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+ servings
One cake slice of rainbow swirl cake on a platter.
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5 from 13 votes

Rainbow Swirl Cake

This rainbow swirl cake is a three layer vanilla cake. The cake layers are swirled with food dye to give it a rainbow swirl. It is filled and topped with cream cheese frosting. The cake is decorated with rainbows.
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time20 minutes
Decorating Time1 hour
Total Time2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 16 slices
Calories: 578kcal

Ingredients

Vanilla Cake

  • 3 ½ cups All-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoon Baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Salt
  • ¾ cup Unsalted butter room temperature
  • ¼ cup Oil canola or vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ cups White granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup Sour cream room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon Clear imitation vanilla you can use pure vanilla extract
  • 4 Large eggs room temperature
  • 1 cup Buttermilk room temperature
  • Food dye coloring red, orange, yellow, green, blue

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 cups Unsalted butter slightly cold
  • 10 oz Cream cheese room temperature
  • 8 ½ cups Powdered sugar sifted
  • ½ teaspoon Salt
  • 1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
  • cup Heavy cream
  • Food dye coloring to make rainbow frosting

Instructions

Vanilla Cake

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with baking nonstick spray. Line the bottoms of the cake pans with 8-inch parchment paper circles. Spray again.
  • In a medium bowl, sift the flour. Add in the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
    3 ½ cups All-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Salt, ¾ teaspoon Baking soda
  • Using a mixer, beat the butter, oil, and sugar on high speed for 3 minutes. It will be very fluffy. Scrape the bowl. Add in vanilla and sour cream and beat on medium until combined.
    ¾ cup Unsalted butter, ¼ cup Oil, 1 ½ cups White granulated sugar, ¼ cup Sour cream, 1 tablespoon Clear imitation vanilla
  • Add in the eggs one at a time and beat on high for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
    4 Large eggs
  • Add in ⅓rd of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk. Mix on low. Add in another ⅓rd of the dry ingredients and the rest of the buttermilk. Finish with the rest of the dry ingredients.
    1 cup Buttermilk
  • Pour the cake batter into the three cake pans. Use all of your food dyes and spread 2 drops per dye around the cake evenly. Use a butter knife to swirl the colors together.
    Food dye coloring
  • Bake the cake for 18-23 minutes. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cakes sit in the hot pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Cool the cakes completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Pull the butter out on the counter for 30 minutes to be slightly cold. While you wait, sift the powdered sugar.
    2 cups Unsalted butter, 8 ½ cups Powdered sugar
  • Using a mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese on high for 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and slowly add in the powdered sugar on low speed. It will be thick.
    10 oz Cream cheese
  • Add in vanilla, salt, and heavy cream. Beat on low until combined, then switch to high speed. Beat for 1-2 minutes until fluffy.
    1 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract, ⅓ cup Heavy cream, ½ teaspoon Salt
  • Separate out 1 ½ cups of frosting. Divide it into 4-5 bowls and color them the colors of the rainbow. Lay out a sheet of plastic wrap. Spoon or spread each color onto the plastic in vertical lines. Roll up the plastic wrap into a long and cut off one of the ends. Set aside.
    Food dye coloring

Assembly

  • Pipe a small amount of frosting on the board you are decorating on. Use a serrated knife to level off the cakes if they are domed.
  • Place the first layer of cake down. Spread 1 cup of frosting evenly. Repeat with the second and third layer.
  • Frost the cake in a very light layer of frosting. Place in the freezer for 15 minutes to set the crumbs. Frost the rest of the cake.
  • Use a large piping bag with Wilton 1M tip. Pipe large swirls or a border on the top of the cake.

Notes

Flour- Make sure flour is spooned and leveled or use a kitchen scale. Compacted flour can dry out the cake layers
High altitude baking- Add an extra 3 tablespoon of flour.
Pull out dairy ingredients 2 hours before baking.

Nutrition

Calories: 578kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 45g | Saturated Fat: 26g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 114mg | Sodium: 353mg | Potassium: 93mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 1333IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 1mg