Thursday, January 19, 2012

Rainbow Revue - Cupcakes and Whoopie Pies



When I started this blog 5 months ago one of the first things I attempted was rainbow cupcakes.  I had issues with the icing method I experimented with.  I painted stripes of color on the inside of a pastry bag and then filled it with white icing.  


What I hoped would happen was a colorful blend of icing when I piped the buttercream.  Instead, I had  spots of color running through mostly white icing.  I was not happy and have been wanting to try again.


So, my friend Amy joined me to give it another go.  To make it a bit different and more fun we mixed in neon colored gel dye, rather than the usual red, orange, yellow, etc.  Also, we used four colors instead of six.  This made it easier to prevent overfilling the cupcake liners.  We used the same method for the cupcakes as my original Rainbow Cupcake post, which you can find here.  

There was enough batter to make about three more cupcakes, but Amy had the idea to make Whoopie Pies with the extra.  We used a Whoopie Pie baking pan and she filled each cavity with several colors instead of just one.  They were adorable!


While the baked cakes were cooling, I mixed up a batch of vanilla buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream Icing

2 sticks of butter
4 cups of confectioner's sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-5 tablespoons half and half

Using a mixer, beat butter until it is fluffy.  Add 3 cups of sugar - one cup at a time - mixing until it's completely incorporated.  Add vanilla and half and half along with last cup of sugar and mix, adding more half and half until the icing is the desired consistency.

We decided to use the same four colors of the cupcakes for the icing.  I split the buttercream into four bowls and Amy added the gel dye.  When she was done mixing, I spooned a small amount of each color, one on top of the other, into a pastry bag.  The result was much closer to what I had in mind color-wise.  The colors did mix together in the bag creating some new shades, but I loved the finished cupcake!


After the cupcakes were frosted, we put a ring of icing on the base of a Whoopie Pie and capped it off.  We loved them, too!


I read about a THIRD method of making color swirl icing, which I'll try at another time.  In the meantime, I am really taken by these neon cakes.  They make me smile, and, hopefully, they'll do the same for you, too!




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23 comments:

  1. These are so much fun! I love the rainbow whoopie pies!! I have a recipe linky party & would love to have you join in sometime!
    cookingwithkaryn.blogspot.com
    Thanks!

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    1. Thanks, Karyn! I joined your linky party. :) For some reason I cannot add your badge to my site...it's coming up as a broken image. I appreciate you stopping by Life Is Sweets!!

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  2. Those look gorgeous and they look delicious. I'm a new follower.

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    1. Thank you so much, Cinthya! I had fun making them. :) Thanks for stopping by and following Life Is Sweets! I'll stop on over to your blog and check it out!

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  3. I just love all that color, these cupcakes are just awesome! Hope you are having a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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    1. Thank you very much, Miz Helen! I enjoy Fill Plate Thursday very much and look forward each week to the delicious items you choose. :) See you next week!

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  4. What cool cupcakes and whoopie pies! Thanks for sharing them at CAST PARTY WEDNESDAY! ---Sheryl---

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    1. You're welcome...I love Cast Party Wednesday! Thank you so much for hosting. :)

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  5. Wow, these are too fabulous Debbie!
    Thank you so much for linking up @ Inspire Me Fridays!

    I'll be featuring you in this week's party!

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    1. Thank you so much, Maria! I'm so excited!! You've made my day. :) Thanks for hosting Inspire Me Fridays!!

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  6. These are gorgeous! What a genius idea, to paint the bag with color. These would be perfect for my daughter's birthday party in a few weeks; it's a rainbow theme!

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    1. That sounds perfect, Dorothy! Let me know how the painting turns out. The Rainbow Cupcakes are so much fun! :)

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  7. Replies
    1. Thank you! We had a lot of fun making these and experimenting with color! Thanks for stopping by, please come again. :)

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  8. Those are just adorable! I love all the great colors.

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    1. Thank you, Tina! These are the kind of dessert that makes me smile!!

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  9. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I tried your recipe today. Lots of work and lots of fun! Like you said, trial and error - I overloaded my first batch as well.

    Couple of questions:

    1. How did you layer the batter from outside to inside so nicely?
    2. Which tip did you use for your icing decoration?
    3. I also struggle with getting different color icing out evenly. How did you achieve that?
    4. I found mixing the icing with color was the most difficult part for me. Did you have to melt the butter before mixing the color?

    Thank you!

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    1. Oh, it's so hard not to overload the liners when making these! I STILL do it! To answer your questions:

      1. We just spooned the colored batters on top of eachother, being careful not to spread the color, as that will cause the colors to blend. If you just spoon the layers on top of eachother they will spread on their own.
      2. I used a Wilton 1M tip for piping the buttercream.
      3. I spooned the 4 different colors of icing, one on top of the other, into the piping bag, rotating them repeating the layering until the bag was full.
      4. You should NOT melt the butter. Do you use an electric mixer to make the buttercream? I don't add the color until I have an entire batch of uncolored icing, then I divide it and color it.
      Hope this helps!

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  10. Wow - what yummy looking cupcakes/whoopie pies!! Hugs, Marie xx

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    1. Thanks, Marie! Your cards are just lovely!! You are very talented. :) Thanks for stopping by...come again soon! Deb

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  11. Could you PLEASE tell me where to get the Whoopie pie pan you used with the little waffle pattern! Too cute!
    Thank you

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  12. Hi there! Sorry for the delay in responding. The pan is not actually a Whoopie Pie pan, it's a Wilton Ice Cream Sandwich pan. You can find it at craft stores and definitely on Amazon.com. These are definitely fun to make - enjoy!!

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  13. Hi there! Thank you for sharing this recipe, I was just wondering if there's a substitute I can use for half and half. I live in an arab country and we dont have this product. Or do you have any other buttercream recipe that will have this same consistency?
    Thank you!

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