Rainbow Cupcakes!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Does anyone actually know what St. Patrick's Day is all about? All I know is that it involves, rainbows, leprechauns, shamrocks, the Irish, people wishing to be Irish, and sometimes green beer -yuck! If you know anymore than that, please feel free to leave me a comment to fill me in.
Regardless of how much myself or anyone else really knows, St. Patrick's Day has become quite a bit of an American holiday none the less. So this year I thought it would be fun to try out these rainbow cupcakes. The cupcake is made with a doctored up cake box mix (see recipe below). They turned out great and super moist. My only complaint about these is that they are HUGE. The recipe calls for you to split the batter into five separate bowls (one cup each). Each layer is two teaspoons of each color (10 teaspoons total). I used my teaspoon cookie scoop to make it easier on me. The muffins were filled to the top of the liner even before they were baked. I think if I filled the cupcake with three colors (6 teaspoons total), they would have been a perfect size. I am thinking a red, white and blue cupcake would be perfect for 4th of July...or red, green and white for Christmas. I have even seen orange, yellow and white for candy corn cupcakes around Halloween. You could do your child's favorite color or any colors that suit your needs. The rainbow turned out great on every cupcake, and all together they look fabulous - just be prepared for big cupcakes if you make these.

Recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything and Our Best Bites

1 white cake mix (18.25 oz.)
2 eggs
1 C sour cream or plain yogurt (I used sour cream - No, you cannot taste it)
1/2 C skim milk
1/3 C vegetable oil

Yield: 12 cupcakes - If you choose to fill with less batter (just three colors, like mentioned above), you will get more cupcakes.

Combine all ingredients until incorporated (about 30 seconds). Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on med-high speed for 2 minutes.

Divide batter according to how many colors you are using. I used 5 colors and it worked out to 1 cup for each color.

Use food coloring to color the batter to desired intensity. ***I used Wilton brand icing dyes. If you want bright colors, I strongly suggest this. Also you don't need more than a small drop of dye, so it won't water down your batter. You can purchase the dye at Michaels, or JoAnn's. Simply dip the end of a couple toothpicks into the dye and swipe into the batter. If you need more dye, use a clean toothpick each time.

To get a layered stripe like I used, you’ll want to put a spoonful of each color in the cupcake one at a time. A great tip is to set out a little bowl of water where you’re working. Dip your finger in the water and then gently spread the batter out. The water will make it so the batter doesn’t stick to your fingers. For my 5 colors, it worked out perfectly with 2 t of each color in each cupcake. So I put in 2 t of blue in the bottom of each cupcake and spread it out with my finger. Then I put in 2 t of green on top of that, then yellow, etc.The batter is thick, so it won’t spread on it’s own.

Bake them according to the package directions, until a toothpick comes out dry. I baked mine at 325 degrees for 21 minutes.


Frosting: *This recipe made a ton, so I had some leftover.

3 sticks butter (1 1/2 cups), room temperature
6 cups powdered sugar
5 Tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used clear, but regular wouldn't change the color too much)
Dash of salt

Add butter and powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until well combined. Gradually add milk (you may not need all of it) and beat for 2-3 minutes until fluffy.
Frost cooled cupcakes. Add rainbow colored sprinkles if desired. I used a piping bag and just cut the tip off (no fancy tip used). You can just fill a ziploc baggie and cut the tip off, if that is all you have.


I will be the first to tell you that the tops of these cupcakes are not perfect. The bottom layers of every one turned out though. The tops don't matter a ton because you cover the most of it with frosting.


Happy St. Patrick's Day! Download your own cupcake pick for free at www.howdoesshe.com!