Rainbow cupcakes

Ingredients

• 300 g plain flour
• 220 g caster sugar
• 2¼ tsp baking powder
• 100 g butter, at room temperature
• 180 ml milk
• 2 eggs
• 125 ml vegetable oil
• 1½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• Pink, purple, yellow, blue and green food colouring (or other colours)
• 90 g coloured sprinkles

Icing

• 250 g unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tsp bubble gum flavoured essence
• 1 tsp pink, purple, yellow, green food colouring
• ½ tsp blue food colouring

Cooling time: 1 hour.

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases
2. Place flour, sugar, a pinch of salt and baking powder into an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Add in the softened butter and beat on low speed till it crumbles into breadcrumbs
3. Whisk together milk, eggs, oil and vanilla paste in a medium bowl. Pour into the flour mixture gradually on slow speed than gradually increase it to medium speed and whisk until all ingredients have combined together well. Ensure to scrape down the sides.
4. Once all combined evenly divide the mixtures into 5 bowls. Colour each bowl with food colouring. Divide the mixtures into 5 separate piping bags. Pipe alternative coloured mixture into cases until ¾ full.
5. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until the skewer inserted into the centre and comes out clear out. Then remove and allow cool down on wire rack
6. When cool, push an apple core remover half way through the centre of each cupcake. Disregard (or eat) the removed pieces. Fill the centre with the sprinkles to the top.
7. For the icing, using an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter in the bowl till pale. Gradually add in the icing sugar mixture and milk, beating constantly until combined. Add in the essence for flavouring.
8. Divide the butter cream into 5 small bowls; add in the colour into each one and mix well. Transfer the buttercreams into 5 different piping bags.
9. Place down a 30 cm piece of cling wrap. Pipe 20cm lengths of the buttercreams, close together, leaving 5 cm clear of cling wrap clear on each side. Roll plastic wrap up from the long side to create a log. Twist both ends to enclose. snip one end off the log. Make one more log.
10. Place in a piping bag into a star nozzle and circular motion upwards to ice the cupcakes. Decorate with extra sprinkles, if desired.