From out of the blue this time comes a truly beautiful sight. As soon as folks get a glimpse of it, though, it’ll likely disappear fast! Conjured up by CT’s cooks, the colorful rainbow cake features pound cake topped with a creamy spread and fresh fruit. An orange “pot” at the rainbow’s end is full to the brim for dipping, too. You’ll have a good-as-gold treat sure to shine at a St. Patrick’s Day party!

  • Total Time
    Prep: 1 hour
  • Makes
    8 servings

    Ingredients

    • 1 loaf (10-3/4 ounces) frozen pound cake, thawed and cut into 1-inch cubes
    • 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
    • 8-ounce package cream cheese softened
    • 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
    • 5 teaspoons orange juice
    • 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
    • 2 cups fresh raspberries
    • 1 cup fresh blueberries
    • 15 to 18 large green grapes, halved
    • 15-ounces can of mandarin oranges, well-drained
    • 10 to 15 fresh strawberries, halved

    Directions

    • Arrange cake cubes in a rainbow arch on a large serving platter. In a small bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form. In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, orange zest and orange juice until smooth; fold in whipped cream.
    • Gently spread cream cheese mixture over cake cubes. Arrange fruit over cream cheese mixture in a rainbow pattern. If desired, garnish with additional whipped cream to create cloud shapes.
    Crafter thoughts: —Red raspberries, blueberries, green grapes, oranges and strawberries form the strips on the rainbow shown here. If you like, try other fruit such as red grapes, pineapple chunks, kiwi, etc. —Anytime you’re enjoying fresh fruit, whip up this quick cream cheese dip all by itself as a tasty complement.

    Finished size: The cake is 15 inches long.

    Nutrition Facts

    1 serving: 395 calories, 24g fat (14g saturated fat), 101mg cholesterol, 208mg sodium, 44g carbohydrate (31g sugars, 4g fiber), 5g protein.