Double-Glazed Rainbow “Doughnut” Bundt Cake

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Doesn’t it seem like March is a busy birthday month?  Or maybe it’s just me.  Add St. Patrick’s Day and Easter to the same month, and it all becomes a blur of festivities.  One of these celebrations was for a co-worker whose birthday is on St. Patrick’s Day.  Since it falls on a Sunday, and we start the St. Patty’s party in Indy on Friday with our St. Patrick’s Day Parade (well, really on Thursday with the greening of the canal), I made this cake for her.

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I took my inspiration from Hoosier Homemade’s Mini Rainbow Doughnuts (look at those gorgeous colors) and Cookies & Cups Double-Glazed Funfetti Donuts (sprinkles!).  Both are doughnut recipes, but I wanted cake that looked like a doughnut.  Bonus if I could also get it to taste like doughnuts too.  We would be serving this up first thing in the morning after all.

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But sometimes life is about compromise.  I made this cake the night before, and it was at the end of a very hectic day.  Oh, and I’ve also baked seven cakes in the last two weeks.  With all this in mind, I decided to focus on incorporating the rainbow colors, double-glazing, and sprinkles(!).  Sorry, there is an explanation point in my head every time I say the word sprinkles(!).

I made a white cake mix, following the box directions with the exception of substituting buttermilk for the water.  I then divided the batter into six small bowls and added my food coloring.  After mixing the batter to the desired color, I sprayed my bundt cake pan with non-stick spray.  Working quickly, I poured the first batter into the pan.  I started with purple, just in case my plan didn’t work and I ended up with a layered rainbow bundt cake.  After putting the batter in the pan, I tilted the pan on its side and used a rubber scraper to scrape the batter into a smaller section.  I then grabbed the next bowl of blue batter, quickly poured it into the pan next to the purple batter, and repeated the tilt and scrape process.  This is easier to do than sounds.  With the greased pan, the batter wants to stick to itself more than it does the pan.  I also think that speed worked to my advantage.  I repeated these steps for the rest of the Roy G. Biv rainbow: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet (sorry indigo, but I skipped you on the cake…it’s complicated).

My cake was more brown on the sides than I liked.  Maybe it was the non-stick spray I used?  But since I wanted to decorate this like a doughnut anyway, I just flipped that baby over so that its bright bottom was face up.  Hmm, that last sentence…moving on….  Next time I want to replicate the bright colors in Hoosier Homemade’s doughnuts.  The texture of the cake was light and airy, because I left out the egg yolks as directed on the box.  It got rave reviews.  But if I want to pursue my dreams of having this cake taste like a doughnut, I may explore other recipes next go-around.

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Double-Glazed Rainbow “Doughnut” Bundt Cake
Ingredients:
1 box of white cake mix
egg whites, as directed by package instructions
vegetable oil, as directed by package instructions
buttermilk equal to the amount of water on the package instructions
red, yellow, blue, and green food coloring
Glaze:
1/4 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar
Frosting:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 T. buttermilk
colored sprinkles

Preheat oven to the temperature indicated on the package for a bundt cake pan and prepare the pan by lightly greasing or spraying with non-stick cooking spray.

Prepare the cake according to the directions on the box, substituting the buttermilk for the water. Divide the cake batter into six small bowls.  Add 4-6 drops of food coloring to the bowls for the red, yellow, green, and blue.  To make the orange frosting, use 2-4 drops yellow and 2-4 drops red.  To make the purple batter, use 2-4 drops red and 2-4 drops blue.

Pour the purple batter into the pan, making an effort to pour it all into as small a space in the pan as possible.  Tilted the pan on its side and, using a rubber scraper, scrape the batter into a smaller section as needed.  Next, pour the blue batter into the pan next to the purple batter, working as quickly as you can.  Repeat the tilt and scrape process.  Next pour in the green batter and repeat the steps for all the remaining colors: yellow, orange, and red.

Place the bundt pan in the oven and bake according to the package instructions.  When a toothpick inserted between the outer and center wall of the pan comes out clean, remove it from the oven and place it on a cooling rack.  Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan.  Replace the cake, bottom side up, on the cooling rack and allow to completely cool.

To make the glaze, combine all ingredients until smooth.  Spoon the glaze over the cake while it is still on the cooling rack and use either the back of the spoon or a pastry brush to make sure the cake is completely covered.  You may want to place a baking sheet or waxed paper under the cooling rack to catch any drips.  Allow the glaze to dry on the cake.

To prepare the frosting, combine the ingredients until smooth.  Spread over the top (which is actually the bottom) of the glazed cake.  Add sprinkles if desired.

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