12.06.2011

rainbow cupcakes


I'm here, guys! Drowning in federal income tax, but still here…
This wasn't meant to be a post (so excuse the crappy phone pictures) , but the finished product came out so surprisingly well that I had to share. 

I've been babysitting a lovely girl named Emily for the past year and a half. In between flute lessons, drama practices, and homework, we guiltily indulge in salami, Tostitos, and Oreos (not all at once). She  was my trusty assistant for that outrageous White Chocolate Oreo Peanut Butter, which she aptly named Parent Trap Peanut Butter. This past Friday was, very sadly, my last day with her. It was only fitting that we went out with a bang. 

The most surprising thing about this cupcake is just how easy it is. All it requires is some organization, precision, and a familiarity with good ole' ROYGBIV. 


I guess we  should have reversed the order of the colors to actually recreate the order of the rainbow. Ah, the beauty of hindsight. And yes - orange is missing. This was very vexing to one of Emily's friends, who fiercely defended the color and almost boycotted the cupcakes altogether - that is, until we started eating them.

We were a little too ambitious and tried to make 12 cupcakes. Hence, some of the cupcakes turned out a little runty as we ran out of our batter towards the end. Emily called those "adult cupcakes" because adults are "always on a diet." She's a smart girl.

rainbow cupcakes

makes 8

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
food coloring
your choice of frosting

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and prepare your cupcake pan with cupcake liners (or spray pan with cooking spray).  

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside.


Add 1/2 teaspoon vinegar to the milk and set aside for about 3-5 minutes.

In another bowl, add the 2 eggs and mix with handmixer. Pour in the sugar and continue to mix for a minute. Add vanilla extract and vegetable oil; mix to combine.

On low speed, add half of flour mixture, beat, then add half of milk mixture. Repeat until everything is combined and well mixed, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. The batter should be pretty thin.

Divide the batter as evenly as you can into 6 small bowls (or however many colors you want to make). Follow the instructions on the back of the food coloring box to make the colors you want. 

After all your colors are mixed, put about a tablespoon of your first color (in our case, red, which will end up on the bottom) into the bottom of each of the cupcake molds. Then, take your next color and drop a tablespoon of that right on top of your first. You'd think the colors would mix, but they won't. Just try to drop the tablespoon in the center of each cup and let it spread out on its own.

Repeat with the following colors until all your batter is used up and each mold is 2/3 full of batter. Don't worry too much about proportion; just try your best to divide each color by 8, which is the number of cupcakes you will end up with.

Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool completely. To remove, run a knife around the edges and lift out.

Top with your favorite frosting.


3 comments:

Kit(tchen) said...

I love your blog and I have nominated you for a Liebster Award. For details go to http://www.thekittchen.com/2011/12/liebster.html

kathy said...

Hello

Good Day,interesting post keep the good work.i'll be back for more

-Kathy
www.healthandwellnessconsultants.com

Nicole Gamble said...

So simple and so perfect! Yammy! Thanks for sharing!

Hypersmash