Valentine Pink Rainbow Cake
Red velvet seems overrated especially for Valentine’s day. I thought Italian flared dessert was in order for this year’s romantic day. Remember those Italian Rainbow cookies you’d see in the glass displays of bakeries? As pretty as they were, a bite into them would reveal that they are prettier than they taste. Two camps of Italian Rainbow Cookies would be divided into: A. painfully dry and cotton-y or B. achingly almond-y and artificial. Yet this Valentine Pink Rainbow Cake converts me back to almond flavored desserts.
The cake is from Always Order Dessert and she is definitely onto something. A simple mix up and swapping of colors, creates a festive and celebratory cake for any holiday.
The end result of the Valentine Pink Rainbow Cake is a result of wanting a real tasty authentic Italian Rainbow cookie. After the Feast of San Gennaro I wanted to make a good Italian Rainbow cookie or a cake or a combination of the two. Good thing Always Order Dessert had figured out a good cake translation, I’m always partial to cake. I first made this cake back in October. Back then, I dyed the layers to mimic traditional candy corn colors.
Not only does this Valentine Pink Rainbow Cake exude celebration, it tastes like a perfect version of it’s original cookie counterpart. The grated almond paste provides that moist tight texture that you find in the cookies. The tablespoon of almond extract gives enough almond flavor without being too much I’ve learned from experience that too much almond extract results in a bitter baked product or frosting. Nervous at very with a tablespoon of almond extract, the amount called for is fine.
Though traditional Italian Rainbow Cookies have layers of jam and coated with chocolate ganache, I wanted to have a happy pink frosting. I used a simple basic buttercream and garnished it with stripes of chocolate ganache. You can fill the cake with any jam or preserve you want. This time around I wanted to use up the fillings I have stored in my freezer. Yes, I store frostings in the freezer. In December I had made raspberry chocolate truffles in my food lab. I eagerly took home the remaining filling but had no game plan of what I should reuse it in. It is a simple filling of melted chocolate, pureed raspberries, and vanilla extract. I mixed the filling with some of the buttercream to make a raspberry chocolate buttercream filling.
- For the Tri-Color Pink Cake:
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 12 ounces of almond paste, grated with a box grater
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- gel food coloring
- For the Filling:
- 1/2 of raspberry ganache
- For the Frosting:
- 11/2 cups (3 sticks, 12 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2-lbs of powdered sugar, sifted
- pinch of salt
- For the Ganache:
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray three 8-inch cake pans with baking spray, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about to 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat for 3 more minutes. Add the grated almond paste, almond extract, and milk, and beat until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder then slowly add to the almond paste batter and mix until combined.
- Separate the mixture evenly into three bowls. Dye each bowl a different shade of of pink, leaving one cake white.
- Pour each color of the mixture into individual pans making sure to smooth out the top. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pans, and then invert onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on a medium high speed for 5 to 7 minutes until the butter is pale, light, and fluffy
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add vanilla extract and beat to combine
- Slowly add the powdered sugar until fully incorporated, scraping down the bowl as needed. If it is too thick had milk (a few tablespoons at a time) until it reaches the desired consistency. Give the frosting a final beat until light and fluffy.
- Place the chocolate in a large bowl, set aside.
- In a microwave safe bowl heat the heavy cream until small bubble form around the sides, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate in a large bowl. Stir continuously until melted completely and smooth. Let cool to room temperature.