Rainbow Cupcakes

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Why rainbow?  I don’t know.  I had a whole list of reasons of why I made these cupcakes:  it’s been raining this week, but now it’s sunny; I’ve had a really awesome Friday (got a financial hold taken off my student account, one of my classes was cancelled, and I got my first student paycheck totaling $454).  But when it comes down to it, I saw a picture of a rainbow cupcake a few months ago and I’ve been wanting to make one ever since.  There really isn’t any method to my madness. Sorry about that…

But when you consider how awesome these cupcakes are, it doesn’t matter that I’m totally crazy.  These are just plain old white cupcakes.  Let me preface this with a little disclaimer:  I’m not a huge fan of white cake.  Don’t get me wrong, I love cake.  But if I have a choice of chocolate or vanilla, I’m totally going for the chocolate.  BUT – these cupcakes are an exception to my rule.  Taken from “The Joy of Vegan Baking,” these cupcakes are AH-MAZINGLY yummy.

VANILLA CUPCAKES

• 1 1/2 tsp. Ener-G egg replacer
• 2 tbsp. water
• 1 3/4 c. nondairy milk (looking at the recipe now, I realized I did 1 1/4 cup instead of 1 3/4 cup – my cupcakes turned out great anyway, and I think the extra 1/2 cup might even have made my batter too runny)
• 1/2 c. water, divided
• 1/2 c. nondairy margarine, melted
• 1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract (I always eyeball, and I also added a splash of almond extract)
• 2 1/2 c. unbleached AP flour
• 2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375° F.  Prepare your cupcake tin.

Beat the egg replacer with 2 tbsp water until “smooth.” (Don’t ask me what that means, I just beat it for a minute or so)  Add the milk and 1/4 cup of the water.

In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and remaining 1/4 cup of water and beat to combine.  Add the dry ingredients and the milk mixture.  Beat until combined.

Now, let me give you the low-down of how to construct these cupcakes:  mix up the ingredients to make the batter, then divide it up equally between five small bowls or cups.  Add food coloring (I’m not going to dictate what colors, because I think we all know our colors, and I don’t want to put a damper on your creativity)  Then layer the colors in the cupcake liners.  I just bought a brand new mini cookie scoop, and that worked great, because it was quick and mostly mess-less.  Stick ’em in the oven, bake ’em for about 20 minutes (or exactly 20 minutes, if you’re me), then let cool and top off with some buttercream or cream cheese frosting.