The thing I love most about these cupcakes is that each one is beautifully unique and colourful, just like each of us.
June is Pride Month, and what a fantastic month it is!
It's about celebrating the beauty and love in the lgbtq+ community, commemorating the Stonewall riots, and showcasing how each person is unique and powerful.
These wonderfully multicoloured cupcakes have been on my list for a long time. Who wants 1 colour when you can have 6?!
I decided to go full whack and make both the buttercream AND the sponge multicoloured! I honestly didn't have much of a plan for these, but I think that's what's so great about them. I just went for it with the colours and they turned out magically!
The recipe I used is based on my Butterfly Vanilla Cupcakes, so it's pretty much the simplest recipe you can get.
The different colours may look difficult but once you've got your bearings you'll be away with it and they'll turn up fantastically!
The beautiful thing about these cupcakes is that each one will turn out complexly individual - and I love that because we are all individual too.
For the multicoloured sponge I separated out the vanilla batter into 6 bowls and coloured each of them with gel food colouring. Start with a 1/4 of a tube and work up to more if you need it. Then, use a separate teaspoon for each colour and scoop a dollop into each cupcake case. It doesn't have to be in any particular order, but make sure you distribute the batter relatively evenly.
The buttercream requires a little more forethought, but once you know what you're doing it's easy enough! As with the sponge batter, separate the vanilla buttercream into 6 bowls and colour with gel food colour. I prefer gel over liquid as it maintains the consistency of your buttercream better.
Once you have all your colours, lay out a piece of clingfilm and spread a 1-inch-thick line of buttercream across, followed by the rest of the colours, making sure they touch. Then, using the cling film to help guide you (as you would with an arctic roll or chocolate log), roll up the buttercream and twist one end tight, ensuring the other end stays open. This is the end you now need to place into your piping bag first. Now you're ready to pipe the rainbow!
With the pandemic still with us, Pride parades and celebrations will still not be the usual parties they should be. I really missed not being at Pride last year, but I'm hopeful that soon I'll be back! This being said, if you can't party, why not bake instead?!
These cupcakes definitely are a party in your mouth! I'm definitely tempted to try these out with different flavours, but if you get there first, let me know what flavour you decided on and how they turned out!
Happy Pride!
Let's get Caking It.
Recipe
180C (170C fan)
Yield: 12 cupcakes
Prep: 15 mins
Bake: 18 mins
Assembly: 20 mins
Ingredients
Sponge
160g unsalted butter
160g caster sugar
4 medium eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
160g gluten free self-raising flour
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tbsp sour cream
x6 gel food colouring (I used pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue)
Frosting
150g unsalted butter
400g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Milk
x6 gel food colouring (I used pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue)
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Method: Sponge
Don't forget to wait until all the ingredients are room temperature before starting.
Preheat oven to 180C. Fill 12 muffin holes with cases.
With a fork, cream the butter until pale, then add the sugar and cream together until fully incorporated.
Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing with an electric whisk between each addition. Now add the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and xanthan gum with a fork, and then add this to the mixture, mixing until fully incorporated.
Spoon in the sour cream and fold until combined.
Separate the mixture into 6 bowls. I averaged about 2 tbsp of mix per bowl. Mix in a few drops of gel colour and add more until you get the desired colour you want.
Spoon a blob of each colour into each cupcake case and continue this until all the mixture is gone and until the batter looks evenly distributed. Gently smooth the mixture to get an even bake.
Let the mixture sit in the cases for 20 minutes before placing in an oven for 18 minutes. A skewer or toothpick inserted into the cupcakes should come out clean.
Method: Buttercream
This buttercream is based on my simple vanilla buttercream, but they definitely look anything but simple!
While the sponges are cooling, move onto the multicoloured vanilla buttercream.
Cream the butter until pale, and gradually add in the icing sugar until it is all incorporated. You can do this either with a standing mixer, an electric hand whisk, or a fork. At this point the mixture should be a little stiff.
Add the vanilla extract and mix.
Separate into 6 bowls and add a few drops of food colouring and 1/2 tsp of milk to each bowl. Mix until it is fully incorporated (no marble effect!) and add more colour if you want it deeper.
Assembly
Make sure the sponges are completely cool before topping with buttercream.
Spread a 1inch line of buttercream onto clingfilm from the bottom to 1/3 of the way up, and continue with the rest of the colours, making sure they touch. See the images above for reference. Roll up the buttercream, using the clingfilm to help you. Squeeze the top of the clingfilm and leave the bottom open, the put this into a piping bag, open side facing towards the piping nozzle.
Now simply pipe onto your cupcakes and it should produce a beautiful rainbow effect.
Enjoy!
