So, I didn't write much last week because I was too busy celebrating my birthday! And just as all birthdays (or birth-weeks) should be, mine was filled with awesome food, family, friends, music, hugs and laughter. I don't have photos of any of the meals I ate, but I did make sure to photograph the heck out of these rainbow cupcakes I baked to share at a birthday gathering. I have made rainbow cupcakes before, but the ones I made this time turned out to be more like psychedelic tie-die love bombs. Delicious love bombs.
I don't know why the different colors got so mixed together as they were baking, rather than staying in neat layers but I kind of like it better this way. Each one is unique! And I love how the insides are breaking through the tops, exposing the bright blues and greens underneath. Trippy!
For the cupcake recipe, I used the one from Vegweb.com entitled 'Favorite White/Yellow Cake.' I saw that several other people had used this recipe to make rainbow cupcakes, so I figured I would give it a go. And I'm so glad I did. These cupcakes were deliciously soft, sweet, and spongy, and as far as I can tell, they were a hit at my bday gathering of omnis.
Here is the 'Favorite White/Yellow Cake' recipe from VegWeb.com, adapted with instructions for making these psychedelic cupcakes:
{ Ingredients }
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar (I reduced the sugar a tad)
1/2 cup canola oil (I replaced about 1-2 Tbs with applesauce)
1 cup icy cold water
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons lemon juice
{ Method }
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Grease an 8 or 9 inch cake pan. (or fill muffin pan with cupcake liners)
3. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a bowl until very light and airy..about 3 times. (I just sifted once, and it seemed to work out fine for me)
4. In a small bowl combine oil, cold water and vanilla.
5. Add liquid ingredients (except lemon juice) to dry and combine.
6. Once the batter is combined, add the lemon juice and stir quickly, then pour into prepared pan. (If you're making rainbow cupcakes, separate the batter into smaller bowls, and mix each with different food coloring. Then pour into the cupcake liners, one color at a time.)
7. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cake tests done with toothpick. (I baked my cupcakes for about 18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick came out clean)
Makes: 1 8-inch or 9-inch cake (or 12 cupcakes)
Feel the rainbow. Taste the rainbow.
I also can't get over how cool the paper cupcake liners look after being peeled off. It's just like tie-die! This makes me want to have a 70's themed dress-up party and bake these again.
Anywayyy, I had a lovely week, and I'm very thankful for all the birthday wishes I got, and for those who came out to celebrate me getting older (and hopefully wiser). Here's to another year of compassionate living, love, peace, joy, and all that jazz. ;)
PS. The kickass utensils in these pictures were a birthday gift from one of my friends. They are sooo adorable, I can hardly stand it. I'm sure you will be seeing these in all my future food photos!