Yep, super funky rainbow cupcakes! I have seen numerous blog posts across the internet for these and have always wanted to try them. So this weekend I thought, sod it, I’m making me some rainbow cupcakes! Here is what you will need to make about 12-15 cupcakes.
- 110g Unsalted Butter Room Temp!
- 225g Golden Caster Sugar
- 2 Eggs Room Temp!
- 120ml Milk
- 1tsp Vanilla Extract
- 150g Self Raising Flour
- 125g Plain Flour
- Red, Yellow, Blue & Green Food Colouring Gels
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 175g Cream Cheese Room Temp!
- 450g Icing Sugar
- 125g Butter Room Temp!
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Top Tip!
Use good quality vanilla extract, (Such as Neilson Massey’s) it will make a huge difference to the flavour of your cakes. Trust me!
Preheat your oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C and line a cupcake tin with cases.
To make the sponge batter, cream the butter and the sugar in a large bowl using an electric hand whisk. Do this for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
Beat both the eggs in a bowl/jug and add to the mixture a quarter at a time. Beat really well after each addition.
Sieve both the plain & self raising flour into a bowl and set to one side. Pour the milk into a jug and stir in the vanilla extract.
Add a quarter of the flour into the batter and mix, then add a quarter of the milk and mix. Mix only until just incorporated. Then repeat the process until all ingredients are used up.
Divide the batter evenly between four bowls. Using cocktail sticks, add small amounts of the food colouring gels and mix through until the desired colours are achieved. Try and be patient when mixing in the colours, if you stir too much you will get the glutens in the flour working which will make your cakes quite dense as opposed to light and fluffy.
Spoon blobs of each colour into each case, then using cocktail sticks, carefully swirl the colours to make funky random patterns within your cakes.
Be aware to still only fill the cases 2 thirds full. It’s easy to get carried away when you’re getting all arty farty with the funky coloured batters!!
Place in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Turn halfway to ensure an even bake.
Remove from the oven, allow to sit in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting.
Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. In another large bowl, beat together the butter & cream cheese. Gradually, about 2-3 tbsp at a time, mix the icing sugar into the butter/cheese mix using a rubber spatula. Keep going until all the icing sugar has been used.
Add in the vanilla extract then “fluff up” slightly by mixing for a few minutes with an electric hand whisk. Cream cheese frosting can be slightly wet and difficult to pipe. By whisking with an electric hand whisk, it should make it easier to pipe onto your cakes.
Naturally, you can decorate however you want to. In fact – I encourage it!! The beauty of cupcake decorating is that you can do whatever the hell you like, go nuts! Use your imagination to create your own personalised funky cakes.
On this batch, I used a 2D drop flower nozzle. Working from the middle – with the bag in a vertical position, swirl your way to the outside of the cake. It will create a rose effect. I then topped with some edible glitter.
I love these cakes, even though mine did end up being slightly more dense than I would have liked. (It just required more patience on my part when mixing in the colours.)
They are just so damn funky! Especially with it looking fairly plain from the outside being covered in simple white frosting. Then you take a bite and it’s just an explosion of colour and happiness! Haha, these would be the perfect party cupcakes I think, they just make you smile no matter what mood you’re in.
Hope you enjoyed the post as always! And if you have any cupcake ideas you’d like to share/me to try – I’m all ears!
Until next time my sugar plum fairies.
Miss KitchenMason
