Mommy Stewart: Rainbow Cupcakes

Here is my first attempted at making rainbow/layered cupcakes.

You can use the same concept to make a cake.

Ingredients:

Cake Mix (you perfect moms out there can make from scratch)

2 cans of frosting (same thing...if you're perfect make your own)

Icing coloring (I prefer over food coloring because you need less)

Optional - toppers, sprays, sprinkles, quins etc

Mix the cake mix per the box (or your dead grandmother's recipe, whatever) . . .

and yes, this pic was just to show off my amazing pink KitchenAid mixer

Separate the mix into as many bowls as different colors you plan on using. I only colored two of the bowls and left the third plain/yellow (yellow cake mix). Leaving white plain would have made for a great Fourth of July theme.

Dye the cake mix to your desired shade. I went with Wilton's No Taste Red (Wilton Icing Colors 1 Ounce Red (no Taste) W610-998; 6 Items/Order) and Wilton's Royal Blue (Wilton Royal Blue Icing Color). I needed just a tiny bit of the blue, but needed almost half the jar of red to get the right color. Beware of red! The dye can make your cake taste like crap because you need so much...so it is worth the money to buy flavorless/no taste red. 

Now comes the only tedious and slightly lame part. Layer the cake mix into cupcake liners or your cake pan one at a time. After each color gently shake the pan to even out the layer. Don't stir even a little unless you want a tie-dye look. To take this picture I did a few with one layer, a few with two and then a few with all three layers. Either way, don't be an idiot like me and pour in too much of your first layer forgetting that you will be adding two (or more) layers. Some of the cupcakes were massive and, of course, I ran out of one color well before I ran out of the others...oops.

Bake per the box or whatever.

And then you have a rainbow cupcake!

I like to frost mine with a sandwich bag instead of a knife. I think it looks nicer. However, it uses a lot more frosting to get the job done this way so plan accordingly. Shovel as much frosting as you can into a baggie then seal it shut. Just off a corner and squeeze it out while spinning it around (think self serve soft serve ice cream motion). When the frosting is out it is easiest to throw the bag away and start a new one (especially if you're a neat freak like myself). If you're more into saving the planet have fun trying to refill the same one and just remember I warned you! I finished mine off with some frosting spray paint junk. Not sure if I like it or not.

Eat and enjoy. And remember, with any craft, make sure you try something out a few weeks before you need it. I promise you won't have trouble trying to find someone to eat free cupcakes!!!