Rainbow Cake, take two

I made this cake in March/April, but it's taken me this long to share it with you because my life is incredibly busy at the mo and I don't get much time to do things I enjoy, like baking and blogging (and drawing and painting and sewing and making and... I could go on).

I first made a rainbow cake (and shared with you how to make one) way back in March 2011 (but I didn't end up blogging about it until July because that seems to be how things go on this blog).

I used a different recipe this time (recipe from Good Food magazine, April issue). I also used a smaller baking tin - 5 inch instead of 7 inch.

I didn't want the individual layers to be too deep (it does have 6 layers, after all), so only half-filled them with cake mix. Other than using a different recipe, I followed exactly the same process as the last time I did a rainbow cake.

Below, I played about with the order I wanted the layers. Much less messy if each layer is wrapped in food wrap.

Unlike last time, I didn't put a layer of lemon curd along with the icing between each layer. This cake used a mascarpone icing and I spread it thickly between each layer.

Recipe for the icing/frosting:
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 x 250g tubs mascarpone (or light cream cheese)
350g icing sugar

Briefly beat the mascarpone and the vanilla, then fold in the sifted icing sugar.

These cakes were very different to the standard Victoria sponge recipe I used previously. They were incredibly dense, chewy and had a sheen in the outside.

I smothered the cake in mascarpone icing, chucked some sprinkles at it and put it in the fridge to 'set'.

It was heavenly. The best thing about it, in my opinion, was the mascarpone icing. I found the sponge itself a bit too heavy and as a cake, I'm not too sure about it. As a dessert, however - yes! Better to have half a slice (or less!) with a dollop of ice cream.

A few months later (so, just recently), I made a blue ombre cake, using this recipe, for my friend's baby shower. It was an incredibly hot day and the mascarpone icing did not fare well. In fact, I couldn't finish my slice (shock horror!). Later, however, when the cake was allowed to chill in the fridge, it was like eating a different cake.