Hidden Rainbow Cupcakes
Wrapped up in the most nostalgic of white cake flavors, is a cupcake with a hidden, magical surprise.
Servings 12 cupcakes
Equipment
- small ring mold see notes for a link
Ingredients
Double Vanilla Cake & Mini Rainbow Bundt
- 260g or 2 cups cake flour
- 113g or 1/2 cup butter unsalted and at room temperature
- 60g or 1/3 cup coconut oil refined
- 210g or 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 4 large egg whites
- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 240g or 1 cup buttermilk
Double Vanilla Buttercream
- 226g or 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon imitation vanilla
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 400g or 3 cups organic powdered sugar sifted
- 1-2 tablespoons milk buttermilk, or heavy cream
Instructions
Make the batter:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer beat together the butter, sugar, cake flour, coconut oil, vanillas, salt, baking powder and baking soda.The mixture should be sandy looking, all the oils coating the flour.
- Add the egg whites, one at a time, beating between each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Turn the mixer to low and pour in the buttermilk while it’s running. Turn speed to medium and let beat until well mixed, shouldn't take more than a minute.
Make the small rainbow bundt:
- Butter and flour the small ring mold.
- Into five small bowls add 2 tablespoons batter. Color each bowl to your liking. For the red I like to add another tablespoon of batter because it is the base.
- In the 5” ring mold, spread the top color of your rainbow (so, red) around the bottom of the mold - try to get it to go up the sides a bit to get a better arch. Then spread the orange but leave a little bit of red border on either side. Follow with each color, the width of the circle should get smaller and smaller, so you can see each color on the side at the end with the purple. After the purple do a ring of plain white batter in the center of the purple.
- Bake the small cake for 12-15 minutes at 350. When it is done, allow it to cool for a few minutes in the pan then invert it onto a cooling rack. To speed up the cooling period, place it in the freezer. You don’t want to slice it while it is warm otherwise you won’t get clean cuts. Once it is completely cool and firm, cut it into 1/2 inch slices.
Make the cupcakes:
- Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners. Into the bottom of each cup, smear just a bit of batter, about a half tablespoon. Place your little rainbows in the center of the cups. I do this so they are all facing the same direction, that way when I want to slice them to reveal the rainbow, I know which way to cut. You can also make little markers in the cupcake liners to guide you.
- Over the little cake rainbow, pour white batter. Get the batter all around and above the rainbow. The cups should be about 2/3 full.
- Bake the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, check for doneness by pressing the top gently to see if it feels dry. You might see some of the arch peeking out at the top of the cupcake, it's ok! Let cool completely.
Make the buttercream:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter with the vanillas and salt for about 5 minutes, until the butter is light and fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and beat until combined, about 3 minutes. Add the buttermilk and beat to just combine.
- Pipe or spread the buttercream.
- To slice in half to reveal the rainbow, first chill the cupcakes fully - either in the fridge for 30 minutes or 10 minutes in the freezer. Use your marker to guide the knife to slice in half.
Video
Notes
Makes: 12 cupcakes. Takes: 2 hours, plus cooling time