They Taste like Rainbows and Unicorns

It's funny how your perspective on things can change when you become a mom. Rainy days used to mean sleeping in late and reading a good book or watching a movie. Cupcakes used to be an easy treat for my husband to take to work for potlucks. Now, rainy days mean a bored 4 yr old, and cupcakes are the solution.

I've seen these rainbow cakes and cupcakes on pinterest and on various blogs. They are so pretty and I knew The Princess would adore them. She's pretty much in love with rainbows right now. This Rainbow in My Room light makes her beyond happy. (http://store.discovery.com/discovery-rainbow-in-my-room/detail.php?p=86190) Anyway, despite various posts claiming they were simple, I figured they would be way too involved for us to prepare successfully. The Princess loves mixing colors, but tends to go a bit overboard. Pretty much, I assumed the cupcakes would be brown. Fine for chocolate cake...not so much for a child expecting magic.

Last week it was raining, and she was bored. Plus, rain always brings the "will there be a rainbow?" question. And then, my husband who was away on business sent us a picture of a rainbow from his hotel room out of the blue. All signs were pointing to Rainbow cupcakes. Who am I to refuse? It was on.
She was super excited when we found a picture of the finished cupcakes online. I think there was a squeal involved. Maybe some hand clapping.

The ingredients were simple. Cake mix, and the ingredients called for to prepare ( mine called for butter, eggs, water), food coloring, and frosting of your choice. I think the colors would have been even more vibrant if I had used white cake mix, but we only had yellow on hand.

Mix up according to box directions and then separate batter into several bowls depending on how many colors you would like to use. Add food coloring to each bowl to achieve desired color. Online there are various methods for spooning batter into cupcake liners and I have seen cupcakes and cakes with perfectly proportioned stripes. I'm certain they did not prepare their lovely desserts with a 4 yr old. The Princess is more of a free form artist, so we took turns spooning dollops or "gollups" to create a marbled effect. Bake according to box instructions. We made 12 cupcakes and then used the remainder to make a cake. Really, more of a cake layer...so thin it baked in about 8 minutes.

While they were baking she wondered what they would taste like and asked if we could pretend the sprinkles were fairy dust. I let her decorate the "cake" herself because I was just dying to clean up a mess. This cake is ready to fly right out of the kitchen because she upended the whole jar of "fairy dust" on top.

Pretty.

I am so glad we made these. They were simple and fun and perfect for a rainy day. We ended up creating a tye dye cupcake, but apparently they retained their rainbow magic. When I asked her what they tasted like she said "rainbows and unicorns." Priceless.

One suggestion though...make sure you throw out the wrappers before your kids see them!!! Mine was determined to save them and I am so happy I caught her in the hoarding act. Gross. But I get it, they really are kinda pretty.

Bryn