End of the Rainbow St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes

Looking for an easy St. Patrick’s Day dessert that looks impressive but doesn’t take all night? Look no further. These end-of-the-rainbow cupcakes don’t require any special skills, and they’re sure to be a hit with your kids, at a St. Patrick’s Day party, or at a potluck.

Start by making your favourite white cupcake recipe, and add 1/4 cup of sprinkles to the batter for some extra rainbow fun. The sprinkles will dissolve, but you’ll be left with a cute rainbow touch to your cupcakes.

Easy Rainbow Icing Tutorial

Next, make a batch of buttercream icing (I’ll share the recipe down below) and divide it into three bowls. Use yellow, red, and blue gel food colouring for vibrant colours. If you’re going for more of a pastel look, the liquid colours give beautiful results too.

Next, take a piping bag and spoon in your colours 1 heaping teaspoon at a time, alternating colours as you go. Don’t worry about getting it perfect. That’s the fun of this method and what keeps it from getting too complicated.

This is what your piping bag should look like when you’re done. You can use any icing tip you like, but I like the large cupcake size for the best results.

Related: Naked Mini-Egg Ombre Cake

Ta-da! The Easiest St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes

Pipe the icing onto your cupcakes, and top them with a gold coin. I love how every cupcake ends up unique. The downside? Your kids may take FOREVER to pick out which rainbow cupcake is their favourite.

I’ve made these a couple of times for my music recitals, and they’re always the first thing to go. Will you give them a try? Let me know in the comments how it worked out for you, or pin the image at the bottom for later.

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End-of-the-Rainbow Cupcakes

Yield: 18 cupcakes

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

• your favourite white cake recipe
• 1/4 cup rainbow sprinkles
• 1 cup salted butter
• 4 cups icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3-9 tsp milk
• red, yellow, and blue food colouring

Instructions

1. Bake your favourite white cake recipe and add 1/4 cup sprinkles to the batter. Cool cupcakes.

2. To make the icing, combine vanilla, butter, and icing sugar and mix with a stand or handheld mixer until smooth. Add 3-9 tsp of milk if needed to reach desired consistency.

3. Separate icing into 3 bowls and add food colouring. Put in a piping bag one teaspoon at a time, alternating colours. Pipe on cupcakes. Put a gold coin on the top for some St. Patrick’s Day flair.