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CakeFYI is here to show you how to make bright, bold, beautiful rainbow cupcakes...

As spring is upon us, and bright colors are beginning to pop, it’s time to add some color to your desserts! You’ve probably seen the infamous layered rainbow cakes filling up your Pinterest feed, but what about rainbow cupcakes? These cupcakes, inspired by those layered rainbow cakes, will serve as the ultimate pop of color at your next event. Starting with a basic white cupcake batter, they’re incredibly easy to make. Use any color combinations you like to make your own unique dessert.

Ultimate Rainbow Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cup Butter, softened
• 1 1/4 Cup Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/4 Cups Flour
• 1 3/4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 3/4 Cup Milk

 

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in the eggs one at a time, and then add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the milk and mix well.

Add another third of the flour, mix, and then add the remaining milk.

Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed.

Separate the batter into 6 bowls or cups. You’ll want about 1/2 cup of batter in each. I like to use paper cups for easy clean up!

Color each cup of batter a separate color, from red to violet. I used Wilton gel food coloring, but you can use any food coloring of your choice.

Add one tablespoon of violet batter to each cupcake well. Then add the blue, the green, and so on.

You’ll finish with the red.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden. Set aside to cool before icing.

Basic Buttercream Icing

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Butter, softened 3-3 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar> 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract 1 Tablespoon Milk

Beat the butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.

Add the vanilla and milk and continue beating.

Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Using the same method as above, separate the icing into bowls or cups. This time, I only used 4 colors, but you can certainly use all 6!

Color each cup of icing a separate color. I used violet, green, blue, and yellow.

Prepare a piping bag with your favorite icing tip. To make the swirled color effect, simply alternate colors while filling the bag. Do one scoop of violet, one of green, and so on. Beat the butter and a 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar.

Add the vanilla and milk and continue beating.

Continue to add powdered sugar until you reach your desired consistency.

Using the same method as above, separate the icing into bowls or cups. This time, I only used 4 colors, but you can certainly use all 6!

Color each cup of icing a separate color. I used violet, green, blue, and yellow.

Using slight pressure, pipe thick swirls of icing on top of your cupcakes.

 

Thanks Molly, they're gorgeous! To learn more about Molly check her out at CakeFYI.

I've been talking about my chocolate soufflé for a while, so I'm finally posting the recipe.

My main takeaway from making chocolate soufflé, is that it's no way near as hard as people say. The main thing to remember is not to get any egg yolk in your egg whites. Otherwise, it's pretty simple.

CHOCOLATE SOUFFLÉ

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 oz. dark chocolate (I used 70% cocoa content)
• 3 egg yolks
• 6 egg whites
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
• Powdered sugar for dusting
• 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar to coat the ramekins

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Grease four 3 1/2 inch ramekins with butter. Pour a couple of teaspoons of granulated sugar into each ramekin, cover with saran wrap, and toss to coat the inside. Spill out the remaining sugar. Put the ramekins in the refrigerator until you are ready to add the soufflé mixture.

Melt chocolate in a bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, or you carefully microwave it on medium at 30 second intervals until it is melted. Stir occasionally until smooth.

Beat the yolks until creamy in a separate bowl. Remove the chocolate from from the heat and mix in the yolks.

In a separate bowl, use a mixer to whip the egg whites, salt, and cream of tartar until it starts to foam up (soft peaks). Add the 5 tablespoons of granulated sugar, and continue to mix on high until it it is glossy and firm (hard peaks).

With a spatula, thoroughly mix about 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate. Now very gently, fold in the remaining egg whites into the chocolate sauce in three batches. Keep it as foamy and light as you can.

Spoon the mixture into the ramekins. If you want more of a "hat" top (see our cheese soufflé recipe), you can fill to the rim, then run your finger around the inside edge of the ramekin.

Bake for about 12 minutes, then quickly and without jarring the soufflés, remove them from the oven and dust with some powdered sugar.

Serve quickly because they will start to collapse a little after a minute or so (this is just what happens to soufflés), plus they are so stinkin' awesome when they're hot.

Just looking at these photos makes me want to bake another!

How great would these navy and red graduation printables look dressing up your graduation party this year!  Michelle at Printabelle designed them for us and I think they're fantastic!

The collection includes: invitations, party circles, large party circles, banner, mini candy bar wrappers, welcome sign, thank you and menu/place cards and water bottle labels.

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION FILES FOR PRINTING HERE:

• Free graduation party printables
• Free graduation banner

Take a look at the whole collection..

And here are the individual files...

Thanks, Michelle, I think this collection is so fun! And remember, if you’d like any of these printables personalized, Michelle will do it for $3 per file! To learn more about Michelle and see all the printable collections, head to Printabelle and the Printabelle Facebook page.

Also, for more inspiration, check out these amazing graduation parties on our site.

If you are thinking of celebrating Cinco de Mayo this year, how about doing in style! Check out this collection of free Cinco de Mayo printables Jennie at Go Brand Yourself designed. I love the modern vibe.

The collection includes: 2" and 4" party circles, buffet tags, and water bottle labels.

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION FILES FOR PRINTING HERE

 

Thanks, Jennie, for letting us give these festive printables away!

To learn more about Jennie and Go Brand Yourself, check out her Etsy Shop, and follow her on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter.

Molly Allen from CakeFYI is back with an awesome dessert for Mother's Day... chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes! Big yum from me on this one, Molly!!

When it comes to dessert, there’s nothing more elegant than chocolate covered strawberries. From Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day, chocolate covered strawberries are the perfect treat to show your love. Why not take it to a whole new level with chocolate covered strawberry cupcakes? These are sweet strawberry cupcakes topped with chocolate glaze and decked with a homemade chocolate covered strawberry!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Butter
• 1 1/4 C Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 1/4 C Flour
• 1 3/4 Tsp Baking Powder
• 1/4 Tsp Salt
• 1/2 C Pureed Strawberries

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.

Beat in eggs one at a time. Then add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until incorporated.

Add half of the pureed strawberries and mix well.

Add another third of the flour mixture, mix, and then add the remaining pureed strawberries. Add the remaining flour and continue beating until well mixed. Using a measuring cup, pour batter into a lined or greased cupcake pan.

Bake for 16-18 minutes until golden.

While cupcakes are cooling, make the Chocolate Covered Strawberries!

 

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Makes 12 chocolate covered strawberries

Ingredients:

• 12 Fresh Strawberries
• 2 C Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 Tbsp Butter

Directions:

Wash the strawberries and dry them well with a paper towel. Place them on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Microwave chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Once melted, stir in the butter until smooth.

Holding the stem, dip each strawberry in the melted chocolate. Swirl the strawberry to remove any excess chocolate.

Place the chocolate covered strawberries on the prepared baking sheet. Refrigerate until chocolate hardens, about half an hour.

While Chocolate Covered Strawberries are hardening, prepare the Chocolate Glaze.

 

Chocolate Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1/2 C Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 Tbsp Butter
• 1 1/2 C Powdered Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Milk

Directions:

Microwave chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, stopping to stir every 30 seconds. Once melted, stir in the butter until smooth.

Combine melted chocolate, powdered sugar, and milk and whisk well.

Assembly:

Once cupcakes have cooled, use a spoon to smooth Chocolate Glaze over top. Drizzle with additional melted chocolate, if desired. Top each cupcake with one Chocolate Covered Strawberry.

Thanks Molly, for the delicious Mother's Day treat! To learn more about Molly check her out at CakeFYI.

For more Mother's Day ideas, check out these amazing Mother's Day parties on our site and our Mother's Day free printables!

As promised, my 4 favorite parties of the week. Here's a fun and girly indoor camping party, a beautiful Dora mermaid birthday, a very cool Minecraft party, and a super sweet Very Hungry Caterpillar baby shower. Enjoy!

Clockwise from top left:

• Beth K's Camp Delaney
• Just Image It's Aliyah's 3rd Birthday Under the Sea Adventure featuring Mermaid Dora
• Sunny D's Minecraft Inspired Party
• Anna E's Jeniffer & Jeremy's Baby Shower

Let's see what gets added this week. Can't wait!

Here are some fun posts I did for Spoonful this week...

Gender Reveal parties are a popular (and very fun!) baby shower theme right now. Cinco de Mayo will be here soon. See how to throw a Fantastic Fiesta! Big straw hats and red roses are only part of the festivities at a Kentucky Derby party.

For more party planning inspiration, check out all my posts on Spoonful!

Can you believe the school year is almost over? Well, for those of you planning graduation parties, wait until you see this collegiate collection of 2013 graduation party printables designed by Shana of Unlimited Party Themes!

This collection is loaded with everything you'll need for your upcoming party: "Congrats Grad" banner, pennant flags and banner, bottle wraps, large and small candy wraps, Hershey Kiss stickers, cupcake wraps, party flags, favor boxes, food labels, party circles, 8x10 welcome sign.

Plus there is an editable invitation. Just open it in Adobe Reader and edit the highlighted fields. Your invitations will look fantastic!!

DOWNLOAD THE HIGH RESOLUTION FILES FOR PRINTING

• 2013 graduation party printables
• Editable invitation
• "Congrats Grad" printable banner

Thank you, Shana, for this complete (and then some) collection of printables! To learn more about Unlimited Party Themes, please check out their blog and visit them on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

I'm so excited to share this video, because if you watch it, you might notice I'M IN IT!

A few weeks ago, I headed down to LA to be part of a Sauza Tequila video shoot with Jennifer Sbranti from Hostess with the Mostess, Candice Kahn from Fashionably Organized, Jenny Wu from Good, Bad, and Fab, Christi Johnstone from Love from the Oven, and Marisa Guerrero from Margaritas in the Rain.

I was nervous about it. It just seemed weird to pretend I'm having a Cinco de Mayo ladies night in a rented house with a bunch of women I don't know. My daughter even made me this sign back at the hotel to give me strength.

But then I got there, and I met the women, and we started hanging out...

If you've ever been to a video shoot, you know how long they take. We got there at 2:00pm and weren't going to be finished until 10:0pm. So what did we do to fill the time?

We chatted about our lives, our families, our kids, our blogs, our husbands. We talked about food and fashion and business. We got our hair and makeup done, took photos of each other and posted them on Instagram. We ate a ton (a real dinner and a staged dinner and we ate them both). And we even almost froze to death because it was 50 degrees outside when we shot the last outdoor scenes.

But the truth was, it turned out to be a blast!

You see, I spend so much of my time at home alone in my sweatpants in front of my computer, and people in my everyday life don't quite understand what I do. So to hang out for a day with these interesting women who know exactly what I do because they're doing the same thing, made me feel like I belonged. It was an instant bond!

Thanks Sauza Tequila, because by the end of the night, we really were girlfriends at a Cinco de Mayo party enjoying delicious margaritas (recipe at the bottom of the post) in an awesome house with a great view of LA. And I was so glad I did it!

SOME PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS...

Here's the insane house with the swimming pool in the living room, no joke.

Jenn and me posing for the camera.

The gorgeous dinner table. It really did look like a fiesta!

Candice, Christi, and Jenny goofing off between shots.

Marisa pouring more yummy margaritas. This will definitely be my go-to margarita recipe from now on. It has beer in it!

And here we all are posting photos and then commenting on them. Thanks, ladies, for the good times!

SAUZA-RITA RECIPE

• 1 can Sauza® Blue Silver 100% Agave Tequila*
• 1 bottle light beer
• 1 can frozen limeade
• 1 can water

He's equally talented in the saving of lives and the ways of love. And best of all? He's ready to pour you a Sauza-rita, and listen as you pour out your feelings. This perfect man is perfectly prepared to help make your ladies night unforgettably fun - with Sauza Blue, of course. Check us out at http://facebook.com/SauzaMargaritas.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Sauza® via Glam Media.  The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Sauza®.

I'm so excited to be part of this giveaway sponsored by Familiar, a free and private way to share your photos with your family.

If you're looking for an easy way to share photos with family members (especially grandparents who aren't very tech-savvy), or if you want to share photos privately instead of blasted across Facebook, Familiar might be the perfect site for you.

It turns the screens you already have into picture frames, allowing you to see family photos no matter where you are. Cool, right?

Fabulous Mother's Day Giveaway from Familiar

You can share your photos with your family by using Familiar, and in honor of Mother's Day, you can share some really fabulous prizes, too!

We're giving away one iPad Mini and one SHUTTERbag for you- and then one iPad Mini and one SHUTTERbag for you to share with someone special for Mother's Day!

What an amazing gift that would be- whether you give the second iPad mini and SHUTTERbag to your mom or your stepmom or grandma or daughter... whomever you would like to honor this Mother's Day! All while winning one for yourself, too!

Enter in the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

What Is Familiar?

Familiar is a free app that lets you send and share pictures instantly between your loved ones in a private social network. Photos can be seen in real time on screensavers, smart phones or tablets.

>Why Familiar is Great

Because everyone from tech-savvy Aunt Jen to computer-illiterate Grandpa can see your family photos instantly and effortlessly.

How Familiar Works

Download the app. Upload pics. Invite family and close friends to join. Photos start showing up instantly in computer screensavers and smartphone/tablet photo wallets.

Compatibility

Familiar is compatible with an iPhone, Android, Tablets, PCs, and Macs.

Get familiar with Familiar and download the free app now.

Terms and Conditions

This giveaway is sponsored by Familiar, a free and private way to share your photos with your family.This promotion is sponsored by Familiar. This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. You understand that you are providing your information to the owner of this Facebook page and not to Facebook.

This promotion is powered by Rafflecopter. Metric Feat LLC (“Rafflecopter”) does not sponsor, administer, or endorse this promotion. Participants must read and agree to Rafflecopter’s Privacy Policy before entering and participating in this promotion.

Promotion available to those ages 18+ and US Only.

This Giveaway will run for 11 days starting Tuesday, April 23 at 5:00 AM PST and ending Friday, May 3 at midnight PST. Once the giveaway ends, one winner will be chosen using Random.org and contacted within 24 hours by email. This post will be updated with the winner’s name once we’ve heard back from them. The winner will need to respond within 48 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. For more on our giveaway policies, go here.