Sunday, March 17, 2013

Over the Rainbow Bundt Cake

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  After some house cleaning and sewing  (I'll show you tomorrow what I'm making!), today became a marathon of baking and cooking--starting with this Rainbow Bundt Cake.

I love rainbows; their vibrant colors taught me the colour wheel.  I photographed these last summer~

My mom always had crystals hanging in her kitchen window and I do too so I can catch rainbows on my walls.  That's what inspired me today.

RAINBOW BUNDT CAKE
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
zest and juice of one Lime
2 3/4 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup milk

Gel food colors (you will need Red, Yellow & Blue)
Glaze:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 to 4 T very hot water
1 T Light Karo Syrup

Sparkling Sugar in Red, Yellow, Orange, Blue, Purple, Green

Preheat oven to 325F-degrees.  Spray a bundt pan with a baking spray; I used a new "Blossom" bundt pan.

In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.  Add the lime zest, juice and vanilla and mix again.  Don't worry if the batter looks a little "curdled."
 Whisk together the dry ingredients and add them alternatively with the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.  Beat 1 minute more.

Use a large scoop to place 3 scoops of the plain batter in the bundt pan.
In a separate small bowl, add 1 scoop of batter and tint with red gel.  Use a small rubber spatula and scrape the red batter in between. Add more batter to the same bowl and tint with yellow and a little red to make orange.  Scrape that into the pan.
Clean the bowl and add a scoop of batter, tint yellow and add to the pan.  Then, use a knife and "marble" the colors.

Add 3 scoops of plain batter on top, then, start the process by mixing blue gel into 1 scoop of batter. Add a scoop of plain to the bowl you mixed the blue in; add yellow and a 1 or 2 drops of blue to make green.  Clean bowl.  Add a scoop of plain batter, mix 2 blue and 1 red to make purple.  Use the knife to marble.

 Add the remaining plain batter and smooth the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 55 to 60 minutes until golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out cleanly.
Let rest in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert on a serving platter.  Cool completely.
I tucked some wax paper under the cake so the platter would stay nice.  After mixing the glaze, I place it in a squeeze bottle so I could decorate the "petals".  Glaze, then sprinkle with sparkling sugars in the color of the rainbow.

When I skyped with my grandson this afternoon, I showed him the cake and he said, "Mimi, save me some!"  Well, it looks like we have another rainbow hunter in the family:-D

Then I made my Savory Soda Bread today with a little change.  I found this unusual cheese at Costco--it's a mixture of three cheddars--Whiskey flavored, Beer flavored, and Cheddar. The colors of the Irish flag.

Substituting this for the regular cheddar made for a very colorful bread to go with our soup.
I also made~
Kale Chips
3 bunches of curly Kale, washed and remove water in a salad spinner
Use a paring knife to remove the hard stem then, dry in a towel.   Place the kale in a large bowl.
Sprinkle with 2 T olive oil and toss with your hands.
Mix 3 T Vermont Cheddar Cheese Powder with 2 T Parmesan Cheese. Add 1/4 tsp. garlic powder.  Sprinkle over the kale and toss once again with your hands.

Place kale on two parchment paper-lined baking sheets and place in a preheated 225F-degree oven.  The chips will bake about 45 minutes, but check on them every 15 minutes, using tongs to stir.


They were particularly yummy in our soup~Potato/Leek/Corn Chowder.

I'm completely exhausted and still have a ton of work to do.  I hope you all had a wonderful day, full of good food, family, and friends. Enjoy!
 
 

18 comments:

  1. what a fun and beautiful cake susan, i LOVE the rainbow! my mom used to hang crystals too, i really want to hang more now thinking about it. everything looks so delicious, soup and bread is my favorite meal and i am definetly going to try your version of kale chips. you are probably going to sleep very well tonight, what you accomplished today!

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  2. what an incredible cake. such wonderful colours, susan! x

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  3. That is such a wonderful, happy looking cake, and the cheese looks so good. I miss cheese :(

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  4. Susan! you were one busy lady in the kitchen!!! your cake looks bright and cheery!
    stamping sue
    http://stampingsueinconnecticut.blogspot.com/

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  5. That cake is a conversation piece. Wow! I should never come here before eating. Deb

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  6. I can see why your grandson would be delighted by such a cake! What fun! Hope that you find time to sit a spell and relax after all the activity of the past few days.

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  7. I am in love with the rainbow cake! Oh my that is gorgeous! That cheese looks very interesting also!
    hugs, Linda

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  8. Goodness, Susan, I don't know how you do it...house cleaning, sewing and all this baking in one day! The cake is a masterpiece...

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  9. Oh that's SO COOL! ANd I love the cheese, too!

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  10. That cake is beautiful! I think I might need to make this one with my little chef :-). Can't wait to see your sewing project!!

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  11. I love your rainbow cake Susan! You have been a busy beaver for sure. I'm going to look for that cheese you mentioned using--I am a cheese lover. Hope you have a few minutes to put your feet up. ♥
    Martha Ellen

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  12. YOUZA! I'll be over in a bit, mkay? ;) You rock the bundt cake, my dear friend!! Love this and the bread and the kale chips. Never had the latter with the cheese...YUM! Hope you had a great SPD...Wished you were closer and we could have celebrated together. I had the cupcakes. :) Lv, me

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  13. What a great idea. I will put this in my memory bank for my twin grand kiddlys 2nd birthday.
    Thanks for visiting. I am very envious of your fantastic weather. LOL!!
    I hope to keep all posted on my "studio".
    Have a great week.

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  14. It always feels like you've witnessed a miracle when you see a rainbow...they are so rare and so awe inspiring! I hope you have a good week and get rested up! Sweet hugs Sis!

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  15. I need to make a birthday cake on Monday and that sounds like exactly the cake. It is still snowing and all white here. Some color would be grand.

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  16. Such a colourful and fun bundt cake! I noticed that you have LOTS of different kinds of baking pans...I almost took that tri-coloured cheese wedge as a cheesecake.

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  17. That rainbow bundt cake is so pretty...grankids would love it. The cheese looks totally yummy (I love cheese) and putting it in bread is great idea. Also, I have done Kale chips before but not with this recipe....will need to try it soon.

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  18. This looks amazing!! I love it!!
    I would love to invite you to link it up at our new party Lovely Ladies Linky where you link up once and get seen on 6 blogs!!
    العاب فلاش ماهر

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