I have fun adding rainbows to cakes whenever I can—from mini-rainbow mega cakes to Thanksgiving Unicornucopias—but I think this rainbow-grilled goodness takes the cake!
This recipe—an easy-to-make twist on my classic Grilled Cheese cake—sandwiches pieces of rainbow-colored modeling chocolate “cheese” between slices of rich pound cake “bread” to create a simple yet show-stopping treat. The best part? Stacking your ingredients and frying them up like a real grilled cheese sandwich! Great for beginner bakers of all ages, this cake is fun, simple to make, and a sweet way to brighten up a rainy day with your family and friends.
The only tricky thing about this cake is figuring out a side to go with it. When I served my original grilled cheese cake with raspberry coulis ketchup on our YouTube channel, it unleashed a pretty heated debate between YoYos who dip their grilled cheese in ketchup and those who eat it with tomato soup. Personally, I like to enjoy mine with a tall, cool glass of pink lemonade!
SERVES 4 TO 8
Makes 4 sandwiches
Tools
9 × 5 × 3½-inch loaf pan
7 small bowls
Nonstick mat or board
Small nonstick rolling pin
Ruler or fabric measuring tape
Pastry brush
Serrated knife
Frying pan
Pancake turner
Ingredients
For the pound cake
2⅓ cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon table salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
6 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs, at room temperature
For the rainbow “cheese”
1½ recipes Yo’s Modeling Chocolate
Gel food colorings: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink (or your choice)
For assembly
½ recipe Yo’s Simple Syrup
Unsalted butter, softened
Day 1: Prep It
1 Make the pound cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom and sides of a 9 × 5 × 3½-inch loaf pan with parchment paper (see “How to Bake a Cake”).
2 Sift together the flour and salt and set aside.
3 In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, begin to cream together the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla on low speed. Turn the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy.
4 Return the mixer to low speed and continue to mix as you add the eggs, two at a time, mixing well after each addition. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until fully incorporated.
5 Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread so that it is smooth in the pan. Bake for about 2 hours, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, rotating the pan halfway through. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely in the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
I added cream cheese to the cake because I like my grilled cheese extra cheesy!
6 Make the “rainbow cheese”: Make the modeling chocolate according to the recipe. Before it cools and solidifies, divide the melted chocolate mixture evenly among seven small bowls. Dye the mixture in each bowl a color of the rainbow—red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink (or any shades you’d like). Let the chocolate cool to room temperature, then cover and let stand overnight.
Day 2: Cake It
1 Remove each color of modeling chocolate from its bowl and gently knead it before flattening it with your fingers as you would with fondant. On a nonstick mat or board, using a small nonstick rolling pin, roll each piece into a sheet ⅛ inch thick and a little more than 4 inches square. Stack the colors one on top of the other in the rainbow color order. Chill for about 30 minutes, or until the stack is firm.
2 Cut through your stack of colors to make thin slices. If the stack is soft when you start to slice it, put it back in the refrigerator until firm before continuing to slice. Arrange two slices side by side, with the rainbow showing, on a sheet of parchment paper. Top with a second sheet of parchment and roll them out until they form one slice that is slightly larger than 4 inches square. Repeat with the remaining slices, then chill the slices again until firm.
3 Cut out perfect 4-inch squares to resemble cheese slices. Stack the rainbow cheese squares between small squares of parchment paper so that they look just like presliced cheese.
You can re-roll your scraps to make marbled cheese slices.
4 Remove the pound cake from the pan. Brush simple syrup on the top crust of the cake so it doesn’t crack when sliced. (This is still cake, even though it looks like bread.) Using a serrated knife, trim off the ends, then cut eight ½-inch-thick slices from the cake.
5 Generously butter one side of each cake slice. Assemble the rainbow grilled cheese cake just as you would a savory grilled cheese: lay one slice of pound cake buttered side down, top with two slices of rainbow modeling chocolate cheese, then finish with another slice of pound cake (buttered side up) on top.
6 Get a frying pan nice and hot over medium heat and fry the sandwiches until golden brown on each side, flipping with the pancake turner.
7 Cut each sandwich in half and watch the rainbow cheese ooze out. Serve hot and melty! Now you can say that you’ve caked the rainbow!
