Happy Pride! This weekend, NYC is celebrating Pride month with its annual parade and I’m excited to celebrate the vibrance of the LGBTQIA+ community with this rainbow cake roll!
Swiss rolls are such fun and unique cakes. I love how the cake is rolled and the way the cake and frosting comes together in a swirl. Given the rainbow colors of Pride, I knew I wanted my cake to be just as colorful and fun.
To start, I made a vanilla cake, which I then dyed using gel food coloring. To create the rainbow pattern, I placed the dyed batter into piping bags and then piped the batter in lines into the pan. The batter does run a little bit, so make sure to work quickly.
Since the batter for a swiss roll is thin, it bakes quickly so definitely keep an eye on it while it’s in the oven. You’ll want to take it out when it starts pulling away from the sides of the pan and is springs back with lightly touched.
Once the cake is out of the oven, you’ll need to roll it while it is still warm so that the cake doesn’t crack. To roll it, lightly dust a piece of parchment paper and invert the warm cake onto it. Replace the parchment paper that the cake baked in with a fresh piece and gently roll the cake starting at the short end. Once rolled, keep the cake wrapped in the parchment paper and let it cool.
Once the cake cools, gently unroll it and spread a layer of frosting on to it. For this roll, I used a marshmallow buttercream frosting. I really like marshmallow frosting because it brings a bit of sweetness without being overpowering. After the frosting is spread, simply re-roll the cake.
To serve, cut from the short end using a sharp knife. When I was visiting Disney World in May, I loved seeing the Rainbow Mickey collection and was inspired to add just a touch of Mickey by adding marshmallow ears to the top of the roll.
To everyone celebrating this weekend, Happy Pride!
Rainbow Mickey Roll
Ingredients
Rainbow Cake
- 4 large eggs
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- powdered sugar for rolling
- red gel food coloring
- orange gel food coloring
- yellow gel food coloring
- green gel food coloring
- blue gel food coloring
- purple gel food coloring
Marshmallow Filling
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, soft
- ½ of a 7.5 oz jar marshmallow creme or fluff
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Decorations & Equipment
- marshmallows
- 6 piping bags
Instructions
Rainbow Cake
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Preheat oven to 425 Grease a 9×13 inch pan and line with parchment paper.
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Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. Set aside.
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Beat eggs and sugar together on high speed until pale and thick. Beaters should leave a trail when taken out of the mixture.
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Gently fold the flour into the egg mixture.
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Divide batter into six small bowls and add desired amount of one food coloring to each bowl. Stir to mix in the food coloring and place each colored batter in a separate piping bag.
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Starting with red, pipe each color of batter into the prepared pan to make a rainbow pattern. Pipe along the short side of the pan, repeating until the pan is full.
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Bake for 6-7 minutes or until the cake shrinks away from the sides of the pan.
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While the cake is baking, lay a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with powdered sugar on a flat work surface.
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Once cake is baked, invert the cake onto the prepared parchment paper.
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Remove the parchment paper liner that the cake was baked in and replace with a fresh piece of parchment paper.
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Carefully roll the cake, starting with the short end and place, rolled, on a wire rack to cool.
Marshmallow Filling
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In a medium bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy.
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Add the marshmallow fluff and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.
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Gradually add the powdered sugar and vanilla.
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Beat on medium speed until fluffy.
Assembly
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Carefully unroll cooled rainbow cake.
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Using an icing spatula, spread the marshmallow filling onto the cake.
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Re-roll the cake.
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To serve, use a sharp knife to cut into slices. If desired, add two marshmallows to the top of the slice to make Mickey ears.
Recipe Notes
cake adapted from Baking with Mary Berry