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Rainbow Vanilla Cupcakes

Rainbow Vanilla Cupcakes are adorable multi-colored cupcakes colored with food coloring and topped with a sweet vanilla buttercream and some marshmallows for decor.
Prep Time25 minutes
Cook Time18 minutes
Total Time43 minutes
Course: Baking, Cupcakes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baking, Rainbow vanilla cupcakes, st. patrick's day cupcakes, vanilla cupcakes
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 488kcal
Author: NicholeL

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

  • 1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • food coloring

Frosting

  • 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Decorations

  • marshmallows from Lucky Charms cereal

Instructions

For the Cupcakes

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Then add in the eggs one at a time, followed by the sour cream and vanilla extract.
  • Slowly add the flour into the stand mixer until combined.
  • Divide batter into small cups, about ⅓ cup of batter in each one.
  • Add food coloring, about ⅛ teaspoon of each color into each bowl and mix until fully combined and no streaks of batter remain. Add more food coloring to reach the desired color if necessary.
  • Start with the purple food coloring and transfer it to a ziplock bag. Cut off a tiny bit of the corner and pipe the batter into the cupcake liner, around the edges, Gently spread into the center of the liner.
  • Repeat with the blue batter, then the green, then the orange, followed by the yellow and the red. Be careful not to mix the colors together.
  • Bake cupcakes for 15-18 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to let cool.

For the Frosting

  • Beat butter in the bowl of a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Then add in the powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time until combined.
  • Add in the vanilla, milk and salt.
  • Transfer the frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a large start tip. Pipe the frosting on the cupcakes.

To Decorate

  • Add marshmallows from cereal onto the frosting, along with sprinkles if desired.

Notes

Vanilla or yellow boxed cake mix can be used in place of homemade cupcakes. You'll need to double the amount of frosting and likely add a little more food coloring to each bowl of batter. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 488kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 97mg | Sodium: 262mg | Potassium: 51mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 813IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 1mg