Rainbow cupcakes are an easy St. Patrick’s Day recipe that can be whipped up just in time for dessert! Fresh baked cupcakes with homemade rainbow frosting and topped with a rainbow candy strip.
Rainbow Cupcakes
If you are looking for a simple cupcake to make as your St. Patrick’s Day dessert then you are going to love these rainbow cupcakes. They are easy to customize to the flavor cupcake you want, the frosting that you want and color the cupcakes different colors if you want to.
For St. Patrick’s Day our normal menu consists of corned beef and cabbage or Bangers and Mash, Irish Soda bread and a St. Patrick’s Day dessert. Dessert is my favorite part of St. Patrick’s Day dinner because I can have fun and get creative and end the day with a tasty treat. Of course the kids love having a tasty treat after our St. Patrick’s Day dinner just like every holiday.
Easy St. Patrick’s Day Dessert Recipes
- Lucky Charm Marshmallow treats
- Lucky Leprechaun Poop
- St. Patrick’s Day Marshmallow Pops
- Lucky Charm Cupcakes
- St.Patrick’s Chocolate Covered Pretzels
- Shamrock Shake
- Kiss Me I’m Irish cupcakes
- Bailey’s Irish Cream icing
- Irish Coffee Truffles
For these cupcakes I wanted them to be simple. I wanted them to be a cupcake that can be made last minute if need be. If you are running short on time and need a cupcake for St. Patrick’s Day dessert this is the best cupcake to make, you can bake them, let them cool and then only a few minutes is needed to decorate them. I think they work out perfectly!
Tips & Variations
Change the cupcake flavor.You can use just about any cupcake recipe that you want to. I personally prefer using a light cupcake so I can color it green with food coloring if I choose to. If you are wanting a white cupcake I suggest using bakery style vanilla cupcakes or almond cupcakes or the rainbow swirl cake but bake like cupcakes.
You can also use a boxed cake mix if you want to, but I do suggest you make you boxed caked mix taste like a bakery cake with the bakery cake mix trick to have an amazing cupcake.
Change up the Frosting Flavor. Since you will be making the frosting rainbow frosting you want to use a white frosting, vanilla buttercream, almond buttercream, marshmallow buttercream, whipped vanilla frosting and cream cheese frosting are the best white frostings to use. If you are making these cupcakes for adults, try making the Bailey’s buttercream frosting. If you are wanting a full rainbow cupcakes icing, be sure to check out our Unicorn Cupcakes.
Rainbow cake. If you want to make the cupcakes different colors then you can by adding food coloring to the cupcake batter.
Allow cupcakes to cool completely. Before frosting the cupcakes let them cool completely. If you frost cupcakes while they are still warm then the frosting will melt.
Do not over mix. Over mixing the batter will lead to having tough and flat cupcakes. When making these angel food cake cupcakes you have to be careful that you don’t over mix the batter when you are folding in the flour mixture. If you over-mix your angel food cake batter your cupcakes will turn out flat.
How to Store Cupcakes
It is best to store cupcakes in an airtight container on the counter. Cupcakes are best to be enjoyed with in 48 hours of making them. They won’t be bad to eat after 40 hours but they will start to dry out and not be as fresh.
Can Cupcakes be frozen?
Yes they can. You will want to freeze them without any frosting on them. Wrap them individually with plastic wrap and freeze on a baking sheet. Then once they are solid store in a zip close freezer bag. They will keep for up to 2 months when frozen.
To thaw, simply remove them from the freezer and defrost. Then frost as normal.
Rainbow Cupcakes Ingredients
- 24 Cupcakes
- 1 batch vanilla buttercream
- red, orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple gel food coloring
- 12 strips rainbow strip candy
Rainbow Cupcakes Supplies
- 2 pastry bags
- extra large star piping tip
- straight piping tip
- small paintbrush
How to Make Rainbow Cupcakes
Bake your cupcakes and let them cool.
While the cupcakes are cooling make your frosting of choice.
Cut the tip off of your pastry bag, add in an extra-large star piping tip to the bag.
On a plate put drops of food coloring, then using a paintbrush paint a line of each gel food coloring starting at the inside tip going halfway up the bag, making sure you are going in the color order of the rainbow.
Fill the piping bag with your buttercream saving roughly 1/5th of the frosting in the mixing bowl to use later. I like using the Easy Way to Fill a pastry bag., it makes things so much easier.
Pipe the buttercream in a swirl on each cupcake. If you have never frosted cupcakes with a the swirl, be sure to check out How to create an icing Swirl.
Cut the tip off the second pastry bag and add the straight piping tip. Fill the bag with buttercream.
Pipe three small circles on the side of the cupcake and three small circles to the top of the cupcakes.
Cut the rainbow strips in half. Stick one side of the candy into each of the small dots of buttercream to create a rainbow shape.
Kid Friendly Recipes
- Leprechaun Toast
- Rainbow Swirl Sugar Cookies
- Unicorn Hot Chocolate Bombs
- Funfetti Waffles
- Birthday Pancakes
- Unicorn Hot Chocolate
- Ice Cream Cupcakes
Rainbow Cupcakes
Material
- 2 pastry bags
- extra large star piping tip
- straight piping tip
- small paintbrush
Ingredients
- 24 Cupcakes
- 1 batch vanilla buttercream
- red orange, yellow, blue, green, and purple gel food coloring
- 12 strips rainbow strip candy
Instructions
- Bake the cupcakes and let them cool.
- While the cupcakes are cooling make your frosting of choice.
- Cut the tip off of the pastry bag, add in an extra-large star piping tip to the bag. Using the paintbrush paint a line of each gel food coloring starting at the inside tip going halfway up the bag, making sure you are going in the color order of the rainbow.
- Fill the bag with the buttercream. Pipe the buttercream in a swirl on each cupcake.
- Cut the tip off the second pastry bag and add the straight piping tip. Fill the bag with buttercream. Pipe three small circles on the side of the cupcake and three small circles to the top of the cupcakes.
- Cut the rainbow strips in half. Stick one side of the candy into each of the small dots of buttercream to create a rainbow shape.
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