Rainbow cake with pink frosting

Active: 20 minutes; Total: 40 minutes; Yield: 10 to 14 servings

Flour, cake	24 ounces
Sugar, granulated	24 ounces + 8 ¾ ounces
Salt	1 teaspoon + Pinch
Baking powder	2 tablespoons
Baking soda	1 teaspoon
Egg whites	10 ounces + 7 ounces
Oil, vegetable	6 ounces
Buttermilk, room temperature	8 ounces + 10 ounces
Butter, unsalted, room temperature	12 ounces + 16 ounces
Vanilla extract	1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons
Raspberries	10 ounces
Cream of tartar	¼ teaspoon
Food coloring gel	½ teaspoon per color layer

1. Preheat oven to 335°F; lightly butter and flour six 8-inch-by-2-inch cake pans, and place a round piece of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan. 
2. Combine 8-ounces buttermilk and the oil; set aside. 
3. Combine the remaining buttermilk, 10-ounces egg whites, and vanilla; whisk to integrate the eggs; set aside. 
4. Combine the flour, 24-ounces sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment; mix 10 seconds. 
5. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until the mixture resembles coarse sand, about 30 seconds. 
6. Add milk-oil mixture, and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened, then increase speed to medium (setting 4 on a KitchenAid), and mix for 2 minutes. 
7. Scrape your bowl, and reduce speed to low. 
8. Add the egg-milk mixture in three batches, letting the batter mix for 15 seconds between additions. 
9. Scrape down the sides again to ensure everything has incorporated. 
10. Divide the batter into six bowls; weigh 15 ounces of batter for each bowl. 
11. Add ½-teaspoon food coloring (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) to each bowl. 
12. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, or until the edges just start to pulling away from the cake pan. 
13. Immediately tap the pan firmly on the countertop once to release the steam of the cake; this stops the cake from shrinking. 
14. Cool for 10 minutes inside the pans before flipping out. 
15. Freeze for 30 to 60 minutes before frosting. 
16. Press the raspberries through a sieve, discard the seeds; set purée aside.  
17. Using a hand whisk and the stand mixer bowl, whisk together 7-ounces egg whites, 8 ¾-ounces sugar, and cream of tartar.  
18. Place the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water.  
19. Gently whisk the mixture until it is very hot (130°F on a candy thermometer).  
20. Move the bowl to the stand mixer and, using the whisk attachment, whip the whites on medium-high speed until they have tripled in volume and are thick and glossy and hold stiff peaks, 3 to 4 minutes.  
21. Reduce speed to medium-low, and continue for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the bowl is just cool to touch.  
22. Increase speed to medium-high, and add 16-ounces butter, one piece at a time, adding the next piece just as the previous one is incorporated.  
23. Stop the mixer every so often to scrape down the sides.
 At some point, the buttercream appears curdled; don’t worry, this is normal.  
24. After all the butter is incorporated, and the frosting is light and fluffy, add the purée, 2-teaspoons vanilla, and pinch of salt.  
25. Rewhip the frosting by hand or with a mixer just before frosting the cake. 
26. For the crumb coat, top the purple layer with ¾-cup frosting, and spread to the edges for about ¼-inch thickness; repeat with the blue, green, yellow, orange, and red layers, then apply a thin layer of frosting all over; refrigerate 15 minutes. 
27. Frost with the remaining frosting. 

Modified recipe by Liz Marek on Sugar Geek Show.

4-ingredient apple cake

Butter, unsalted, room temperature	For greasing pan
Eggs, room temperature	3 large
Sugar, light brown	1 cup (213 grams)
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Apples, Granny Smith	3 (198 grams each)
Flour, whole wheat	1 cup + 2 tablespoon (134 grams)

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. 
2. Butter the bottom, not the sides, of an 8-inch springform pan. 
3. Combine the eggs, sugar, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. 
4. Start on low, then raise to speed of medium-high, and beat for 8 minutes, until the mixture is a pale tan in color and super fluffy. 
5. Meanwhile, peel the apples, and cut them into ½-inch pieces; yield should be about 4 cups. 
6. When the egg-sugar mixture is mixed, remove the bowl from the stand mixer, and add the flour. 
7. Use a flexible spatula to gently fold in the flour until it is almost incorporated. 
8. Add the apples and fold in. 
9. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. 
10. Bake for 1 hour, or until the top is browned and a cake tester comes out completely clean. 
11. Cool in pan for about 30 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake, and unhinge the outside. 
12. Serve the cake in big wedges, warm or room temperate, with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar, and a dollop of cream or Greek yogurt. 

Recipe from Food52.com, September 2019.

Pluot-blueberry upside-down cake

Butter, unsalted	3 tablespoons + ½ cup
Sugar, light brown	¾ cup
Blueberries	6 ounces
Pluots, halved, pitted, cut into ½-inch slices	1 pound
Flour, all-purpose	1 ½ cups
Baking powder	1 ½ teaspoons
Salt	¼ teaspoon
Sugar, granulated	¾ cup
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
Eggs, room temperature	2 large
Mile, whole, room temperature	½ cup

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. To make the topping, in a 9-inch round cake pan or a cast-iron skillet, melt 3-tablespoons butter over low heat. 
3. Add the brown sugar, and stir until thoroughly moistened; remove from heat, and let cool briefly. 
4. Distribute half of the blueberries evenly over the brown sugar mixture. 
5. Arrange the pluot slices over the blueberries in overlapping concentric circles. 
6. Strew the remaining blueberries on top of the pluots; set aside. 
7. To make the cake, in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
8. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together ½-cup butter and granulated sugar on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. 
9. Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating until completely incorporated. 
10. Gradually mix in half of the flour mixture. 
11. Stir in the milk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture, and mix until combined. 
12. Scrape the batter on top of the fruit, and smooth it into an even layer. 
13. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. 
14. Let cool for 15 minutes. 
15. Run a knife around the sides of the cake to help loosen it from the pan. 
16. Invert a serving plate over the pan. 
17. Wearing oven mitts, grasp both the pan and the plate, and turn them over together. 
18. Carefully lift the pan. 
19. Serve the cake warm with whipped cream or ice cream. 

Recipe mildly adapted from Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz.

Strawberry-honey cake with sour whipped cream

Strawberries, hulled, quartered	1 pound +
Sugar, granulated	¼ cup + 1 cup
Butter, unsalted, room temperature	¾ cup + 1 tablespoon +
Flour, all-purpose	2 1/3 cups +
Baking powder	1 teaspoon
Baking soda	½ teaspoon
Salt, kosher	1 teaspoon
Eggs, room temperature	3 large yolks + 2 large
Sour cream	1/3 cup + 1 cup
Lemon juice, fresh	1 teaspoon
Vanilla extract	1 teaspoon
Honey, wildflower or clover	¾ cup
Water	¼ cup
Cream, heavy	1 cup

1. In a medium bowl, mix the strawberries with ¼-cup sugar; cover and refrigerate overnight. 
2. Strain the berries through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small bowl; reserve the syrup for serving. 
3. In a food processor, pulse the macerated berries until finely chopped. 
4. Preheat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the center. 
5. Generously butter a 12-cup bundt pan, and dust with flour, tapping out the excess. 
6. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
7. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the ¾-cup butter with 1-cup sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. 
8. Reduce the speed to low, and beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated; scrape down the sides of the bowl.
9. Beat in the 1/3-cup sour cream, juice, and vanilla, then beat in the chopped strawberries. 
10. Beat in the flour mixture until just combined.
11. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. 
12. Transfer to a rack, and let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. 
13. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 
14. Invert the cake onto a cooling rack, and then set the rack on the baking sheet. 
15. In a small saucepan, bring the honey, 1-tablespoon butter, and water to a boil over moderate heat, stirring until the honey is dissolved, about 3 minutes. 
16. Using a wooden skewer, gently poke holes all over the cake; the more holes, the more the honey mixture will penetrate every last bite of the cake. 
17. Slowly pour the honey syrup over the top, letting it get absorbed before adding more. 
18. Let the cake cool completely. 
19. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk, beat the heavy cream and 1-cup sour cream until soft peaks form. 
20. Slice the cake, and serve with the sour whipped cream, strawberry syrup, and additional fresh strawberries. 

Recipe from Food&Wine Magazine, April 2017.