The Rainbow Cookie Cake is the version of the rainbow cookie that makes it versatile enough to be served at any event! This cake is just as delicious with its nutty flavor and dark chocolate ganache.
If you love Italian desserts, you have to try our Pistachio Cream Tiramisu.
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Why Rainbow Cookie Cake
You might ask yourself "why would I make it a cake when I can just have a couple cookies?" Well, we first had rainbow cookie cake at a wedding. That's right, a rainbow cookie cake served at a wedding. And it was amazing.
There are some events that cake is just better suited for than cookies. That's what drove us to make this into a cake! Now you can serve it at holidays like Easter, Christmas, or birthday parties. Serve it with a Blueberry Smash Mocktail for a delicious pairing of drink and dessert!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Almond Paste. For those unfamiliar, almond paste comes in a brick. You can usually find it in the baking aisle. We use the brand Solo.
Cold Ingredients. It's important that the ingredients like milk, eggs, and butter are room temperature. The milk will mix better at room temperature and won't curdle.
Jam. The raspberry and apricot preserves or jam should be high quality. We usually go for Bonne Maman, but there are plenty of good brands out there.
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the ingredients.
How to Make Rainbow Cookie Cake
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350℉. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 2: In a stand-in mixer, cream the almond paste for 1-2 minutes or until soft. Then add the butter and sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.
Step 3: Crack the eggs in one at a time while mixing until incorporated. Add the almond extract and pour in the milk slowly while beating. Add the dry ingredients until almost combined, then use a spatula to finish.
Step 4: Divide the batter into 3 equal sizes and place them in separate bowls. Add red food coloring to one and green food coloring to another. Mix with a spatula. Slowly add more dye as needed.
Step 5: Grease a cake pan and line with parchment paper. Pour the batter into each cake pan. Spread the batter evenly across the cake pan. Bake in the oven for 28-30 minutes.
Step 6: Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Place the green layer on the bottom of your cake plate and top with apricot jam.
Step 7: Place your white cake on top and spread the raspberry jam on top. Then place your red cake on top. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set the jam.
Step 8: While the cake is in the fridge, make the chocolate ganache. In a small pot, pour the heavy cream in and heat to medium. Place your chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Once the heavy cream is hot, pour it into the chocolate chips. Sprinkle in the salt. Combine everything until melted. Let cool for 45 minutes.
Step 9: Pour the ganache on top of the cake and spread using a spatula. Once the ganache is completely covering the cake, place the cake back in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 10: Top the edge of the cake with mini chocolate chips for decoration. Cut and serve!
Pro-Tips
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. Your milk can curdle if it's not. The butter will not cream if not softened.
- Cube the almond paste to make it easier to cream in the mixer.
- The longer you let the ganache set, the thicker and tighter it will be. If you feel like you have too much ganache, put the cake in the fridge for 15 minutes after you spread the first layer and then remove it and spread another layer of more chocolate ganache. Let it set for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator before serving.
Recipe FAQs
The texture of a rainbow cookie is actually very sponge-like. Transitioning it to a cake only took a little tinkering with the ingredients to make the texture more suited for a large cake.
The flavor you're tasting is the almond paste or almond extract. It's almost like a light liqueur taste. It's what makes a rainbow cookie have that unique flavor. A lot of Italian desserts use that flavor.
You can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or wrap it in saran wrap and store in the freezer for 3 months. When defrosting, leave it in the fridge overnight and then when ready to serve, leave at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Other Holiday Recipes
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Rainbow Cookie Cake
Equipment
- 3 8-inch cake pans
- 1 stand in mixer or hand mixer
- 1 small pot
Ingredients
Rainbow Cookie Cake
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 8 oz almond paste
- 1.5 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 cup milk, room temperature
- red food coloring
- green food coloring
- 10-16 oz raspberry jam
- 10-16 oz apricot jam
Chocolate Ganache
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz dark chocolate chips
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a stand-in mixer, cream the almond paste for 1-2 minutes or until soft. Then add the butter and sugar. Beat for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy. Crack the eggs in one at a time while mixing until incorporated. Add the almond extract and pour in the milk slowly while beating.
- Add the dry ingredients until almost combined, then use a spatula to finish.
- Divide the batter into 3 equal sizes and place them in separate bowls. Add red food coloring to one and green food coloring to another. Mix with a spatula. Slowly add more dye as needed.
- Grease a cake pan and line with parchment paper. Pour the batter into each cake pan and bake in the oven for 28-30 minutes.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely. Place the green layer on the bottom of your cake plate and top with apricot jam. Place your white cake on top and spread the raspberry jam on top. Then place your red cake on top. Place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to set the jam.
- While the cake is in the fridge, make the chocolate ganache. In a small pot, pour the heavy cream and bring to a medium heat. Place your chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Once the heavy cream is hot, pour into the chocolate chips. Sprinkle in the salt. Combine everything until melted. Let cool for 45 minutes.
- Pour the ganache on top of the cake and spread using a spatula. Once the ganache is completely covering the cake, place the cake back in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Cut and serve
Notes
- Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature. Your milk can curdle if it's not.
- Cube the almond paste to make it easier to cream in the mixer.
- The longer you let the ganache set the thicker it will be. Let it set for at least 1 -hour before serving.
Claire
I made this for a friend for her birthday upon her saying it was her favorite cake and we had a joint baby reveal so the middle layer was blue, which was fun. It was a hit and tasted absolutely delicious! I did have two problems with this recipe though. First off, even though I thought the jam looked like too much, I put the amount the recipe called for because the recipe's author said in the comments that 16 oz of jam was the perfect amount once it set up in the fridge. 16 oz of jam is way too much; it squished out the side of the cake even though I chilled the cake before putting it on, which makes it harder to get the ganache on the sides. Go with your gut on how much jam. Also, DO NOT bring the cream to a boil. This burned/separated my Ghirardelli chocolate (huge waste) and upon looking into a different ganache recipe I realized it shouldn't be heated all the way to a boil, you want it at about 100 degrees. The cake is amazing, I will make this cake again with maraschino cherries and cream cheese frosting!
Vinny
Hey Claire! Thanks for your feedback. While we still standby the 16 oz on our end, I have had people tell me 16 oz is too much while we found it to be perfect. I've adjusted the amounts in the recipe to 10-16 oz and people can decide how they much they want. As for the boiling, you are correct you should not bring it to a boil! I've amended the recipe to point this out.
Gillian
I see you can up the serving size to change the amounts needed for the recipe. does this work successfully? i was trying for 21 servings.
Vinny
Yes this works, but I don't believe there is a 1.5x button. You could double the recipe but you'd have to think about what you're going to bake it in. I used 8 in round baking pans so you might need to go up to 10 or 12 inch baking pans. Or use a rectangular 9x13 pan.
Holly
Great recipe. My husband is a retired baker. He was able to follow the recipe without problem. However level of difficulty is high for an average baker. It came out beautiful. Just didn’t do chocolate ganache. Used melting chocolate
Adia
This turned out delicious and pretty spot on to the cookie. The recipe was very easy to follow and understand. I halfed the recipe, which was super easy, it still made 2 normal sized cake pans. I went a different route with the layers though, I cut them in half, and then put what I thought was an appropriate amount of preserve on. The hubs said to print and save this recipe, so if anyone is looking for an accurate cookie to cake recipe, this is def it.
Marisa Messer-Belenchia
You put a whole 16 oz jar of jam in between a layer?
Vinny and Marisa
Yes, it seems like a lot but it will set in the fridge and be the perfect amount of jam.
Vinny
This cake is so good and my wife makes it for me every year on my birthday. I know you'll love this one.