Buying your first rainbow cake

What, why and how?

Rainbow cakes, also known as split cakes, are cakes (or "pots") with 2 or more different colours in them, and they allow you to put multiple colours down at once with perfect blending and fast applications.

The split cakes pictured here are TAG split cakes and come in rectangular pots - this is great space saver as the cakes all fit together like a jigsaw, and you get an even amount of each colour.

Split cakes are designed for a sponge to fit nicely across them, but you can also pick up jut a few of the colours with a paintbrush for all sorts of designs.

A spray bottle helps dampen your
split cakes evenly.

Split cakes also allow you to carry more colours without taking up as much space in your kit. For example, the yellow and orange split cake is perfect for tiger masks; because I usually use these two colours together to paint tigers I now only carry one split cake in my bag, rather than a yellow cake and an orange cake. This also means that I can have a sponge in one hand and the spit cake in the other and can do the whole base without having to pick up another cake. Very useful for blending a nice smooth base when you keep going backwards and forwards between colours!

If you are planning on using split cakes then I would immediately invest in a small spray bottle. These are also referred to as a mister or spritzer, although the latter sounds to me too much like you're about to have a cheeky drink...Whatever you call them they are extremely useful for wetting paints evenly although if you want to you can always stick with using a damp sponge or paintbrush on a dry cake.

Tutorial: How to use split cakes with a sponge

I have included a quick tutorial to show how split cakes work. The trick is not to get the cake too wet, otherwise the colour will run and you'll end up with paint pooling over the surface and dripping off the edge, over your hands, over the face of a child...you get the idea. You can get the sponge wet and then squeeze any excess water instead of wetting the cake if that works better for you.

Considerations when buying split cakes

One of the main considerations is cost. These TAG split cakes are £9.50 each, which is about standard for a high quality split cake (although "pixie cakes" split cakes will set you back over £12 a pot). If you are just starting out or if you have a limited budget then think carefully about which cakes will actually be useful to you. I recommend starting with a girly split cake for butterflies, princess crowns and fantasy tigers.