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St. Patrick’s Day Rainbow Cake

by Jessie Daye

First published: March 16, 2020 | Updated: June 10, 2026
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In a week of so much awful, we needed some happiness so we whipped up a little rainbow cake and made a homeschool schedule for our first week of “social-distancing” at home while we are all on lockdown. Hope everyone is healthy and safe this week!

Scroll down for the recipe!

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Rainbow Vanilla Cake

Author: Jessie Daye
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Cook 30 minutes
A colorful layer cake perfect for St. Patrick's Day or any celebration.

Ingredients

  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened to room temp.
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
  • 4 eggs room temp.
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 ¼ cup buttermilk room temp.
  • food coloring or gels

Method

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and butter two 8" round cake pans or one large bundt cake pan by lining the bottoms with parchment paper and lightly greasing the sides. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, cream together butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until well-combined.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well each time and mix in the vanilla extract.
  4. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  5. Slowly alternate adding the flour mixture and buttermilk to the creamed butter mixture, mixing until just combined each time. Do not overmix!
  6. Evenly divide batter into 6 different bowls. Add your food coloring to each bowl until you reach your desired color. Pour each layer into your prepared cake pans, starting with purple and layering in order of the rainbow. Do not stir it!
  7. Bake for 30-35 minutes. When the cake is done, the surface should spring back to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center should come out mostly clean with few moist crumbs.
  8. Allow cakes to cool on a cooling rack. Once cooled, add desired vanilla frosting.

Notes

You can use half of the recipe to make a small version. You can also use one box of white cake mix instead of making from scratch.

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Hi, I'm Jessie. 

I’m a Los Angeles mama, home renovator, and lifelong creative, sharing the things that make everyday life a little more beautiful. I believe food is one of the best ways to bring people together, which is why I love cooking: it turns an ordinary Tuesday into something worth remembering. From recipes I make on repeat to DIY projects, home design, and a little bit of real life in between — welcome to my corner of the internet. I’m so glad you’re here.

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