Somewhere Over The Rainbow Cupcakes

These are the best little rainbows you'll ever eat! They're worth the effort and are a lot of fun to make. They're definitely worth their weight in gold!!

Makes 2 dozen

The Recipe

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour                 2 1/4 cups sugar

2 t. baking powder                                        1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 t. salt                                                        1 cup skim milk

1 stick unsalted butter                                   8 large egg whites

1 cup unsweetened applesauce                       food coloring~red,
                                                                    yellow, green and blue       

     
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line two standard 12-cup muffin pans with white paper liners.  Into a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt (I love to use Redmond Realsalt sea salt, found at Target or your local health food store).  Set aside.

In a separate medium size bowl, beat together the butter (I like to use natural and organic unsalted butter, such as Tillamook-found at Walmart, and Archer Farms-found at Target), applesauce and 2 cups sugar (I like to use organic Florida Crystals brand sugar, found at Walmart), until light and fluffy.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Add flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and beginning and ending with the flour; mix until just combined.  Set aside.

In another clean medium size bowl, beat egg whites on low speed until foamy.  With the mixer on, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.  Do not over beat.  Gently fold a third of the egg-white mixture into the cupcake batter mixture until combined.  Gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Divide the batter by 1/2 cups into 6 separate bowls.  Add food coloring in each bowl making the colors of the rainbow-red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.

With a small cookie scoop, scoop a half-scoop of purple batter into the bottom of each muffin liner.  Rinse scoop, add blue on top of purple...green on top of blue...yellow on top of green...orange on top of yellow...red on top of orange, rinsing the scoop before each new color is added.  Liners should be about 3/4 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, and until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.  Move cupcakes to a cooling rack.

White Cloud Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup skim milk

1 T. natural or organic unsalted butter, softened

2 t. almond extract

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl, adding extra powdered sugar until desired consistency.  Frost each Rainbow with White Cloud Frosting.

Keep an eye on your pot of gold while eating this treat, leprechauns are very aware of how distractingly yummy these are!

My two-year old daughter, excited to eat her first rainbow!