Six Layer Rainbow Cake

Today is my little Lizzy’s third birthday! We had a little family party for her on Saturday, and I thought today would be a great day to share her amazing birthday cake!

First off, I just have to say that I love this adorable, sweet, hilarious little girl so much! She is such a little ray of sunshine and I can’t imagine my life without her. She is totally my little mini-me, and it amazes me how incredibly similar we are. Happy birthday cute Lizzy!

Lizzy is obsessed with My Little Pony (thanks to her big sister) and asked for a Rainbow Dash birthday party. I decided to loosen that a little into a rainbow party, and it was the perfect excuse to make that gorgeous rainbow cake I’ve seen floating around Pinterest. I’m not going to lie… it took some time to make. I only had 2 8-inch cake pans, so I had to bake the layers in three batches, which was a little time consuming. Other than that, though, it was all pretty easy to put together!

To decorate, I just slathered some buttercream (very imperfectly, I might add) on the outside and then topped the cake with some rainbow sprinkles I found at my local party store. I found these cute twisty candles there as well, and the big number 3 is from Target.

As cute as the outside is, the inside is what makes this cake magical! I was nervous until I cut into it that somehow it wouldn’t work or wouldn’t look pretty, but it ended up being absolutely perfect. I was so impressed with myself that I kept giggling for joy while cutting the cake.

This one is definitely going down in the books as the prettiest cake I’ve ever made!

Six Layer Rainbow Cake

for the cake:
4 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
food coloring

for the frosting:
4 sticks unsalted butter
4 cups confectioners’ sugar
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
2 teaspoons vanilla
food coloring (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350. Butter and flour 8-inch cake pans (as many as you have!) and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt, and set aside. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition, then add the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk, and beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the cake batter into sixths in six different bowls, and add a different color of food coloring to each bowl. I used gel food coloring and used about a dime sized amount for each bowl. Bake in preheated oven 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Repeat with remaining batter, and let all layers cool completely.

To make the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar and salt, and beat to combine. Add the heavy cream and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add food coloring if desired (I added a very small amount of blue food coloring).

To assemble, level each layer of cake. (I have a cake leveler I bought at Walmart for about $3, and it makes it super easy!). Stack the layers, adding a small amount of buttercream between each layer to hold them together. Frost with remaining buttercream and enjoy!

inspired by this cake from Brit & Co and adapted from my Perfect Birthday Cake