Rainbow, Vanilla cupcakes...

 If there's something I'm weird about when it comes to baked goods or food in general it would have to be "Food colorants" I have yet to bake a Red Velvet cake and don't see what the fuzz is all about, I mean why the red coloring, why not just make it a "Cocoa" cake? I know there's plenty on natural food colorants out there but really colors in my food is just something I'm not comfortable with. I made these cupcakes for my kids but when I bit into one, O' my goodness I completely forgot all about the rainbow and finished it in no time. The colors I used were neon pink, purple, yellow and blue then I topped them with a basic buttercream frosting. Using yogurt and butter instead of oil and milk makes the batter a little thicker, making it perfect for these cupcakes. A runny batter will give you more of a tie dye effect...

Ingredients
1 1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
60 grams butter (room temperature)
1/3 cup plain thick yogurt
2 large eggs
food coloring
Sprinkles (optional)

Directions
Preheat your oven to 350* F, place a roasting pan on the bottom rack of the oven and fill halfway with boiling water. Line the cups of a standard (12-cup) cupcake tin with paper or foil liners. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift your flour, baking powder, salt, and cornstarch. Set aside. In a seperate bowl with an electric mixer beat the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy, add the eggs, vanilla, yogurt, and 2 tablespoons of the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Gently fold in the dry ingredients into the egg mix just until combined, making sure not to overmix the batter. Evenly divide the batter into 4 separate bowls, adding food coloring of your choice per bowl (1 to 2 drops should be enough, adjust the color to your liking). Using a separate tablespoon for each colored batter, gently place a doll up of each batter into your prepared pan. I did one cupcake at a time but it's much easier to start with one color for the entire 12 cup pan followed by the remaining colors. Once the cups are evenly filled, bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes 5 minutes in tin, then remove and cool completely on a rack before frosting.

Basic frosting
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
In a medium bowl, with an electric mixer, beat butter, confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until smooth. Mix in up to 1/2 cup more sugar or a few more teaspoons of milk as necessary to achieve a spreadable consistency. Makes enough for 12 cupcakes.

Yields 12 cupcakes...