Rainbow Cakes Party Table

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Whether it’s St. Patrick’s Day or just for fun, rainbows are perfect year-round. If you are looking for a different type of centerpiece, you can’t beat a series of brightly-hued cakes covered in sprinkles and served on matching cake stands. You are in the right place, from practicing your frosting techniques to saving money at an event. But wait, what makes this rainbow cake party table special? All the cakes are fake!

That’s right, not an edible cake in the bunch…it was my first try at making faux concoctions, and I think they turned out great. Read on for all the details…

Neither purchasing nor baking and decorating five cakes was a realistic option for this party shoot. This struck me as the perfect time to try making fake ones.

You know you’ve seen them at weddings and big parties, a beautiful cake, but everyone was served a slice from a sheet cake. Why? Because one, cakes for a large event are expensive, two, it is a nightmare cutting a pretty round cake…cutting up a sheet cake makes sense and three, hello, who wants to cut up a pretty cake? Often, with a multilayer cake, the smallest/top layer is a real cake, for the bride/groom to enjoy on their first anniversary.

But I digress…

What You’ll Need:

• styrofoam cake dummies in your size choice; I used 2 4″ X 6″ rounds and 6″, 8″ and 10″ rounds
• icing gel, in your choice of colors
• offset spatula as tall as your largest cake
• piping bags
• frosting tips
• buttercream frosting (this 3.5 lb tub was enough to frost all 5 cake dummies)
• assorted sprinkles and candies
• optional, mini candles!

Having a cake turntable and parchment paper rounds makes it easier to frost, but you don’t have to have either.

If you are going to turn these into decor pieces, The House That Lars Built, has a great tutorial using spackle instead of frosting.

• First, tint the buttercream with icing gel. If you are not familiar with icing gel, they are highly concentrated colorings and available in so many fun colors. The best part is that the frosting color gets more intense and darkens over time.
• Then, add color one drop at a time and stir. You can add more, but you can’t take color away.
• Finally, make enough frosting in each color, it will be hard to recreate.
• If you are using the cake dummies for decorating practice, wrap them in plastic wrap before frosting, so they are reusable.

• Break out your offset spatula and start frosting the cake dummies. It is perfect for keeping your knuckles out of the frosting and a better angle for applying.
• My go-to piping tip is the 2D drop flower tip; it does it all from stars and rosettes to swirls.
• Finally, finish the look with sprinkles and candles.

Sorry, the cups and plates are no longer available, but check out this and these as alternatives. And, the acrylic lucky charm stirrers are still an option.

The melamine cake stands are a party hoarder’s dream; they are easy to store since they are easy to assemble as a two-piece. yellow cake stand // blue cake stand // red cake stand

We can’t forget the tunes…

• Judy Garland – Somewhere Over The Rainbow
• Elvis Presley – Pocketful Of Rainbows
• Lenny Kravitz – Lonely Rainbows
• Pretty Lights – Rainbows & Waterfalls
• Shed Seven – Chasing Rainbows
• Kesha – Rainbow
• Bob Marley – Rainbow Country
• Sia – “Rainbow”
• Miley Cyrus & Dolly Parton – Rainbowland
• Mariah Carey – Rainbow (Interlude)
• Kacey Musgraves – Rainbow

Playing with cakes is always a good time…try your hand at a few, and let the creativity flow. Finally, if you need more rainbow inspiration, check out my previous rainbow-themed posts.