Easiest St. Patrick's Day Rainbow Layer Cake: Step-by-Step Guide by Ellen Foord

Introduction

By Ellen Foord, a seasoned home baker known for her simple, crowd-pleasing festive desserts.

Gather the Ingredients

Bake a white cake using your favorite recipe or box mix and let it cool completely. Collect rainbow-colored icings (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet—found in the grocery store baking aisle), white icing, a four-leaf clover paper template, and golden sanding sugar.

Step 1

Photo: Ellen Foord

Level the Cake

Trim the top dome from the cake. Discard or save for snacking.

Step 2

Photo: Ellen Foord

Slice into Layers

With a sharp serrated knife, cut the cake into thin, even layers. Place the first layer centered on a serving plate.

Step 3

Photo: Ellen Foord

Begin Layering

Spread purple frosting over the bottom layer. Stack another cake layer and add blue frosting on top.

Step 4

Photo: Ellen Foord

Complete the Rainbow

Continue stacking cake layers with green, yellow, orange, and red frostings, ending with the top cake layer over red. Refrigerate to set.

Step 5

Photo: Ellen Foord

Prepare White Icing

Whip up a batch of white icing or grab store-bought for convenience.

Step 6

Photo: Ellen Foord

Apply Crumb Coat

Spread a thin layer of white icing over the cake. Chill to firm up.

Step 7

Photo: Ellen Foord

Add Final Frosting

Apply a thicker white frosting layer after the crumb coat sets. Pour golden sanding sugar into a bowl and ready your clover template.

Step 8

Photo: Ellen Foord

Sprinkle Gold Dust

Load sanding sugar into a fine-mesh sieve. Hold the template over the cake center and shake gently to dust the top.

Step 9

Photo: Ellen Foord

Unveil the Design

Lift the paper shamrock template to reveal the golden clover atop the cake.

Step 10

Photo: Ellen Foord

Serve and Savor

Slice with a sharp knife to showcase the rainbow interior. Enjoy and make a lucky wish!