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    Home » Cupcakes » Rainbow Cupcake

    Rainbow Cupcake

    Published: May 18, 2022 · Modified: Jun 6, 2022 by Jennie · This post may contain affiliate links

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    These fun and colorful Rainbow Cupcakes are made with your favorite cupcake base with rainbow colored frosting to decorate with. These are so fun, and everyone will love them!

    Rainbow Cupcake on serving board.

    Cupcakes are one of my favorite things to bake. I love them, my family loves them, and they are perfect for any party or gathering.

    What is great about this recipe is you can use any cupcake base you want! The Rainbow Cupcake comes from the colorful frosting used to decorate the cupcake.

    How to make Rainbow Cupcakes:

    Cupcakes really don't take too much time to make. You make the batter and while the cupcakes are baking you make the frosting. For this recipe choose your favorite cupcake batter. I love my Vanilla Cupcake base, so I used that.

    You could also use a good Chocolate Cupcake or my Funfetti Cupcake recipe! Mix your dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together. Fill your cupcake liners in the pan, and then bake. Prepare your frosting and get ready to ice them once they are done and cooled.

    Ingredients:

    • All-Purpose Flour
    • Baking Powder
    • Salt
    • Eggs - at room temperature.
    • Sugar
    • Unsalted Butter - melted
    • Vanilla Extract
    • Milk

    Directions:

    Step One - Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt then set aside.

    mixing together the dry ingredients for the cupcakes.

    Step Two - Next use an electric mixer to beat eggs and sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes until eggs are a light yellow. Make sure to mix very slowly then pour in melted butter and vanilla extract.

    Step Three - Slowly mix in milk and your dry ingredients. Adding in a little at a time back and forth, scraping the sides as needed until all ingredients are well combined

    adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients for the cupcakes.

    Step Four - Fill prepared muffin tin with batter about ¾ the way full.

    • Baking Tip: For more fun, use a toothpick and add some food coloring to each cupcake. Color them for more Rainbow fun!

    piping the batter into the cupcake liners.

    Step Four continued - Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cupcakes are cooked through and a toothpick can come out clean. Place on a rack to cool completely before icing.

    cupcakes in cupcake pan before baking.

    How to make the Rainbow Frosting:

    Making the frosting for these cupcakes is pretty fun. I chose 6 colors to use, but you can use however many colors you want or have available.

    Mix your frosting in a large batch and then separate out equally for your different colors you will be making.

    Ingredients:

    • Unsalted Butter (softened)
    • Powdered Sugar
    • Vanilla Extract
    • Food Coloring - I used violet, orange, red, yellow, green, and blue.

    ingredients for the frosting.

    Frosting Directions:

    Step One - Cream the butter until it's light and creamy, add vanilla extract, and then powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. Beat until smooth and fluffy consistency (this could take 5-6 min).

    Step Two - Once smooth divide your buttercream equally into 6 parts and add the food colors of your choice to each batch.

    Step Three - When adding food coloring start very small and add more as needed. More color will give you these bright shades of frosting as seen in the pictures, but you can go with lighter/pastel shades as well.

    six multicolored frosting for the rainbow cupcakes.

    Step Four - Add each color frosting to a separate piping bag. Take a large piece of cling wrap and pipe long strides of each color side by side making a rainbow.

    Step Five - Next, you want to carefully lift one side of the plastic wrap and roll it over the other side like a big sausage, keeping all the buttercream contained. Be careful not to put pressure on it.

    Step Six - Seal both the ends carefully by twisting both the ends of cling wrap.

    Step Seven - Take a large piping bag and put an open star tip nozzle into it. Cut one end of the prepared buttercream sausage and insert it into this large piping bag. Pipe some buttercream onto a baking paper to make sure all the colors are coming out properly together.

    Step Eight - Last frost the cupcakes as desired then serve and enjoy.

    rainbow cupcakes on wooden serving board

    How to store the cupcakes:

    Store these cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will last about 4 or 5 days in the fridge. Store any extra frosting in the fridge as well.

    Tips for making a great cupcake:

    1. Use room temperature ingredients: Room temperature ingredients will not cause any drastic temperature changes to your batter when mixing. Yes, you need to melt the butter, but allow it to cool to room temperature before you mix it in with the ingredients.
    2. Make sure to use accurate measurements: If you do not measure accurately and use a heaping "cup" of flour you will have too much, and your cupcakes will be dense and/or dry. One thing about this recipe is it is very simple to make but does need to be precise. Making a fluffy, moist cupcake is tough for a lot of people (including me), and using accurate measurements definitely helps!
    3. Allow to cool before icing: This may sound like a no-brainer, but icing these cupcakes that are still even a little warm will melt your frosting and make the frosting look runny. part of the appeal and deliciousness of cupcakes is how the frosting looks. Having beautiful frosting will make your mouth water before even tasting them!

    rainbow cupcakes on black plate.

    If you tried any of my recipes I would love to hear from you, leave me a comment below. You can also connect with me on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST. I would love for you to follow along and discover more amazing recipes.

    Show me what you are making, use hashtag #TDOARH


    Rainbow Cupcake

    Rainbow Cupcake

    Jennie Duncan
    These fun and colorful Rainbow Cupcakes are made with your favorite cupcake base with rainbow colored frosting to decorate with. These are so fun, and everyone will love them!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 15 mins
    Cook Time 18 mins
    Course Cupcakes, Dessert
    Cuisine American, Cupcakes, dessert
    Servings 12 cupcakes
    Calories 689 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Cupcakes:

    • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 2 eggs room temperature
    • â…” cup sugar
    • ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • ½ cup milk

    Frosting:

    • 2 cups unsalted butter (softened)
    • 5 cups powdered sugar
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
    • 6 colors food coloring (I used violet, orange, red, yellow, green, and blue)

    Instructions
     

    Cupcakes:

    • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with cupcake liners. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt then set aside.
    • Next use an electric mixer to beat eggs and sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes until eggs are a light yellow. Make sure to mix very slowly then pour in melted butter and vanilla extract.
    • Slowly mix in milk and your dry ingredients. Adding in a little at a time back and forth, scraping the sides as needed until all ingredients are well combined
    • FIll prepared muffin tin with batter about ¾ the way full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cupcakes are cooked through and a toothpick can come out clean. Place on a rack to cool completely before icing. 

    Frosting:

    • Cream the butter until it's light and creamy, add vanilla extract, and then powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. Beat until smooth and fluffy consistency (this could take 5-6 min). 
    • Once smooth divide your buttercream equally into 6 parts and add the food colors of your choice to each batch.
    • When adding food coloring start very small and add more as needed. More color will give you these bright shades of frosting as seen in the pictures, but you can go with lighter/pastel shades as well.
    • Add each color frosting to a separate piping bag. Take a large piece of cling wrap and pipe long strides of each color side by side making a rainbow.
    • Next, you want to carefully lift one side of the plastic wrap and roll it over the other side like a big sausage, keeping all the buttercream contained. Be careful not to put pressure on it.
    • Seal both the ends carefully by twisting both the ends of cling wrap.
    • Take a large piping bag and put an open star tip nozzle into it. Cut one end of the prepared buttercream sausage and insert it into this large piping bag. Pipe some buttercream onto a baking paper to make sure all the colors are coming out properly together.
    • Last frost the cupcakes as desired then serve and enjoy.

    Notes

    Baking Tip: For more fun, use a toothpick and add some food coloring to each cupcake. Color them for more Rainbow fun!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1cupcakeCalories: 689kcalCarbohydrates: 74gProtein: 3gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 27gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 70mgPotassium: 109mgFiber: 1gSugar: 61gVitamin A: 1356IUCalcium: 54mgIron: 1mg
    Keyword Rainbow Cupcakes
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

     

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    Hi, I'm Jennie! I'm a busy mom of three and I love cooking and sharing easy recipes. From slow cooker meals to casseroles all my recipes are simple to make and ones the entire family will love.

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