Decorating Beat the icing sugar and butter together, using an electric beater. Add the vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. 6 Put the first cake layer on a cake stand and spread a layer of icing on top. Repeat with the rest of the layers. Frost the entire cake except the top. Sprinkle a layer of Smarties onto baking paper, lift the cake carefully and roll it through the Smarties to coat the sides. 7 Return the cake to the stand, ice the top and sprinkle the rainbow sprinkles over.

Use the cupcake icing recipe on the next page and pipe an icing border around the cake if you like.