Tie-dye Cupcakes

A recent ad campaign for my guilty pleasure, Lilly Pulitzer says: "‎Beige is a bummer! Colorless is characterless! ... Bold colors will make you happy!" I couldn't agree more as our humble little college town is still deciding whether it is cheerful spring yet or cold winter. Unfortunately it's still leaning towards the latter and I was in need of a little color to distract me from the frozen tundra outside.

These served a double purpose as I had two interviews this morning (yes, on a Sunday) for two frosh orientation week leader teams. Part of the interview is where the applicant gets a chance to show their creativity to the interviewers and I baked these up to show the how the team has evolved these past years using team colours. In my book, using frosting and cupcakes to bribe your interviewers is always a good idea. 


I needed a white cake batter to work with and adapted this well received recipe from allrecipes. I was a bit skeptical as some reviewers said it was a little too dense for their liking. To overcome this, make sure you cream the butter, sugar and eggs very very well so that the batter stays nice and airy. Once the flour is added, mix sparingly so the gluten doesn't stick together and make your cupcakes tough and untasty.


Fresh out of the oven, they tasted like those yellow steamed sponge cakes, Mai Lai Go served at Dim Sum restaurants (but my burnt tastebuds could be wrong). By the next morning they had transformed into something a bit more like a sugar cookie.


Be colourful!
CollegeBakerGirl

Tie-dye Cupcakes
Yield: 12 cupcakes

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• food colouring (I used liquid but I hear gel would work better)
• your favorite frosting and sprinkles

1. Preset oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter and sugar very well. Beat in eggs one at a time and add vanilla.
3. Sprinkle with baking powder. Alternate between adding flour and milk, mix sparingly.
4. Separate batter into smaller bowls, one for each colour.
5. Add food colouring, once again mixing carefully.
6. Scoop batter into lined muffin tin until 3/4 full, alternating between desired colours.
7. Bake for 20-22 minutes and allow to cool before frosting.