Urgent (yes really) advice needed about icing a cake!

[bornninthe80s]

I almost said 'frosting' there but surely we don't use that in the uk!

I've made my rainbow cake layers ready to be iced/frosted. Want to use a cream cheese icing as I feel the cake will be too sweet, but am worried it won't hold the layers up. Should I use buttercream (made with egg whites) for in between the layers and cream cheese icing for the outside or is this just plain weird???

I think you are overthinking. either kind of icing is actually fine for between the layers. use whatever you've got.

the point at which your icing type really matters is if you are icing the vertical sides of a cake. I don't do really posh cakes often enough to get really good at this but if an icing is too heavy it can be difficult to get it to stick properly to the vertical surface. using a lighter recipe with egg whites, and then applying the icing from a piping bag coiling up from bottom to top, is the strategy that worked.

I always use a cream cheese icing for layer cakes with no problem and have done it many times with a rainbow cake.
Good luck.

Buttercream made with egg whites.....?!

@SillyMoomin

Buttercream made with egg whites.....?!

Meringue buttercream is generally more stable and paler (so better for colour) than regular buttercream

If you're worried about it sliding poke a couple of kebab skewers through it to stabilise it - just take them out when its cut

Thank you all! Seems to be going okay 🙏🏼

Face palm! Forgot about meringue 😂

Hope the cake turned out well OP