Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: approximately 30 minutes
Yield: 15
3 cups flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 sticks butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature
4-6 different food color pastes (the pastes give a stronger color than liquid colors)
1. Line the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch cake pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Reserve.
4. In a mixing bowl for an electric mixer, combine vanilla, butter and sugar. Using the paddle attachment, beat until light and fluffy, about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add eggs one at a time being sure to mix well in between each egg.
6. Add the dry ingredients and milk, alternating between the two. Mix just until all the ingredients are incorporated.
7. Separate the batter into 5-7 different bowls, depending on the number of colors of dye. Color each bowl with some dye, leaving 1 bowl its original color.
8. Spoon the different colors into blobs in the 9 x 13 pan. When completely filled, you can gently drag a knife through it several times to combine the colors slightly.
9. Place pan into the center of the preheated oven and bake about 30 minutes.
Test for doneness by inserting a cake tester. When cooked, the tester should come out of the cake with no batter stuck to it. Remove from oven.
10. When the cake is cold, ice it with your favorite icing to hide the color differences and serve.
