Type what you have

Ingredients

• ✓ gel food coloring
• gel food coloring green
• gel food coloring orange
• gel food coloring pink
• gel food coloring red
• kosher salt
• vanilla extract
• powdered sugar
• butter
• cream cheese
• milk
• kosher salt
• baking powder
• cake flour
• vanilla extract
• egg
• white sugar
• butter
• flour
• baking spray

Instructions

1. 1 Gather all ingredients.
2. 2 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper; spray parchment with baking spray.
3. 3 Prepare Cake: Beat butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until creamy, about 30 seconds. Gradually add white sugar; beat until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
4. 4 Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat just until incorporated after each addition, about 1 minute total. Add vanilla and beat until combined, about 15 seconds. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl using a flexible spatula.
5. 5 Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until combined.
6. 6 Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, beating on low speed just until combined after each addition.
7. 7 Divide batter equally between 6 small bowls. Add one to two drops of food coloring to each bowl, tinting one bowl red or pink, one orange, one yellow, one green, one blue and one purple. Mix gently to combine and add additional coloring as needed to reach desired shades.
8. 8 Dollop the batter into the prepared pan, alternating colors, until the whole pan is filled. [If you have leftover batter, top up existing dollops of the same color – don't make a second layer of different colors]. Gently bang the pan on the counter to ensure that the batter is evenly distributed and that all gaps are filled.
9. 9 Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool on a wire rack until completely cool, at least 1 hour.
10. 10 Prepare frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low, and gradually add powdered sugar, beating until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and salt, then increase mixer speed to medium, and beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.
11. 11 Spoon out 1/4 cup of frosting into each of 3 small bowls. Add one to two drops of food coloring to each bowl, tinting one bowl red or pink, one orange, and one green. Mix well to combine and add additional coloring as needed to reach desired shades. Transfer each of the colored frostings to piping bags fitted with small round writing tips. Leave the remaining frosting in the mixing bowl white.
12. 12 Using a serrated knife, trim the edges of the cake.
13. 13 Frost the top of the cake with the white frosting, leaving the sides uncovered.
14. 14 Use the colored frosting to pipe small rainbows across top of cake.

By Nicole Hopper

Ingredients

• ✓ gel food coloring
• white chocolate chip
• corn syrup
• cornstarch

Instructions

1. 1 Melt white chocolate in a microwave-safe glass or ceramic bowl in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, 1 to 3 minutes.
2. 2 Heat corn syrup until almost as warm as the melted chocolate and combine with chocolate; it may begin to harden and be difficult to stir, but be sure to fully incorporate. Let rest in a cool place, such as a refrigerator or countertop, until very stiff, about 2 hours.
3. 3 Break off a piece in the size you need and begin to play with it; the warmth of your hands will make it a Play-Doh consistency. Mix in gel food coloring as desired.
4. 4 Dust the countertop and a rolling pin with cornstarch and place a ball of modeling chocolate on top; roll to desired size. To cover a cake, roll the chocolate up on the rolling pin for easier transfer to the cake.

By April Tracy

Ingredients

• ✓ gel food coloring
• confectioners' sugar
• almond flour
• salt
• cream of tartar
• egg white
• sugar
• vanilla extract
• butter
• confectioners' sugar
• heavy cream
• vanilla extract

Instructions

1. 1 Combine confectioners' sugar, almond flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times until extra-fine. Sift through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl.
2. 2 Beat egg whites with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until frothy. Gradually add superfine sugar and vanilla and continue to beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. Do not overbeat; tips of peaks should hold their shape but curl over slightly.
3. 3 Gently fold 1/3 of the almond flour mixture into the egg whites, turning bowl occasionally, until nearly combined. Drop in food coloring. Add remaining almond flour mixture in 2 additions, gently folding until a batter comes together. Batter should fall off the spatula in thick ribbons without breaking.
4. 4 Transfer batter to a piping bag with a #804 pastry tip. Line 2 light-colored baking sheets with silicone macaron mats. Pipe batter into each circle on the mats. Tap baking sheets 4 times against the counter to release any air bubbles. Let macarons sit at room temperature until dry to the touch, 30 minutes to 1 hour.
5. 5 Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
6. 6 Bake macarons in the preheated oven until bottoms rise slightly off the mats to form 'feet', 17 to 20 minutes. Switch baking sheets positions halfway through.
7. 7 Let macarons cool on the mats for 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely, at least 15 minutes.
8. 8 Meanwhile, beat butter and confectioners' sugar together using an electric mixer until creamy. Add heavy cream and vanilla extract; beat until combined.
9. 9 Transfer buttercream to a piping bag with a #4 pastry tip. Pipe buttercream onto 1/2 of the macarons. Top with the other halves to create sandwiches.

By Smart Cookie