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.

Berry pie

Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries or another juicy berry	3 to 4 pints
Sugar	1 cup
Cornstarch	3 tablespoons
Water	½ cup
Graham crackers, well crushed
Butter, melted	4 tablespoons
Cream, heavy, whipped	½ cup

1. Preheat to 375°F. 
2. Inspect and clean the berries well, and then purée enough of them to make 1 cup of liquid. 
3. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. 
4. Add the water and puréed berries, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly; set aside for about 30 minutes to cool. 
5. In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs and melted butter, and then transfer to a glass pie plate, pressing into the bottom and sides. 
6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes to brown; set aside and cool completely. 
7. Arrange the remaining berries in the crust, and pour the sauce evenly over the top; shake gently to work out any air bubbles. 
8. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, and top with the whipped cream before serving.

Chocolate-banded ice cream tort

Recipe coming...

Pink cake

Total time	1 ½ hours
Baking time	22 to 25 minutes
8 to 12 servings
Tools
8 by 2-inch round cake pans, greased, bottoms lined with greased parchment paper circles	3
Wire whisk
Sifter
Stand mixer with whisk and paddle attachments
Rubber and metal spatulas
Wire racks
Cake
Chocolate, unsweetened, chopped	4 ounces
Cocoa, Dutch processed, lightly packed	1 ounce
Water, boiling	¾ cup
Sour cream, full fat	6 ¾ ounces
Vanilla extract	1 tablespoon
Flour, all purpose	10 ounces
Baking soda	¾ teaspoon
Salt, sea, fine	1 teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, room temperature	4 ounces
Sugar, light brown, firmly packed	7 ½ ounces
Sugar, granulated	5 ¼ ounces
Oil, canola	½ cup
Eggs, room temperature	3 whole + 3 yolks
Frosting
Raspberries	10 ounces
Eggs	6 whites
Sugar, granulated	8 ¾ ounces
Cream of tartar	¼ teaspoon
Butter, unsalted, room temperature, cut into cubes	2 cups
Vanilla extract	2 teaspoons
Salt, sea, fine	1/8 teaspoon

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and ensure a rack is in the middle. 
2. In a small bowl, combine the chocolate and cocoa, and add the water; steep 1 minute. 
3. Whisk together, and then whisk in the sour cream and vanilla; set aside. 
4. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, and then whisk the mixture by hand to ensure the ingredients are well incorporated. 
5. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter with both sugars on medium-high speed, and beat until light, about 3 minutes.
   As you make the batter, stop the mixer frequently and scrape the paddle and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. 
6. On low speed, drizzle the oil into the mixture until blended. 
7. Increase the speed to medium-high, and beat until the batter is fluffy, about 3 minutes more. 
8. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next one as soon as the previous one has disappeared into the batter. 
9. Reduce to low speed, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the chocolate mixture in two parts (beginning and ending with flour).
   After each addition, mix until just barely incorporated, and stop to scrape the bowl. 
10. Stop the mixer before the last of the flour has been incorporated, and complete the blending by hand with a rubber spatula to ensure you do not overbeat the batter. 
11. Divide the batter equally among the pans (approximately 1 pound 2 ounces per pan). 
12. Smooth the tops, and tap the pans on the counter to settle the batter and eliminate any large air bubbles. 
13. Bake until the centers spring back when lightly touched, 22 to 25 minutes. 
14. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. 
15. Flip the cakes out of the pans, leaving on the parchment paper until you assemble the cake. 
16. Let them continue to cool, top sides up, until they reach room temperature. 

Frosting

1. Press the raspberries through a sieve, discard the seeds; set purée aside. 
2. Using a hand whisk and the stand mixer bowl, whisk together the egg whites, sugar, and cream of tartar. 
3. Place the bowl over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. 
4. Gently whisk the mixture until it is very hot (130°F on a candy thermometer). 
5. 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. 
6. Reduce speed to medium-low, and continue for another 1 to 2 minutes, until the bowl is just cool to touch. 
7. Increase speed to medium-high, and add the butter, one piece at a time, adding the next piece just as the previous one is incorporated. 
8. Stop the mixer every so often to scrape down the sides.
   At some point, the buttercream appears curdled; don’t worry, this is normal. 
9. After all the butter is incorporated, and the frosting is light and fluffy, add the purée, vanilla, and salt. 
10. Rewhip the frosting by hand or with a mixer just before frosting the cake. 

Assembly

1. Lay one of the cakes, top side up, on a cake plate. 
2. Using a metal spatula, frost the top with ¾ cup of frosting, spreading it out to the edge (the filling will be about ¼-inch thick). 
3. Stack the second cake, top side up, on the frosted cake, and spread another ¾ cup of frosting. 
4. Stack the last layer of the cake, top side up, and spread any frosting that may have oozed out from between the layers along the sides. 
5. Apply a thin layer of frosting all over the cake the create a “crumb coat,” and refrigerate for about 10 minutes. 
6. Frost with remaining frosting, using your spatula to make decorative swirls. 

Recipe from Vintage Cakes by Julie Richardson.

Cherry-pome smoothie

Strawberries, hulled	1 ½ cups
Cherries, dark sweet, pitted	1 cup
Raspberries	1 cup
Pomegranate juice, chilled	1 cup
Blueberries	½ cup

1. In a blender, puree all the ingredients. 
2. With a spatula, scrape down sides of bowl. 
3. Continue blending until smooth.