Rainbow Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Kelly Senyei
25
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81 Comments

Two words: rainbow cupcakes.
While the festive colors may have been what caught your eye, I guarantee it’s the sugar cookie-esque taste that will grab your taste buds’ attention. Cupcakes that taste like sugar cookies? Yes indeed!
These light, buttery, impossibly moist cupcakes star six layers of rainbow colors that bake up into a centerpiece-worthy treat perfect for birthdays, St. Patrick’s Day, and any other ordinary or extraordinary occasion in need of a little color and a whole lot of flavor.
Top off the treats with pillowy buttercream frosting or opt for tangy cream cheese frosting then complete your cupcake creations with a shower of rainbow sprinkles. And if you love these rainbow cupcakes and are looking for even more of a wow factor in a fraction of the time, don’t miss my quick-fix Rainbow Cake!
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Rainbow Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- Food coloring (red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple)
- Rainbow sprinkles
For the frosting:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- Equipment: Cupcake wrappers
Instructions
Make the cupcakes:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake tins with wrappers.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition then add the vanilla and mix until combined.
Alternately add the flour mixture and milk to the stand mixer in three increments each, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating between each addition. Divide the batter into six bowls then dye each with the red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple food coloring.
Spoon a portion of the purple batter into each cupcake cup, top it with the blue, then green, yellow, orange and red, careful not to mix any of the layers. (Alternately, transfer each color into sealable plastic bags and pipe the batter into the cups.) Bake the cupcakes for 15 to 18 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and transfer them to a rack to cool completely while you make the frosting.
Make the frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined then add half of the powdered sugar and continue beating until well combined.
Add the heavy cream and continue beating and then add the remaining powdered sugar and beat until the frosting is thick and creamy. (See Kelly's Notes.)
Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe or spread the frosting onto them then top with rainbow sprinkles and serve.
Kelly's Notes:
Beating the frosting in between each addition of the powdered sugar lightens the color of the frosting and will make it more white in color (rather than yellow).
If the frosting is too thin, add additional sifted powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time, or if it’s too thick, add additional heavy cream 1 teaspoon at a time until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.
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Recipe by Kelly Senyei of Just a Taste. Please do not reprint this recipe without my permission. If you'd like to feature this recipe on your site, please rewrite the method of preparation and link to this post as the original source.
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