Rainbow Cupcakes with airhead xtremes

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I know you guys love desserts, so I hope you will love these Rainbow Cupcakes topped with marshmallow clouds and airhead extreme candy.

I recently made these cupcakes for my daughter’s birthday.  The theme was My Little Pony, Unicorns and Rainbows. She couldn’t decide which one she wanted, so we went with all three.  After a little research I decided to make these rainbow cupcakes that were topped off with blue icing, an airhead extreme rainbow and marshmallow clouds.

You could also add sprinkles. I even topped one with a unicorn from My Little Pony.

What you need to make 18 cupcakes:

• 1 box of white or vanilla cake mix – follow the directions on the box except use egg whites only
• Airheads Xtreme Candy
• 1 small bag of mini marshmallows (I used about 3 mini marshmallows cut in half per cupcake)
• 1/2 tub Duncan Hines Classic Creamy Vanilla Frosting
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• Wilton Gel Food Color
• Vanilla Extract
• Sprinkle Decors of choice
• Optional: My Little Pony of choice

To make these I followed the directions on a box of vanilla cupcakes but using egg whites only.  Then once the batter was mixed through I evenly distributed the batter into 5 bowls.  Squeeze into each bowl one color of gel food colors (I used turquoise,orange,purple,yellow and pink to match the colors of the pony rainbow).You should have 5 bowls with 5 separate colors. Then begin layering the colors into a lined cupcake pan.  I took the easy way and just spooned the different colors on top of each other without being to concerned how evenly they were spread out. I used the back of a spoon (a wet spoon works best) after each layer to try and spread the color as much as possible. Personally, I didn’t care if the colors were evenly spaced so I didn’t spend too much time on the layering part. I used a decorative cupcake cup but that is optional of course. These liners are the Wilton Rainbow Dots Cupcake Liner.

TIP: Once the colors are mixed you can transfer each color into a separate freezer bag (1 for blue, 1 for yellow,etc..), push the batter to the bottom and twist the top closed – snip the tip of the bag just enough to get the batter out. You can then begin layering each color this way – I did not do this but love how easy it can make the layering process.  

When your done layering, give the cupcakes a little tap to let the batter settle and bake according to the package directions. Remove from oven when done and let cool completely.

You can use homemade blue buttercream to pipe onto the cupcakes or if you’re short on time you can make a semi-homemade version like I did:

• Take 1 stick of softened butter and about half a container of classic creamy vanilla frosting and whip it up with the hand blender or kitchenaid. Then gradually add about 2-3 tablespoons of powdered (confectioners) sugar.
• While that whips up carefully add a few drops of blue food coloring and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. I added a few drops (3 or so). You can add as much or as little until you reach your desired color.  I used the Wilton Gel Colors.
• Once the mixture was doubled in volume and the color thoroughly incorporated transfer to a piping bag (or ziplock bag with the end trimmed off). I used the star tip 22 that came with my Wilton Cupcake Decorating Set.

In the meantime cut into thirds the air head xtremes candy.  Then snip the marshmallows in half. I used about 3 mini marshmallows per cupcake. 6 halves in total.

Once the cupcakes have thoroughly cooled starting from the outside in, gently swirl the frosting onto each cupcake.  Then gently bend the candy and insert into the frosting.  Once set inside take the marshmallows and create clouds for each side. I used 3 halves per side.

Allow the frosting to set and voila!

Be creative – you can really have fun with these cupcakes …..

CREATIVE SIDE NOTE: I made the rainbow cupcakes for my daughters pre school class but  ran out of time to bake for her actual birthday party with friends and family. Initially, I started to panic but then called my local market the night before and ordered 30 plain vanilla cupcakes with sky blue frosting. I then embellished them with the rainbow and marshmallows at the venue  and placed them on a cake stand. They were just as impressive and saved me time to finish up on other party planning.  Sometimes being creative does mean things need to be made from scratch (in my opinion anyway).

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