Soft white buttercream swirled in multi-colored white cake has never looked so bright and festive! My rainbow roll cake tips it’s hat to more retro dessert making, but with a fun rainbow twist.

I love how fun this one turned out to be to make, but also to eat! It all started when I was trying to see if I could make my cake batter into 6 different methods of baking (post to come!). Making my cake into a cake roll was high on the list, and thankfully, it worked beautifully! I rolled it in sprinkles and was so excited how well it went (post to come, too!). This time, though, I wanted to try something similar, but with a colorful twist. I love when this happens – stepping outside the box a little bit helps us grow as bakers. If it bombs, great – we’re learning! If it works, great – we’ve still learned a lot along the way for next time.

These rolled cakes can get a bit temperamental – especially when it comes to rolling them up and unrolling them. So be patient with yourself, and follow my tips below for your best shot at success with a cake roll.

I’ve included a few of the steps from my sprinkle roll cake for visual tutorial’s sake.

stripe cake batter

Step 1: Make a batch of my white cake batter (recipe is below). Split the batter into five colors in five different bowls. I used Wilton gels and Americolor color gels for this step. Add the colored cake batter to your piping bags. Tip: I didn’t snip off the tip of the piping bags until right before I piped the colors onto the cookie sheet. Cake batter is always a tad runny, so anything to keep the mess to a minimum.

Step 2: Prep your cookie sheet (I prefer these large “jelly roll” light colored pans) with a swipe of shortening and a dust of flour. This step is essential to getting your cake to flip out of your cookie sheet after baking. The neater the cake roll batter is, the neater your stripes will be.

Step 3: Pipe your cake batter stripes into your pan. This was all fun and games until I got to the end – you want to make sure you’ve paced yourself on the stripes so you don’t run out of any colors before you finish covering your entire sheet! Pipe the colors thin, and then you can add more later if you happen to have any leftover. Tap your baking sheet on the counter, then place it into the oven.

Step 4: Bake at 325 convection bake for 17 minutes, or until it’s finished baking through.

Step 5: Let cool on the counter for about 2-4 minutes. It doesn’t need long, but this cake is pretty soft and spongy. It’s ready to roll, but you need to let it build up a little tolerance for moving around before you actually roll it. A lot of bakers have different opinions about what to do next, so find which way works for you and go for it. For me, this way is what worked in my kitchen.

Step 6: Flip cake out onto a floured fabric napkin. The flour keeps it from sticking, and the fabric rolls well with the cake. Place ANOTHER floured fabric napkin on top of the cake. Carefully roll it up (not with the longer side, but with the shorter side of your rectangle) and let it cool at room temperature completely.

Photo from my funfetti roll cake – I forgot to take a shot of this one when I flipped it out, but there’s a video below where you can see it, as well as the process of this entire roll cake.

Step 7: Next, unroll it carefully. If there are cracks, it’s not the end of the world. But that usually means we didn’t hit the sweet spot when it comes to rolling it up (it’s hard to control factors in everyone’s kitchens such as temperature, etc, which is important to a cake roll). Just roll with it! After you’ve unrolled it carefully, spread on a layer of buttercream (My recipe is linked below). I’ve noticed using a cookie scoop to scoop on the buttercream and then smearing it on with an offset icing spatula works best, then roll it back up. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 1 hour, or fridge for a few hours until it’s hard. You want to work with a very chilled cake.

Step 8: Slice with a hot knife and cold cake for neater slices. Each swirl will be similar, but have a different look to them, if that makes sense! It’s all part of the fun – seeing what it looks like when you finally get to slice into it.

My White Cake & Vanilla Buttercream recipes are HERE.

Here’s a quick video of the entire process:

That’s it! Hope these tips help as you make your first or fiftieth roll cake. They are a bit addicting, I have to admit. I can’t wait to see your rolled cakes! Make sure to tag me so I can join in on the fun – @bakingwithblondie or #bakingwithblondie on Instagram.

xo,

Mandy