Rainbow Polka Dot Cake

Instructions

for cake pops

1. Preheat cake pop machine OR Preheat the oven to 350F if you are using a cake pop pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time, making sure to fully incorporate each egg before adding the next one.
5. Mix in buttermilk and vanilla extract
6. Add the dry ingredients 1 cup at a time until all the ingredients are mixed
7. Take 4 bowls and scoop 3/4 cup of batter into each bowl. Keep the remaining batter aside.
8. Add food color to each bowls and stir to incorporate it.
9. Transfer the colored batter from the 4 bowls into 4 separate zip lock bags
10. Cut off one corner of the zip lock bag and fill each well of the cake pop machine with about 1 tablespoon of the colored batter and cook 4 minutes or just until they are just baked. If you are using the cake pop pan the baking time will be very different.
11. Let it cool in the fridge

for the cake with polka dots

1. Preheat the oven to 350F
2. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with with shortening or butter and line it with parchment paper. I always do both.
3. Add the cake batter to the two 9 inch cake pans a little more than just enough to cover the bottom of the cake pans
4. Place the color cake pops on the batter. I actually ended up putting more cake pops in the batter than shown in the picture below. I used around 16 cake pops in each cake.
5. Cover the cake pops with the left over batter
6. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and allow to cool slightly in cake pans for about 5 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

Lemon Swiss Meringue Buttercream

1. If you haven’t made this before, I advise that you watch this video as I found it helpful. I dint follow the recipe mentioned in the video though.
2. Add egg whites and sugar and whisk it over a pot of water (double boiling technique) but make sure the water is not boiling.
3. Whisk continuously until the mixture temperature reaches about 160°F. If you don’t have a thermometer just make sure that the sugar has completely dissolved.
4. Using an electric or stand mixer, begin to whip until the meringue is thick, glossy, and the bottom of the bowl feels neutral to the touch. You might achieve this in about 10 minutes.
5. Now add butter cubes, one at a time, until incorporated, and mix until it has reached a silky smooth texture. The mixture might curdle during the process but this is normal so keep mixing and it will come back to a smooth and silky consistency.
6. Add lemon extract and salt, continuing to beat on low speed until well combined.

Cake assembly and decoration

1. Take the cooled cake and place it on a cake board that is a little less than 9 inches.
2. Place the first cake on this board.
3. Spoon the swiss meringue buttercream and spread it evenly on the first cake
4. Place the second cake on top bottom side up.
5. Now spread swiss meringue buttercream on all sides of the cake just enough to cover all the cake. This is called crumb coating.
6. Let the crumb coated cake rest in the fridge for 30 minutes
7. Divide the left over swiss meringue buttercream into 6 bowls and add food color and whisk well until the color is completely incorporated
8. Fill the zip lock bags with each individual color and cut off roughly a 1/4? from the tip of each bag.
9. Take the crumb coated cake and place on a turntable.
10. Before you start decoration the cake please refer this link as it has pictures of each step.
11. Measure the height of your cake and using a toothpick divide the height of the cake into 6 equal portions.
12. Place each bag of buttercream into a glass and line them up in the order you wish to pipe. This simple tip will keep your workspace tidy as well as helping you keep track of the color order.
13. Pipe your first vertical line of dots onto the cake into the 6 marked portions as the guideline to help get even sized dots
14. Take a teaspoon and using the back gently swipe each dot evenly to the right or left. Use a spoon for each color and line them in the order you wish to pipe, just like the zip lock bags
15. Repeat this process around the circumference of the cake
16. Once you have covered the sides, chill the cake for 10 minutes before starting on the top.
17. Pipe a circle of dots around the outer top edge and swipe into the center.
18. Continue in this manner until finishing with a single dot of color right in the very center. Finish with a single dot.
19. Transfer the cake to the cake stand!!!