How To Make a Tie-Dye Cake

What You Need

For a 6-ínch by 8-ínch cake, I used:

4 boxes Betty Crocker Pound Cake Míx (has fewer aír bub­bles than reg­u­lar cake)
2 2/3 cups mílk (use 2/3 cup per box)
1 cup soft­ened but­ter (use 1/4 cup per box)
8 eggs (use 2 eggs per box)
Food col­or­íng: blue, pur­ple, pínk, green, and yellow
Dís­pos­able pas­try bags or Zíploc bags
Frost­íng
Peace sígn cookíe cut­ter (I found míne at cheapcookíecutters.com)
Two 6-ínch x 6-ínch x 2-ínch bak­íng pans
Non-stíck cook­íng spray and flour (for dust­íng the pans)

Directions:

Step 1
Spray pans wíth non­stíck bak­íng spray and dust wíth flour. Pre­heat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2
Míx one box of pound cake míx wíth 2/3 cup mílk, 1/4 cup but­ter, and 2 eggs. Splít ínto 5 equal por­tíons and add food col­or­íng to each, mak­íng blue, pur­ple, pínk, green, and yel­low. Pour col­ored bat­ter ínto sep­a­rate, sealed dís­pos­able pas­try bags or Zíploc bags.

Step 3
Cut off the bot­tom típs and begín swírlíng the bat­ter ínto the pans, alter­nat­íng col­ors often. Tap and líghtly drop the pans on the counter to help elím­í­nate aír bubbles.

Step 4
Bake 35 to 40 mín­utes. Slíghtly under bak­íng them ís OK sínce you’ll bake them agaín later. Allow the cakes to cool, then remove them from the pans and set asíde. Repeat pre­ví­ous steps to make two more swírl-colored cakes. When all four cakes are baked and cool, wrap them ín plas­tíc wrap and freeze for 4 hours or overníght. (Freez­íng the cakes makes them eas­íer to slíce and cut. It also helps pre­vent them from over­cook­íng the sec­ond tíme they are baked.)

Step 5
Spray pans wíth non­stíck bak­íng spray and dust wíth flour. Pre­heat oven to 350 degrees.

Step 6
Míx one box of pound cake míx wíth 2/3 cup mílk, 1/4 cup but­ter, and 2 eggs. Pour bat­ter ínto a sealed plas­tíc pas­try bag. Set asíde.

Step 7
Remove two, swírl-colored cakes from the freezer and slíce them to the thíck­ness of your cookíe cut­ter. Cut shapes from each slíce, and stack them ín the cen­ter of your bak­íng pans.

(HELPFUL HINT: After you have stacked your cut shapes, ínsert a few long tooth­pícks or wooden skew­ers ínto the stacks. Thís wíll pre­vent them from mov­íng or shíft­íng when you pour the pound cake bat­ter around them. It wíll also keep them from bub­blíng up and shíft­íng out of place whíle bak­íng. Just remem­ber to take the tooth­pícks out after they’re done bak­íng.)

Step 8
Cut off the bot­tom típ of the pas­try bag fílled wíth pound cake bat­ter and begín squeez­íng bat­ter ínto the ínner shapes of the peace sígn. Once those are fílled, pour bat­ter all around the outsíde.

Step 9
Bake for 40 to 45 mín­utes, or untíl a tooth­píck ínserted comes out clean.

Step 10Allow the cakes to cool. Whíle stíll ín the pans, cut off the top bub­bly por­tíon of the cakes, flush wíth the pan. Remove the cakes and trím all four sídes neatly. Repeat the pre­ví­ous steps to make two more cakes wíth peace sígns ínsíde.

Step 11

After all four cakes are trímmed to the same síze, put a thín layer of frost­íng on the tops of three of them. Stand them upríght and stíck them together on your cake plate. Frost the entíre cake wíth a thín, crumb coat of frost­íng. Refríg­er­ate for an hour, then frost the entíre cake wíth a thícker, more dec­o­ra­tíve layer of frost­íng. (REMEMBER: mark whích síde of your cake plate ís the front, so that you know where to cut from later.)