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–+ servings
A plate with a slice of Italian Rainbow Cake on it.
5 from 1 vote
Created by: Stefanie

Italian Rainbow Cake


Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes
12
Italian rainbow cake has colorful layers of almond cake, separately with jam and a sweet chocolate coating on the top and bottom making it the best of both worlds.
12

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter softened
  • 8 oz. almond paste broken into small pieces
  • 2 16.25 oz. boxes of white cake mix
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • Green yellow, and red/pink food coloring
  • ⅔ cup raspberry jam or jelly
  • 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon shortening optional

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 3 quarter size sheet pans (~9x12) with non-stick baking spray and line with parchment paper. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter and almond paste until smooth (some small bits of almond paste may remain, but try to break them down as much as possible to combine with the butter.)
  • Add cake mix, eggs, milk, and almond extract and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes until the batter is well combined and fluffy.
  • Separate batter into three bowls (about 3 ⅓ cups of batter per bowl).
  • Color each bowl of batter with the food coloring to make green batter, yellow batter, and pink batter.
  • Transfer each bowl of batter to one sheet pan and spread smooth. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cakes are cooked through and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. (Rotate the pans position in the oven halfway through baking for even baking.)
  • Allow cakes to cool completely.
  • Next, we will fill, stack, and compress the cakes. Leaving the green layer in its pan, spread an even layer of raspberry jam across the top of the cake.
  • Carefully remove the yellow cake layer from its pan and place it on top of the green layer. (Turning it upside down right onto the green layer is probably the easiest.) Be sure you remove the parchment paper from the yellow cake.
  • Now spread a layer of jam on top of the stacked yellow layer. Repeat to stack the pink layer on top of the yellow layer.
  • Wrap the three layers (and bottom pan) in plastic wrap. Now place one of the empty sheet pans back on top of the wrapped cake. Place a heavy cast iron skillet or several canned goods on top of the pan to weigh it down. We want to compress the layers together. Place the packet in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or overnight.
  • Remove the cake from the refrigerator and lift off the weights, the top pan, and remove the plastic wrap.
  • Place a fresh sheet of parchment paper over a large cutting board and turn the full cake out onto the cutting board so that the green layer is on top. Remove the parchment from the green cake layer.
  • In the top of a double boiler (or in the microwave), melt the chocolate chips and shortening together until fully melted and smooth.
  • Pour half of the melted chocolate onto the green cake “top” and use a large offset spatula to spread it smoothly to cover the top of the cake.
  • Place the cake into the refrigerator and chill for 15 minutes until chocolate is set.
  • Flip the whole cake over and repeat spreading the remaining melted chocolate over the top of the cake (the pink layer). You can make swirls or decorations in the chocolate if you wish.
  • Chill until the top layer of chocolate is set.
  • Slice straight down each side to form four straight edges to the cake. Cut into pieces and serve.

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Notes

Storage:
Store cake in an airtight container in a dry, cool place, for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 1 month.
Notes:
    • If you are adding the ingredients to the bowl of a standing mixer, use the paddle attachment.
    • Don't skip cooling the cakes. If you try to assemble too soon they will fall apart. 
    • Some also like to cut the cake into small bars and consider them cookies.
    • When the cakes come out of the oven, they will be puffed and uneven. That's okay, because when we compress them they will flatten out.

Nutrition

Calories: 829kcal | Carbohydrates: 110g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 129mg | Sodium: 657mg | Potassium: 394mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 65g | Vitamin A: 672IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 311mg | Iron: 4mg

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