Today is my sweet little girls birthday. She is going to be four! And so far, she is the only girl among three boys. So yeah… a little princess to say the least.

Every year I let Audrey pick out what kind of cake she wants.

rainbow birthday cake

This is the cake she wanted last year.

And this is the cake she wanted the year before. (Ok, ok. So I may have made that choice on my own. She was only turning two.)

This year she chose a ruffle cake. But then specified that it had to be a rainbow cake. But then told me it had to be chocolate.

So needless to day, I had no idea how I was going to make a rainbow cake made of chocolate.

Which left… the exterior! Except, I had never seen a Rainbow Ruffle cake before, so I had to kinda make it up as I went along.

rainbow cake

Getting those sweet little ruffles around a curve was easier said than done, but hopefully Audrey will love the final effect, so I am happy she challenged me!

Two of my favorite recipes were on hand for this cake.

Back to Basic’s Buttercream

The Best Chocolate Cake (I have been relying on my favorite brand for Vanilla lately, McCormick! I can really taste the difference when I use imitation brands. Only the best for the ones I love!)

rainbow cake

The top was my oldest sons idea… he insisted I make a rainbow in circles around the top of the cake. Now, you know how much I love white, and leaving it white is exactly what I planned on doing. But seeing his face light up at his “bright” idea, I couldnt bear to say no.

Thanks to Kristen from Dine & Dish for sharing one of her birthday traditions… this is what Audrey will wake up to this morning!

And just in case you want a full tutorial for how to make your own Ruffle Cake, just head on over here and I’ll show you!

rainbow cake

The kids all approve. Which is the most important approval there is.

Well, except Audrey! She will get to see it later tonight when we celebrate… but I have a sneaking suspicion she will be happy.

I do have at least one more post before Christmas… in which I might be returning to the red/green. Or not!! Cant wait to share with you! 🙂

rainbow birthday cake

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Meet Amanda Rettke

Amanda Rettke is the creator of I Am Baker, and the bestselling author of Surprise Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion – With a Little Something Extra Inside.Over the course of her 15+ year blogging adventure, she has been featured in and collaborated with the Food Network, New York Times, LA Times, Country Living Magazine, People Magazine, Epicurious, Brides, Romantic Homes, life:beautiful, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Mail, Star Tribune, The Globe and Mail, DailyCandy, YumSugar, The Knot, The Kitchn, and Parade, to name a few.

Reader Comments

  1. wow! this is just amazing! Could you please share the video tutorial of this beautiful rainbow cake?

  2. Your cake looks amazing!! Well done! Did you make the exact quantity of icing in the recipe you linked to? I always find icing cakes uses a LOT and I’m just wondering would that be enough for the whole cake?

      1. Oh, thank you for that, I will give this a go. I have a special little girls birthday coming up in Feb!! 🙂

  3. You should do a video tutorial! Someone requested I try to make this cake for a birthday in a couple of weeks and I’m intimidated. Help?

  4. Hi Amanda,

    I saw in some of the comments you mentioned the possibility of doing a video tutorial for this cake. I wanted to see if you had done one and if so where I can find it? I would like to use this rainbow technique for an upcoming cake I’m making. I’ve done the straight up and down ruffles before but the curved ones scare me!

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