Rainbow cake or squares

Maria Scheufele from Baltimore was looking for a recipe for making rainbow or ribbon cake.

She described the cake as a "layer cake made with several colored layers that resemble a rainbow and is frosted with chocolate." She said that these cakes can be found in local bakeries and delicatessens.

Reva Arnoff from Pikesville, Md., sent in her recipe for making rainbow cookie/cake squares, which I believe is just what Scheufele is looking for.

Arnoff says that the finished cake can be cut into "loaf shapes" and sliced as a cake or cut into 2-inch-by-1-inch cookies.

Anyway you decide to cut it, this cake it is bound to impress. No question this recipe is time-consuming, but it is not overly complicated, and the finished product bound to be a real crowd-pleaser.

Rainbow Cake/Cookie Squares

Makes: 3 loaf cakes (10 servings each) or approximately 75 cookies

For Cake:

8 eggs

2 cups sugar

4 cups flour

4 teaspoons almond extract

-- Food coloring in red, green, blue, yellow or any four-color combination you choose

2 cups margarine (each ?cup melted, cooled and reserved separately)

In between layers:

36 ounces raspberry jam or chocolate icing

Glaze for top:

1/3 cup margarine

? cup cocoa

1/3 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2? cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease four 10 x 15-inch jelly-roll type pans and line with wax paper.

The batter ingredients must be divided into fourths and mixed separately.

Each layer consists of 2 eggs, ? cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon almond extract, food coloring and ? cup margarine.

To make each layer: In a mixing bowl, combine 2 eggs with ? cup sugar and beat well. Add 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon almond extract and several drops of food coloring. Beat for 2 minutes. Fold in ? cup of the melted and cooled margarine. Pour into prepared pan spreading batter to all corners.

Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Make the remaining three layers the same way, using a different food coloring for each new layer.

To assemble: Once cool, turn first layer out on tray or parchment paper. Spread with either jam or chocolate icing. Turn second layer out on top of first layer pressing gently to join layers. Spread with jam or chocolate icing.

Repeat with third and fourth layer except with top layer, omit jam or icing and spread with hot glaze. If making loaves, not individual cookies, cut into loaves and then glaze so that the glaze covers top and sides.

To make glaze: In saucepan, melt margarine and stir in cocoa. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients until smooth. Spread on cake while hot. Allow glaze to cool and harden before cutting.

Requests: Christine Zimmerman from Brentwood, is looking for a lost recipe that was a favorite of her mother-in-law's for what she called a Georgia Poundcake. It had a crumb crust.

If you are looking for a recipe or can answer a request, write to Julie Rothman, Recipe Finder, The Baltimore Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore, Md. 21278. Names and cities must accompany recipes for them to be published. Please list the ingredients in order of use, and note the number of servings each recipe makes.