Rainbow Cupcakes

By srumbel

These Rainbow Cupcakes are made with a simple boxed white cake mix, colored, and layered to make a rainbow, with whipped cream cheese frosting on top!
from dessertnowdinnerlater.com

Ingredients

• 1 (15.25oz) box white cake mix (I like Pillsbury)
• Ingredients for cake mix as stated on box (Use only egg whites if that is an option. My box said 1 1/4 cup water, 1/3 cup oil, 4 egg whites.)
• Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Purple Food Coloring/Gel
• 1 recipe The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting
• 1/2 (8oz) tub whipped topping (Cool Whip)
• Rainbow Sequins/Celebration Confetti/Rainbow Sprinkles

Preparation

Step 1

Prepare cake mix according to directions on the box (do the egg whites version over whole eggs, if there are two options), then divide the batter evenly into 6 bowls.
Using food coloring or paste, mix these 6 colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
Prepare cupcake pan(s) with 18 paper liners.
Put each batter into a zip-top sandwich bag and cut off one corner to pipe with. It’s best if you cut one bag at a time, so the cake mix doesn’t spill out as you layer the batter.
Squeeze the colored batters, one at a time, into the paper liners in the order the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple. Smooth each layer of batter with your finger, getting as close to the edges as possible. *TIP: Do all the red batter first, then all the orange, etc.
Once all the layers are finished, bake the cupcakes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 11 to 13 minutes. Baking them at a higher temperature forces the cake to grow upwards and bake quicker, so it doesn’t have time to spill over the top and get sunken in the middle.
Prepare The BEST Cream Cheese Frosting. Beat in half of an 8oz tub of whipped topping with a handheld electrical mixer. Fit a piping bag with a coupler (no tip or band) and then fill the bag with the frosting.
Pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake from the outside in towards the middle. Sprinkle with rainbow sequins. (*Store cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 4 or 5 days.)

Notes
*Optional: To save time, spoon the colored batters into the cupcake liners instead of squeezing the batter from bags, and spread each layer of batter with your finger.

Yield: 18 cupcakes