On this day, 116 years ago, Theodor Seuss Geisel was born – or as we all affectionately know him, Dr. Seuss. If you do car pick up at a little one’s school, this day on the calendar all but guarantees you’ll see a Cat and the Hat…or two….
Dr. Suess stories are filled with crazy colors, bright swirls of truffula trees and green eggs and ham. The books are a little psychedelic when you think about it…kinda groovy.
It got me thinking of the most colorful recipe I know, my Tie-Dye or “Kaleidoscope Cake”. Because of the half dozen bright food gel colors in the recipe, it’s kind of like looking through a kaleidoscope when you make it, or when you’re eating it. Forkfuls of this cake feel like play-time, no matter your age.
Believe me, you would eat this cake in a boat…or with a goat! Here’s how it looks before I ice it!
And while it bakes, here’s a little game you can play with your children or grandchildren.
Ask them a food they’d never eat and steal a little rhyme from Green Eggs and Ham.
Example: “I would not eat Brussels sprouts here nor there, I would not eat them anywhere.”
And if you can, use this special day in American classrooms to volunteer to read to the kids.
I have, and it’s an out of this world feeling wherein my heart grows even bigger than the Grinch’s when he gives back Christmas.
Here’s a volunteer organization that helps match readers with schools across the country.
If ReadingPartners is not available in your state, inquire at your child’s school about getting a background check and cleared to volunteer. And if you’re a busy bee and would rather donate to a worthy cause, I can’t think of a better one than Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gives the gift of literacy to children who need a little help coming by books.
Have fun with your groovy, tie-dye Kaleidoscope Cake as we all March onward to a happy Spring! XOXO
Kaleidoscope Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Serves 8 to 12
20 minute cuisine, plus baking and decorating time
For the Cake
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon table salt
6 large egg whites
¾ cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, or 1 ½ stick, room temperature
1 ½ cups all natural granulated sugar
6 bright gel food colors
Preheat the oven to 350°.
Coat the bottom of 2 (9-inch) diameter cake pans with vegetable oil spray. Cut out circles of parchment paper to fit into the bottom of the pans and spray again.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Whisk together the egg whites, milk and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract in another bowl.
Use the paddle attachment of an electric mixer to combine butter with the granulated sugar until fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes. Mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients and ½ of the wet ingredients into the creamed butter and sugar. When combined, mix in 1/3 of the dry ingredients with the remaining wet ingredients. Finally, mix in the remaining dry ingredients.
Divide the batter into 6 bowls. Color each with a gel color. Drop the batter by tablespoonfuls into the pans. Start at the outside of the pan and circle into the middle. Bake until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a rack to cool completely. Remove parchment paper.
For the Frosting
8 tablespoons (1 stick), room temperature
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Place the cream cheese and remaining stick of butter into the bowl of an electric mixer to combine. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar and vanilla. Place one of the cakes onto a cake plate. Spread frosting over the top. Place the second cake on top of the first. Spread the frosting on the sides and top of the cake. Refrigerate the cake for up to 5 days.
