What could be better than finding that pot of gold from under the rainbow? It would be just like winning the lottery and who doesn’t want to have THAT happen to them?!?!?!
These cupcakes are inspired by the magical mystery of rainbows that brighten a day, just by appearing in the sky. It sounds like I’m on a fabulous LSD trip or something, but since us teachers are back to work tomorrow, I assure you, there are no psychedelics inspiring this post!
These rainbow cupcakes are actually quite simple to make but prepare yourself for a lot of dirty dishes! This recipe will have you going through one mixing bowl, six batter bowls, and 12 spoons . . . at least! You will also need gel paste colour in the following colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Using gel pastes will get you the vibrant colours that you see in the ones that I made. You can also use liquid food dye, you will just see a slightly more subtle rainbow.
Get your ingredients ready, and here is the link to the video!
Rainbow Cupcakes
This will make 18-22 cupcakes.
Ingredients/Materials:
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Vanilla Cake
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Vanilla Buttercream
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Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple gel paste
Procedure:
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Preheat oven to 350˚F/180˚C. Line cupcake pans with liners.
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Prepare cake batter as indicated in the recipe and then separate batter into six different bowls. In the first bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of red gel paste. Mix completely until no light batter remains. In the second bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of orange gel paste. Mix completely until no light batter remains. In the third bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of yellow gel paste. Mix completely until no light batter remains. In the fourth bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of green gel paste. Mix completely until no light batter remains. In the fifth bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of blue gel paste. Mix completely until no light batter remains. In the last bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of purple gel paste. Mix completely until no light batter remains.
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Add about 3 teaspoons (15 milliliters) of each colour to each cupcake well. The cupcake liners should be about ⅔ full when all six colours have been added.
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Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, remove from pan, and cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.
Rainbow Buttercream
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While cupcakes are cooling, prepare buttercream as directed by recipe.
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For Rainbow icing — Separate icing into six different bowls. In the first bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of red gel paste. Mix completely until no light icing remains. In the second bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of orange gel paste. Mix completely until no light icing remains. In the third bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of yellow gel paste. Mix completely until no light icing remains. In the fourth bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of green gel paste. Mix completely until no light icing remains. In the fifth bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of blue gel paste. Mix completely until no light icing remains. In the last bowl, add a ½ teaspoon (2.5 milliliters) of purple gel paste. Mix completely until no light icing remains.
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Prepare your piping bag with the 1M tip in the end and open the top wide. Imagine that the opening of the bag is a clock. At 12:00, place a dollop of red, 1:00, a dollop of orange, 3:00, a dollop of yellow, 4:00, a dollop of green, 6:00, a dollop of blue and at 9:00, the purple. Repeat until the piping bag is full and ready to be used. This techniques ensures that you will have a range of colours that come out of the tip when piping.
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To ice the cupcakes, place a dollop of icing in the centre of the cupcake. Then, pipe a loop around and over top of the center dollop to finish off your cupcake. The colours should swirl together for a great rainbow look.
- Serve immediately, or store in the fridge in a sealed container for 2-3 days. Allow buttercream to come to room temperature (about one hour) if they have been in the fridge before serving.
Here is picture of some other beautiful rainbow cupcakes that we did for a birthday celebration!
What would YOU want to find at the end of a rainbow?
