Ally's Tie Dye Cake

Ally's Tie Dye Cake 
(3 - 9 inch cake layers - or two if you prefer)  (you can use a box cake mix if you like ;-)


4 1/2 Cups Cake Flour
2 Cups milk
12 Large Egg whites
4 Teaspoons vanilla extract (pure)
3 1/2 cups granulated sugar
8 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare your cake pans by buttering and flowering the 9 inch round pounds so the cake will not stick

Pour milk, egg whites, and extracts into a bowl and mix until blended together.   Mix cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt all together.  Once mixed together, add the butter (I use my hands and smash the butter into the ingredients first so it will mix better and easier.  Once this is blended together,  add your liquid mixture from the other bowl – add about half then mix and then add the rest and mix.  Mix on high toward the end so it blends together really well.

Divide the mixture evenly into 6 bowls.  Use food coloring to color each bowl a different color (red, blue, green, yellow, orange, and purple).  Start with the first cake pan and pour a color of batter right into the center (use one third of the mixture – so you will have enough for the other cakes).  Now, use another color and pour a third of the batter right into the center of the first batter – do this with all 6 colors.  Once you are done with this pan, move on to the next pan and do the same – but use a different order for the colors (this makes the cake look awesome when it is cut!  Bake the cakes until they are done (about 15-20 minutes – check with a toothpick in the center of the cake and when the toothpick comes out clean, it is done).   Once the cakes are done, let them thoroughly cool. 

 When cakes are cooled, use the first cake and put it right side up on the plate.  Put icing on the top (dye the icing for in between the cakes a cool color like blue, red, or green).  Put the second cake on top of the first cake upside down – icing the top of that.  Then put the last cake right side up.  Now, use the white butter cream frosting to cover the entire cake.  Once the cake is completely frosted, use food coloring gels in red, purple, blue, green, yellow, orange and red (again).  Starting from the outside and draw a semi thick circle around the entire cake – then change colors to purple and draw a purple circle about a half an inch from the red one – continue all the way around (changing colors) till you end up with a small red circle in the middle.  Now, take an unused small paint brush and starting from the center, paint out – like a spider web.

It is easier if you do one color all the way around, and then move to the next color – keep wiping off your brush, otherwise your colors will get muddy and ugly.  Once done, your cake should look something like this:

Grandma's Butter Cream Frosting

Ingredients
2 Cups unsalted butter (around 4 sticks) softened - do not melt!!
6-8 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vanilla extract
a few tablespoons vanilla extract
a few teaspoons of milk

Using a hand mixer (or a fancy dancy Kitchen Aid mixer - which I have and ADORE), beat the butter first on medium speed to soften it up a bit more.  Add your powdered sugar to it and beat it a bit more, then add your salt and vanilla and just a smidge of milk (don't add too much or it will be too runny).  If by chance you get it too runny, just add more powdered sugar.  If it's too thick, just keep adding a teaspoon of milk a little at a time.