Insanity is just another word for interesting...

We totally believe that being insane is great. If we only did sane things, we’d have nothing of any interest to tell our grandchildren, and so it’s for this reason (and maybe a tiny bit to do with the fact that Lady Gaga exists) that we think that surrounding ourselves with insanity is definitely the way to go. We’ve got so good at this whole insanity thing that we’re beginning to forget what sanity actually is…(I’ve just raised a perplexing philosophical dilemma when I’m meant to be talking about cake. That right there is the power of baking.)

So when my Most Insane Friend celebrated the fact that she had managed to reach the age of 18 without any major mishaps (chipping her tooth on a toilet, nearly getting run over on the M25 to save the battered pair of Converse she’d left on the roof of her dads car and falling in love twice merely counting as minor incidents) by throwing a party with a ‘My Favourite Thing’ theme, I for one was one hundred percent behind the idea.

Her list of favourite things was diverse and extensive and, some complained, slightly difficult to pull off in fancy dress, but, the Australian Accent, the platypus, the semi-colon and puns (yes, I genuinely quote) being some of her favourite things is probably why I love her. She did concede that maybe her theme was slightly ego-centric, but, really, who cares? All the best people are. (Oscar Wilde wouldn’t have been half as great if he hadn’t thought he was the literal bees’ knees).

So, once I had examined the list and decided that I would be attending as a seventies protester (burnt bra and all) I turned my attention to The Cake. I show my love for people by baking; we one hundred percent believe that homemade cake is literally love on a plate. I therefore wanted to show my Most Insane Friend that I love her… I needed a cake which put her insanity, and my love for aforementioned insanity, into cake form. I went through various options before settling on a four layer rainbow cake. It seemed appropriate.

We debated the pros and cons of liquid colouring (pros: cheap, cons: weak colour, can sometimes produce a bitter taste) compared to gel. On my first attempt I tried liquid, deciding that if I kept the ratio of food colouring to cake mix proportionate, and trimmed off the edge of the baked cake, the bitter taste and weak colour would be effectively dealt with, and on my second went for gel. Gel was a definite improvement I have to say, giving a much better colour, although I did still trim the edge off the side.

The recipe was just that of your basic Victoria Sponge, which I take from my trusty Good Housekeeping recipe book, but I divided the mixture four times, rather than twice, as I wanted four colours for my rainbow cake! Then, just put in desired colour:

175g butter

175g caster sugar

3 medium eggs, beaten

175g self raising flour

1. Pre heat the oven to 190c and grease two tins (I only had two of the same size, so had to wait until the first two layers were cooked, before doing the third and fourth layers, but if you have four, well, lucky you!) 

2. Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, and then add the eggs (always beaten first), a little at a time, beating well after each addition

3. Sift the flour into the mixture and gently fold (yes – gentlyyy does it, so as to keep the cake nice and light) 

4. Divide the mixture evenly into four bowls and add a couple of drops of desired colour to each

5. Then scoop into prepared tins (using a rubber spatula so as not to waste any, unless, of course, you want to save some for prebaking consumption, which my sister always demands that I do) and bake for about 20 minutes, when the cake should be well risen and springy to touch. Test that it’s cooked all the way through by inserting a skewer into the middle; it should come out clean when it's cooked.

6. Turn onto wire rack and leave to cool I used buttercream for the filling and icing, which is my total fave, and so my go to icing. 

Even the dodgiest of cakes taste yummy when smothered in well done buttercream (I once popped my chocolate mix in the oven, got distracted by Gossip Girl, and 40 minutes later took out the charred remains of a very much cooked cake. I was distraught, and although it was by no means the best cake I’ve ever produced, with the help of some very rich chocolate buttercream it was edible. Well, it got eaten, at any rate). I would just say go easy on this though, especially as filling. If you use too much it oozes over the side, and although it tastes just as good, it looks a tad messy: 

75g butter 

175g icing sugar 

Few drops of vanilla essence 

1-2 tbsp of milk (depending on desired consistency. I wanted the filling to be quite thick – almost butter-like, like the cream you use to sandwich together a Victoria sponge – so didn’t use much milk, but trial and error works best here) 

1. Mix the butter in a bowl and beat with a wooden spoon until soft and fluffy 

2. Sieve in the icing sugar a little bit at a time and mix 

3. Then add the milk and vanilla essence, beating well until smooth.

To construct the cake, wait until its entirely cool (do try to be more patient than I am; in my eagerness to assemble the final product, I never wait long enough and my icing and filling has been known to melt and sink into the sponge. This results in several unwanted consequences; extra mess, slightly heavier cake and a need for more icing to be made. You have been warned.) 

Pick the order you want the colour layers to go in and then spread a thin layer of buttercream over each layer. I used the buttercream for the top too, and normally would for the side, but I wanted to be able to see the rainbow effect, so left the side uniced.

Yeah, then I went MENTAL with the decoration. This is most definitely optional, but as I said, insanity is just another word for interesting… and who wants a boring rainbow cake?! I’m writing this whilst preparing for said birthday celebration, so am yet to know how The Cake is received. I’m taking the tube, but I’ve made a ‘fragile’ label for the cake tin so all should be fine…

(Me as 70s bra-burning protester, with rainbow cake. You’ve got to love life sometimes) Have fun and stay insane!! -Ros x