Kid-Friendly Cooking: Rainbow Cupcakes
Anyone who knows me knows that I rarely take the easy route. Croutons? Why waste the money when homemade croutons are so easily and cheaply made with leftover bread? Salad dressing? I love the freshness and the complex flavors of a good homemade dressing. And cakes? I can bake up a cake with the best of them …
But when it came time to make cupcakes for a recent gathering, I knew I wanted to do something wild and kid-centric, so I decided to do my own riff on the trendy rainbow cake that has been making its way across the internet. But really, when you are going to be mixing and dividing and dividing again, do you really need the added complication of baking from scratch? For once, I decided that I didn’t … so I took the easiest route and used a box of cake mix.
Hey, it worked for this. And when I make these again — and I will make these again –I will do it again in a heartbeat. These are such a fun dessert, especially when kids are involved. Go bold and bright with the colors, and be sure to start with white cake mix for the best hues.
Rainbow Cupcakes
yields 24 cupcakes
1 box white cake mix (it MUST be white)
red, green, blue and yellow food coloring
Prepare the white cake mix as directed. Fill 24 slots in cupcake tins with cupcake liners (I use a six-muffin pan and an 18 muffin pan).
Seperate the batter into six bowls. Using the food coloring, dye each bowl a different color until you have red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Make sure the colors are bold and the intended shade — for instance, a pink bowl may bake up a little brighter, but it will not become red in the oven.
Starting with one bowl of batter, divide it evenly among the 24 cupcake liners. Repeat with all of the bowls, using one bowl at a time, until all the colors have been distributed evenly among the liners. Gently tap the side of the pan(s) to even out the top of the cupcakes. DO NOT shake the pans, a gentle tap-tap-tap is all you need to accomplish this.
Bake the cupcakes according to package directions. Allow the cupcakes to fully cool before frosting with your favorite frosting.
September 1, 2009, 5:06 am
I heard those were great Sarah! I am coming over next time you make them…I want to watch before I attempt. Very cool!!