Tricolor goodness!

I’m on cooking and baking mode today- probably making up for the two days of inactivity when I got sick because of taking the flu shot. So I was able to make my Indian dish and a simple drink to go with it. It’s time for a simple cake that I haven’t done before. Something light and fruity or lemony maybe but I want it to be colorful. Why not a cake in rainbow colors? But then, ROYGBIV is just too many colors and I want to stick to my light and simple motif. I can just choose three colors and make them pastel, can’t I? So here’s what I came up with.

TRICOLOR POUND CAKE

Ingredients:
5 ½ c sifted all-purpose flour
4 ½ tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 sticks of unsalted butter (softened)
5 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract or 1 tsp lemon zest
1 ¼ cup whole milk
Vegetable food coloring (green, pink and egg yellow)

Directions:
Spray a 10-inch tube pan with floured baking spray
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
Sift together flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl
Cream the butter in a separate bowl for three minutes
Add the sugar gradually and beat till completely dissolved
Add the eggs one at a time
Add lemon extract or lemon zest and vanilla
Alternately add milk and flour mixture, beating well after each addition.
Batter should be thick and smooth
Divide batter into three. I used three bowls and used a couple of drops of the vegetable food color which I beat into each one.
Pour the pink batter first- spread evenly
Pour the green batter next- carefully you don’t mix it with the pink batter
Pour the egg yellow batter last and smooth the top carefully
Bake for 35 minutes at 325 then increase temp to 375 for another 10 minutes
Cake is ready if toothpick inserted comes out clean
Loosen the edges with a sharp knife and transfer to a cake platter
Dust with confectioner’s sugar and serve.