7 INCH CAKE PANS RECIPES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans or spray with baking spray. Set aside.
• Combine flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt in bowl; set aside.
• Beat sugar and 1 cup butter in another bowl at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1 tablespoon vanilla; mix well. Add flour mixture alternately with milk, beating at low speed after each addition, just until mixed.
• Divide batter evenly among 6 bowls with about 3/4 cup each. Tint cake batters red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Spread red and orange batter into prepared pans. Bake 8-10 minutes or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 3 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely. Meanwhile, wash pans; grease and flour pans. Repeat with remaining colors until all cake layers are baked.
• Beat 2 cups butter in medium bowl at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt alternatley with whipping cream and 1 tablespoon vanilla, beating at low speed until well incorporated. Beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Remove 2 cups frosting; set aside. Divide remaining frosting evenly among 6 bowls with about 1/3 cup each. Tint frostings red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Set aside.
• Place purple cake layer onto serving plate, bottom-side up. Frost top with 1/4 cup white frosting. Place blue cake layer over frosting; frost with 1/4 cup white frosting. Continuing adding green, yellow, orange and red layers in that order, frosting with 1/4 cup white frosting between each layer. Frost outside of cake with remaining white frosting. This layer of frosting will be thin and cake will be visible through frosting. Once frosted, refrigerate cake 30 minutes. (This is called a crumb coat and will prevent crumbs from interfering when piping rosettes.)
• Place each tinted frosting into individual resealable plastic food bag; push frosting to one corner. Cut off 1/2 inch from tip of corner. Place 18-inch-long piece of plastic food wrap onto counter surface. Pipe each color onto plastic wrap to form wide 12-inch horizontal lines (using all of frosting) that are touching.
• Gently roll frosting lines into one large log using plastic wrap. Snip tip off one end of plastic wrap. Place cut-side down into piping bag fitted with size 1M open-star tip. Pipe rainbow rosettes onto cake beginning with middle of top of cake and working out and down sides so the most vibrant colors are on top of cake.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour two 9-inch diameter cake pans with 2-inch high sides.
• Pour the flour, baking powder, baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Use a whisk to stir together. This will get rid of any lumps and pseudo-sift the ingredients. In a separate large bowl, beat the sugar, butter and sweetened cream of coconut until fluffy and it resembles whipped cream, about 2 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir to incorporate all the ingredients. With the mixer on low speed, beat in 1/2 the dry ingredients, followed by the buttermilk, and the remaining dry ingredients, scraping down the sides in between each addition, just until blended.
• Using clean, dry beaters, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt in another clean large bowl until the egg whites are stiff but not dry. Cook's Note: You want to get the most volume from your egg whites, that's why it is essential that the beaters and bowl are clean. Just to be safe, I like to wipe the bowl out with a dash of vinegar, white or apple cider is best. The vinegar cuts through any fat in the bowl leaving only a sparkling bowl behind. And don't worry, you won't be able to taste the vinegar-I promise!
• In batches, fold the beaten egg whites into the batter, being careful not to deflate the whites. Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spread the batter with an offset spatula to level the batter in the pan. Bake the cakes until a tester inserted into center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack, about 10 minutes. Gently run a small sharp knife around the pan sides to loosen the cakes. Cook's Note: As the cakes cool they will shrink slightly, pulling away from the sides of the pan. By running the knife around the sides of the pan you are helping in the process by taking away any resistance. Turn the cakes out onto the racks and cool completely.
• With a pastry brush, gently brush any crumbs from the cooled cake layers. If the cake baked up with a slight dome in the center, you can trim it to even it out or just remember to place that cake layer dome-side down on the cake plate. Place 1 cake layer, flat-side up, on a cake plate. Spread 1 heaping cup Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting over the cake layer, leaving a 1/2-inch border of cake around the edge. This will give the filling a place to go or spread when the second cake layer is placed on top-you don't want it to bulge out the sides!
• Sprinkle 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut mix over the frosting. Top with the second cake layer, flat-side up. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. For a retro look, I like swoopy swirls. The best way to achieve it is to spread the frosting using the back of a spoon. It's that easy!
• Sprinkle the remaining coconut mix over the cake, gently pressing into the sides to adhere. Coconut Layer Cake can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Beat the cream cheese in a medium bowl until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the butter and beat until smooth. Add the sugar, sweetened cream of coconut, vanilla extract and pinch of sea salt and beat until well blended, scraping down the sides as needed, for about 3 more minutes. Cook's Note: For a tropical twist, I add just a splash of fresh lime juice and a dash of finely grated lime zest to the mix!