Taste the (Boozy) Rainbow

 A year ago, I was gearing up for St. Patrick's Day with this gorgeous striped shamrock cake when the world more or less ended (probably should've made that clover cake topper a 4-leafer). I had never comfort eaten cake like that before, but it became a pretty regular occurrence thereafter in 2020. Here we are, March 2021, and I decided this year's festive holiday bake needed to be bolder, brighter, and, well, boozier. Because after the past 12 months, I needed a solid reminder that good still exists, and in this case, it's in the form of a Baileys salted caramel bundt cake the colors of the rainbow.

Also appropriate because much like the rainbow, I am over it.

I know, for someone whose wardrobe is black with a dash of more black, this is a really vibrant, colorful choice. I kinda felt like a rainbow might be a mood lifter, and if that didn't do the trick, the copious amount of Baileys in this recipe definitely would. I am happy to report that I was correct on both counts! This cake is swimming in delicious salted caramel flavor thanks to the Baileys both in the cake and in the glaze on top. It also delights me greatly every time I open the fridge and see this little cakey rainbow waiting for me to eat it (note: I don't have a slice every time I open the fridge. But I want to, because YUM). Somewhere over the rainbow, Florida swimsuit season is a mere 10 days away, and this will only run me 247 calories a slice for 12 slices total...a Saint Patrick's Day miracle!

This recipe is definitely my lucky charm.

I will admit this is a very dense cake...it's more like a Bailey's sweet bread with glaze on top. If you prefer a lighter forkful, follow my recipe recommendations below to give your cake more spring. To make, you'll need:

• 1 box of yellow cake mix (I use Whole Foods gluten free yellow cake mix)
• 1 box of sugar free instant vanilla pudding*
  
• 2 eggs at room temp
• 3/4 cup + 2 TBS of either regular or salted caramel Baileys
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup of butter at room temp*
• Gel dyes in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple
  

*I wanted to see if these two additions would make a moister cake since gluten free mixes can get a little dry. I would omit both of these next time to make a cake with a lighter, more traditional texture. Don't get me wrong, the flavor these bring to the cake overall are awesome, but I prefer a lighter texture for my desserts. With the current density, I do feel pretty comfortable eating this cake as a sweet breakfast bread though, so there's that. Do rainbows have silver linings? Because this one does.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 and grease a bundt cake pan very well. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla, milk, and Baileys, and set aside. In your stand mixer, blend the applesauce and butter together (skip this step if not adding butter, just dump the applesauce in your mixer bowl). Add the pudding mix and 1/3 of the cake mix to the stand mixer, blending on low until it begins to combine with the applesauce/butter. You can scrape the bowl as you go, and add in 1/3 of the liquid mix. Blend, add 1/3 more dry mix, scrape the bowl, add 1/3 more liquid, etc. until everything is in the bowl, mixed together on low speed. Try not to over mix since you have to dye your batter and mix it around more later.

Get ready to Roy G. Biv it.

You'll need every bowl you have in your house and potentially even your neighbor's, but, worth it, I promise. A technicolor dreamcoat of a cake requires a little extra effort. Split your batter evenly into 6 bowls. With my gluten free cake mix (which is a little less than a typical cake mix), I was able to scoop 2/3 cup into each bowl.

Let's take a moment to appreciate my new phone's camera. It's fabulous.

Dye each bowl a different color, obviously, so be careful cleaning spoons, or be lazy like me and use 6. Work smarter, not harder.

Maybe this cake should've been Skittles flavored. Does anyone make Skittles vodka?

Now, take either piping bags or plastic bags, and fill your batter one color in each bag. You'll want to snip your piping bag or plastic bag so there's a medium-sized opening. Grab that prepared pan and small spatula.

Seriously, this is an unedited photo. LOOK AT THAT COLOR. Gah, I really was taking photos with a potato of a phone before this.

Start with your red, and pipe circles into the bundt pan. Smooth these out with your spatula.

Truly, I hate the color orange. It makes me angry, and I'm not sure why. Was I accidentally hit on the head with multiple oranges as small child?

Now, carefully pipe the orange on top of the red. Using gentle pressure with the spatula, smooth this batter out so that it is completely covering the red. You don't want them to mix together, so use a light hand.

Also not a big fan of yellow, so maybe a whole fruit basket fell on my head?

Above is before I've smoothed out my batter, so you have a better idea of what to "go for..." A.k.a., a concentric hot mess.

Thank god that spatula smooths things over.

Repeat with the green, blue, and finish with the purple. Give your pan a few gentle taps on the counter to get rid of any bubbles, but not so hard your layers start to mix together. Bake this at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. A toothpick should come out cleanly when it's done.

Honestly, should've layered this backwards because it is a true tragedy the purple is hidden on bottom.

Leave your cake in the pan on top of a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then run an angled spatula around the edges and the center of the bundt pan. I place the cooling rack on top of the pan and then flip everything over at the same time to release my cake.

"Rainbow Brite, see the shining light..." If you're over 30, appreciate that moment of childhood zen.

Guys, it's so colorful I kinda want to a die a little. And this is only the OUTSIDE. The inside is truly something Rainbow Brite herself would be envious of because it is fabulous. Now, I placed my cake inside the fridge to chill for 30 minutes before I made my glaze and eyed my baking Baileys.

What? Half the booze in our house is for drinking, the other half is for baking.

This glaze is super duper simple, which, after spending an hour becoming a color mixing master, is something you'll truly appreciate. You need:

• 1 cup of powdered monkfruit or sugar
• 1/2 TBS skim milk
• Oh look, more Baileys! I used 2 TBS, you could definitely do 2 1/2 and skip the milk, but I am lightweight
• Super rad St. Paddy's Day sprinkles (I found mine on Amazon)

Dump the sugar, Baileys, and milk together and whisk until completely smooth. If you think things are too thick, try adding a tsp of milk or Baileys at a time. I put my glaze into a liquid measuring cup once my consistency was thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

It also helps to have everything close by. Glaze sets quickly, so work fast to add sprinkles.

Clearly, sprinkles are NOT optional in my book, so once I poured my glaze all over the top of the cake, I quickly added sprinkles on top:

Gotta let the leprechaun represent in there somewhere! Cute little shamrockin' sprinkles will do the trick.

Irish I had more cake...

Now, let everything set up in the fridge for a couple hours before slicing. Keep it in the fridge until it is all devoured since there's dairy in the glaze.

So magically delicious.

If you ever wanted to eat a piece of cake whose pure existence just radiates joy and flair, this is definitely the cake for that. I realize most rainbows lead to a pot of gold, and in 2021, I hope that pot also contains a COVID vaccine so we can get back to regularly scheduled St. Patrick's Day shenanigans by 2022. At least I have this cake to help me cope with being a shut-in for a while longer! Anything that tastes of salted caramel Baileys in each bite is a blissful escape from reality. That glaze is nice and sweet but finishes smooth and rich thanks to the Baileys, and it's a nice little kick of flavor paired with the cake itself. It may be a dense bake, but that makes it no less delicious! I'm definitely making this again because Baileys makes everything better. I hope however you're celebrating Saint Patrick's Day, you're safe, happy, and full of Baileys cake. 'Til next time, my fellow eaters!

I'm not sharing though, so you're gonna have to bake your own...