Rainbow Cupcakes

(recipe from Mindika Moments)

These are my new favorite cupcakes.  I love how vibrant the colors turn out!  Brandon loves how moist (I know I hate that word as well) they always turn out.  And anything that starts with a cake mix, you know I'm game.

CREAM CHEESE VANILLA CUPCAKES
8 ounces cream cheese (about 1 cup), softened
2 egg whites
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 box white cake mix
1 cup water
1 t. vanilla

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12 count muffin tins with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, egg whites and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and creamy.
3. Add the cake mix, water and vanilla and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes.
4. Fill the muffin cups to just below the rim and bake until puffed and golden, about 18 to 20 minutes.
5. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly in the tin then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack.
6. When cook, frost with vanilla butter cream frosting (recipe below) or your favorite frosting.

If you want to do the fun colors.  After making the cake mix, separate the batter into as many bowls as you want colors.  If you want the colors to be vibrant, you can't use just regular food coloring.  Go get some of the Wilton icing color that comes in the little containers.  It's really thick, almost like a paste.  Add the paste to the batter until you get the desired color, repeat with remaining colors.  Pour each color of the cake mix into either a pastry bag or ziploc bag with end snipped off.  Squeeze one color into a corner of the cupcake liner, go through and do that one color throughout the other liners.  Then grab your next color and squirt into another area of the liners.  Continue with other colors.

VANILLA BUTTER CREAM FROSTING

1 C. butter softened (2 sticks)

2 lb. powdered sugar

1/4 + C. milk

1-2 t. vanilla

1. In a mixing bowl combine the butter, vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix, starting slow, until somewhat combined.

2. Start by adding 1/4 C. milk and mix. Slowly add more milk, one or two tablespoons at a time, until the frosting reaches your desired consistency.

 

I personally like to use my cream cheese frosting on these cupcakes...but that's just because I love it so.  There are so many fun things you can use these for, holiday colors, school colors, kids favorite colors, wedding colors....so many possibilities.  Have fun!