Easy Jello Rainbow Cake
This colourful and delicious Jello rainbow cake makes the perfect summer dessert!
I have been holding on to a copy of What’s Cooking magazine from Kraft for over a year now, with the notion to make the Rainbow Layer Cake pictured on the cover.
I first saw this 4 layer Jello rainbow cake in the spring 2014 issue. As soon as I saw it, I thought it would make an essential summertime layer cake. So bright and colorful. And fun! just like summertime!
Made with Jell-O brand jelly powder in orange, lime, raspberry and blueberry each layer has a subtle fruity flavour and a vibrant summertime colour. You could easily substitute any brand of jelly powder.
Baking cakes is a favorite of mine, as it gives me a chance to use the very best things I inherited from my Nana’s kitchen.
Her Bake King round baking pans are worn with a patina only lots of use and age can give them, yet they still work like a charm! Nothing sticks to these babies given the release “tab” that rotates under the cake to release it when it is cool.
I have seen them around on Ebay, sometimes with a textured bottom, but also exactly as these ones! They are worth their weight in gold!
Ingredients you will need to make a Jello rainbow cake
- 4 Jello (or other brand) jelly powder
- 2 white cake mixes, plus ingredients to prepare cakes
- sour cream
- confectioners sugar
- Cool Whip or other whipped topping
Handy tip: Bake 2 at a time
I find you get the cakes bake more evenly when you bake 2 layers at a time! If however you have a larger convection oven you can bake all 4 at once, however the baking time may have to be adjusted.
The cake I made as per the directions exactly, but in hindsight I think I would make a couple of changes next time.
While the recipe calls for two cake mixes, each divided in half and coloured a different colour. This makes for a very, very tall cake!
I am talking 7 inches tall! That is more than a half foot of cake!
I mean, you may like a really tall cake and that is perfectly okay! Kind of elegant really. If that is the case, just follow the recipes exactly.
I think next time I will reduce the amount of cake batter in each cake pan by about a third and make cupcakes with the rest!
The frosting is pure heaven! Sour cream, icing sugar and whipped topping. I made a batch and a half.
Now that I think about it, a 7 inch tall cake makes for more frosting. Maybe that isn’t so bad after all!
Until next time…..
4 Layer Rainbow Cake
Ingredients
- 2 pkg (2 layer size) white cake mixes + ingredients to prepare
- 3 Tbsp each Jell-O jelly powder in raspberry, orange, lime and Berry Blue flavors
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 2/3 cup icing sugar
- 1 tub Cool Whip whipped topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 9″ round baking pans
- Prepare cake batter from 1 pkg as directed. Pour half the batter into a separate bowl. Add raspberry Jell-O powder to batter in one bowl and mix well. Stir orange Jell-O powder into the other bowl and mix well.
- Pour each better into a prepared pan and bake for 28 to 30 minutes.
Cool cake in pans for 15 minutes before turning out onto cooling rack to cool completely. - Repeat steps 2 and 3 above with the remaining cake mix and two Jell-O powders.
For Frosting
- Mix Sour Cream and sugar in a bowl with wire whisk until well blended, gently fold in whipped topping.
- Stack completely cooled layers on a cake plate, spreading 1/3 cup frosting between each layer.
- Frost the entire cake with remaining frosting and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.
Notes
I find the cakes bake more evenly when baked 2 at a time, however if you have a larger convection oven, feel free to bake all 4 layers at the same time and adjust the bake time as necessary.
Maureen
This looks amazing! Would be so fun for parties. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you Georgia! Definitely a party cake 🙂
The topping tasted a bit too much like sour cream, so I added extra powdered sugar and some vanilla and it was perfect! Would make a great fruit dip too 🙂
I love that you tweaked it to your liking!! Great tip to use it as a fruit dip 🙂
What size tub of Cool whip?
Hi Annie! You will need an 8 ounce tub of cool whip for this recipe.