Radiant Rainbow Cupcakes

Rainbow cupcakes are one of my favourite types of cupcake to make, they take a bit more time to prepare but they look so cute once baked that the extra effort is worth it.

You will need :

• 4oz Caster Sugar
• 4oz Butter (preferably 'Stork' baking butter)
• 4oz Self Raising Flour
• 2 Medium Eggs
• 1tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1tbsp Milk
• Red, blue, green and yellow food colouring

To make the cakes :

1. Preheat the oven at 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4.
2. Line a muffin tray with cupcake cases.
3. Cream together the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Beat the 2 eggs into a measuring jug and pour the eggs into the butter/sugar mixture a small amount at a time - make sure the egg is fully beaten in each time you pour it.
5. Stir in the vanilla extract.
6. Use a sieve to cover the mixture with the flour.
7. Once the flour is in use a large metal spoon to carefully fold flour into the mixture, once the mixture has started to stick add the tbsp of milk.
8. Keep folding the mixture until smooth
9. Divide the mixture into 4 tubs
10. Add food colouring to each of the tubs of mixture, adding enough colouring to make it a vibrant colour.
11. Place a single colour in each of the cupcake cases, then add the next colour on top of the previous colour and again with the next two colours until you have 4 layers of colours in each case. Alternatively use a piping set filled with the different mixtures and pipe the colours in - this works slightly easier when layering. 
12. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, test with a cocktail stick, if it comes out clean they are done!
13. Leave them to rest in the tin for 10 minutes while they cool then transfer to a cooling rack.

For the icing you can use a variety of different techniques, the one pictured above is a simple buttercream and the rainbow on top was made using a knife to cut out the centre of the cupcake - the same way as the butterfly cupcakes are made. 

Adding a colour to the buttercream different to the colours already in the cake and placing some cute edible decorations on top looks cute when removed from their cases.

Using a piping set with the buttercream to completely cover the top of the cakes gives people a little surprise when it comes to peeling the case off to reveal the hidden rainbows.

For the buttercream you will need :

• 5oz Butter
• 10oz Icing Sugar
• Caster Sugar (Usually 10oz but add to your taste)

To make the buttercream :

1. Beat the butter until soft.
2. Add the icing sugar and carefully fold it in mixing carefully.
3. If the mixture is a bit dry add a small dash of milk.
4. Finally add the caster sugar, the more you add the sweeter and more textured it will be. Add any left over food colouring if you would like a coloured topping.