Name: Ribbon Cake
Ingredients: double quantity of white cake batter; dark cake batter; a very little cochineal (for coloring); frosting

Ribbon Cake

Ingredients

double quantity of white cake batter
dark cake batter
a very little cochineal (for coloring)
frosting

Directions

Prepare the batters

Prepare the white cake batter by doubling the original recipe.
Divide the white batter in half and add a small amount of cochineal to one half to create a delicate pink color.

Bake and assemble

Bake the batters in jelly‑cake tins.
Layer the cakes starting with the white, then the dark, and finally the pink on top.
Spread frosting between the layers and frost the top once the cake is cool.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

White cake batter: Forms the light, tender crumb of the cake layers.
Dark cake batter: Provides a contrasting layer that shows clearly when the cake is cut.
Cochineal: Adds a pink color to one batter; only a very little is needed.
Frosting: Binds the layers together and adds sweetness and moisture to the cake.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.