So when it came time for our school’s bake sale a week ago, I thought Rainbow Cupcakes would be fun for a change. I was right, they were the first ones to go because children cannot resist color and lots of it. They even beat out the luscious chocolate cupcakes I made. It is Rainbow Cupcakes from now on!
This is simple to do by dividing the batter equally among six small bowls- I used yellow cake mix for deeper hues. Color each bowl of batter a different color. I made- red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
Layer colored batter in the order of a rainbow’s colors into cupcake liners and bake according to the package directions. Remember the order? ROY G. BIV: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (I skipped this one), and violet.
I wanted the frosting to go in a swirl of rainbow colors too so I used a technique Ma taught me years ago from her cake decorating classes. To get your frosting to go on in a swirl of color, dye regular buttercream frosting into three separate colors; I used pink, blue, and yellow.
Unfortunately I did not have jewel toned frosting colors to match the cupcakes, so I did mix jewel tones with pastels. Alert Stacy and Clinton. This did bother me a little at first but one can’t cry over cupcakes now can they? Place spoonfuls of each color side by side in a pastry bag working your way to the top of the bag. It is easier if you turn the bag inside out like you do when putting on pantyhose- at least for you ladies- and working your way up. Once the frosting is piped on your cupcakes, you will notice other colors like green, purple, and orange.
Starting at 12 o’clock on the outer edge of each cupcake and using constant pressure on the pastry bag, pipe frosting clockwise for three rotations, working your way toward the center ending in a little peak.
At the bake sale we placed each cupcake in a 9 ounce plastic punch cup and invited the children to decorate the cupcakes they had purchased. The cups caught all spills, and let me say there were some big spills. The decorated cupcakes were then placed in cellophane party bags and tied with a pretty ribbon for transporting home.
I can’t wait to find an excuse to make these again. They brought smiles to many little faces.
For more Cupcake Videos see my Big Red Kitchen Youtube Channel
Related Posts:
Buttercream Frosting
Soft Pretzel Samoas
Little Peach Cakes
My children’s play is tonight!!! I can not wait to see them but I think I will be a little nervous too. Gulp.
Have a grand weekend filled with lingering, delicious meals. I think I will sleep! Also a big fat Happy Mother’s Day too!
Robin Sue
81 Comments
Smart marketing…it definitely is an eye-catcher.
Awesome looking cupcakes! We have a bake sake tomorrow but I am going with brownies since I am not as good a decorator as you!
What a great way to decorate cupcakes. I’m going to be using your mum’s idea A LOT! Thanks
Love the idea! I’ll definitely buy some from you!
oh you are killing me with all the goodies this week. I think I will send my family to your site for them to make mother’s day treats for me. Blessings for tonight and I hope you rest well over the weekend.
Like you don’t have enough to do this week – These rainbow cupcakes ARE the pot of gold! How fun – I don’t know what kid wouldn’t love these (2 to 92)!
Good luck tonight!
The cupcakes are beautiful! And using the plastic cup is a great idea!
I have seen these all over the web lately…but I love how you did your icing! So cute!
Just loving the rainbow cupcakes, they look amazingly yummy!!
Wow, I can hardly believe that these are cupcakes!
Such beautiful cupcakes. I bet these pretty colors weren’t lost on the adults either!
Those are gorgeous cupcakes!
Hope the play performance goes off without a hitch. I sometimes wonder if the parents aren’t just as/more nervous than the kids. I think I always am.
Happy Mother’s Day to you!
happy mother’s day to you, super mom. speaking of super things, your frosting reminds me of superman ice cream–do you know what i mean? it’s vanilla, but with pastel swirls. it always tasted better to me than white vanilla.
Robin Sue- Beautiful looking cupcakes. I like rainbows anywhere and the frosting is great! Have fun at the play. Hugs to your thespians from us. We love you. Happy Mother’s Day too. Ellen
Ohhh that’s a lotta work. Even the frosting is colored too? wow
these are too pretty to eat..
Love them!! I’m going to do something similar very soon
I just forwarded this recipe to my sister in Chicago who is a baker for a ice cream shop. I will have her send a cut of her pay to you for the idea.
What a great cupcake! My kids would love those!
These are beautiful Robin!
Beautiful! I can’t wait to try this out on cupcakes for my kids. Thanks!
I used a similar technique to make red-white-blue cupcakes for election day, but those were unfrosted. I really love the way the frosting looks!
Among the prettiest rainbow cupcakes on the web. And the frosting, well that’s just to clever. It’s the finishing touch that brings these right over the top! Well done!!
These are GORGEOUS! I have done the multi-toned frosting thing before, and let me say – you did a GREAT JOB. Getting them in the right place in the bag is easier said than done and you did a beautiful job! I love it!
Thanks for this great inspiration. These cupcakes are so pretty!