Inspired by unicorns? These magical morsels are so fun to frost and decorate. These are a great birthday party idea with colorful, “over the rainbow” swirls in each one! This is the easiest dessert ever!

Colorful Cupcakes

  • So easy to make, any day can be a celebration! Pick team colors and bake for game day or the holidays.
  • It doesn’t get any easier than a box of cake mix and food coloring! No need to buy the pricey brand, either.
  • Make them as mini cupcakes for halftime, playtime, or game time. So many ways to decorate!
  • A great starter recipe for little bakers and artists.

Ingredients and Variations

CAKE MIX: A vanilla cake mix provides the ideal canvas for rainbow cupcakes, but a yellow cake or a red velvet cake will produce dramatic results, too! And of course, you can always make cake batter from scratch!

FOOD COLORS and MIX-INS: Keep a variety of food colors or gel for swirling. Fun mix-ins are white chocolate chips, mini M&M’s, butterscotch or toffee pieces, toasted coconut, and dried cherries.

TOPPERS: Ice rainbow cupcakes with any color that calls to the artist! Non-pareils, jimmies, chopped peanuts, crushed Oreo cookies, even sugar wafers can be added to the top. Anything goes!

How to Make Rainbow Cupcakes

Fun, bright and colorful cupcakes like these make any birthday celebration a blast!

  • Prepare cake batter & divide equally into one bowl for each color. Keep one bowl of plain white batter.
  • Mix food coloring into each bowl.
  • Place white batter in each cupcake liner & then add scoops of colored batter, per recipe below.
  • Bake until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.
  • Serve warm or allow to cool. Frost & decorate as desired.

To Frost or Not to Frost?

Rainbow cupcakes can stand on their own. Unfrosted, they can be easily transported in a covered container or a zippered bag for a fun treat to a classroom or the playing field! Or frost with a Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, or Fresh Lemon Buttercream Frosting. Or just use a ready-made cream frosting and mix in a variety of colors.

Tips & Tricks

  • Divide frosting into small bowls and tint with food coloring or gel. Scoop into small sandwich bags and snip off a corner to use for piping frosting on cupcakes. Prepare bags of colored frosting in advance so they’re ready for action!
  • For extra fluffy cupcakes, add an extra egg to the cake mix.
  • To make boxed cake batter taste homemade, follow these tips!

Crazy for Cupcakes

  • Grandpa’s Banana Cupcakes – a family recipe
  • Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes – kids love these, too!
  • Carrot Cake Cupcakes – top with cream cheese frosting
  • Coconut Cupcakes – full of tropical flavors

Did everyone rave about these Rainbow Cupcakes? Be sure to leave us a rating and a comment below! 

Fun and Easy Rainbow Cupcakes!

Nutrition Information

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

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