Multi-coloured Marshmallow and White Choc Layer Cake

This week I had to make a birthday cake – for myself!

Is it sad that I have to make my own cake? I don’t think so, as it means I can pick whatever flavour, size and shape that I feel like. This year I thought I would go for something ultra sweet and with lots of pastel colours - completely the opposite to what I am like normally!

The cake itself is full of white chocolate chips and marshmallow bits, as well as having extra marshmallows as the filling. And I shouldn’t forget to mention the heaps of white chocolate frosting too. I need to go on a diet after one slice.

I love this cake recipe as you can make it in advance and keep it in the fridge. It will actually keep for a few days quite happily, especially if you have a cake container that you can store it in.

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 box vanilla cake mix (I use Betty Crocker Super Moist Vanilla with ready made frosting in the pack)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
225g/8 oz light sour cream
1 packet vanilla instant pudding mix
4 eggs, lightly beaten
110g/4 oz white chocolate chips (the smaller the better)
50g/2 oz mini marshmallows, plus extra for decoration
4 types of food colouring (I used red, yellow, green and blue)

White chocolate filling/frosting:

125g/4.5 oz white chocolate chips
50g/2 oz unsalted butter, chopped
1 egg
1 cup icing (powdered) sugar, sifted

Pink chocolate frosting:

125g/4.5 oz white chocolate chips
50g/2 oz unsalted butter, chopped
1 egg
1 cup icing (powdered) sugar, sifted
2 drops red food colouring
sprinkles, to decorate

Method:

Put all the cake ingredients apart from the food colouring into a large bowl and mix until smooth.
Separate the cake mixture between four smaller bowls, then colour each bowl of mixture with 2 drops of food colouring, so you will end up with four bowls of different coloured mix.
Heat your oven to 180C/160C fan forced/350F.
Spray two 23cm/9 inch spring-form pans with cooking spray. You will have to cook this cake in two batches, (i.e. one coloured layer in each pan, in two batches), unless you have four pans of course.
Take one of the bowls of coloured cake mix and put it into one pan, then put one of the other colours in the other pan. (I started with pink in one and yellow in the other).
Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave for 5 minutes to cool in the pans.
Remove the first cakes from the pans, put on a wire rack and then re-spray the pans with cooking spray.
Place the remaining cake mix in each pan (e.g. blue in one pan and green in the other), and repeat the baking and cooling.
Once all the cakes are cooled, place one of the cakes on your serving plate. If you have any ready-made frosting with your cake mix then spread half of this on to the top of this first cake. Sprinkle over some mini marshmallows.
Now you can make the first batch of frosting. Place the white chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. (Do not allow the bowl to touch the water.)
Stir until melted, then add the egg and beat until smooth.
Remove the bowl from the heat (careful, the bowl will be hot), then beat in the icing sugar until smooth and glossy.
Drizzle some of this frosting over the top of the marshmallows, then sandwich your next cake on top.
Spread about a third of the white chocolate frosting over the top of this cake, then sandwich your next coloured cake on top.
Spread over any remaining ready-made frosting, sprinkle over some more mini marshmallows and then drizzle some more of your white chocolate frosting on top.
Place your final cake on the top and spread the remaining white chocolate frosting all over the cake. It doesn’t have to look fantastic as this is basically acting as an undercoat.
Refrigerate the cake whilst you make your second batch of frosting in the same way as above, this time adding the red food colouring at the point when you mix in the icing sugar.
Place the pink frosting in the fridge for a few minutes in order to make it easier to spread over the cake. When using, if you find that the frosting starts to drip down the sides of the cake place the whole cake and the remaining frosting in the fridge to set it a little more.
Once the cake is completely covered with the pink frosting, decorate with extra marshmallows and sprinkles.
If you want to keep the cake for later, place it in the fridge until serving.
Serve in thin slices (as it is a sweet cake).
Enjoy!