Gluten Free Rainbow Tie Dye Cupcakes

Want to bring a little extra fun to your next celebration?  How about making a batch of rainbow tie dye cupcakes.  Everyone will delight in biting into these colorful vanilla frosted cupcakes.  You'll be amazed how each cake turns out a little differently, just like tie-dye fabric. With these easy instructions you can turn any homemade or storebought cake batter into a tie-dye cake.  Plus I've included the recipe for my vanilla frosted gluten free cupcakes at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!

Why You'll Love These Tie Dye Cupcakes

• They are easy to make and customize to any color palette you like.
• Perfect for birthday parties!
• Can be made from scratch or using a storebought cake mix.
• Each one turns out differently, just like real tie dye.

How to Make Tie Dye Cupcakes

• Mix up your cake batter. 
• Divide the batter evenly into small bowls.  For the recipe below, which makes 12 cupcakes, I scooped ⅔ cup of batter into five separate bowls.  If you're making a 24 cupcake batch, you'll need 1 ⅓ cup of batter per bowl. 
• Add 2-3 generous drops of gel food coloring to each bowl.  Stir until the color is even.
• Scoop the batter one spoonful at a time into your cupcake liners.  You can add the colors in any order you wish.
• For cupcakes, I found there was no need to swirl the batter.  If you make a tie dye cake, you will want to run your knife or toothpick around the pan to mingle the colors a little.
• Bake and decorate!

Tips for Success with Rainbow Tie Dye Cake

1. Use yellow or white cake for the most vibrant color.
2. Do not use more than 5 colors.  4-5 is the sweet spot if you want it to look tie dyed.
3. Use gel food coloring.  The liquid food coloring sold at most grocery stores will require a lot to get a good color and that will affect the texture of your cake.
4. Use a mini cookie scoop or measuring spoon to get even amounts of batter in each color.

Ingredients for Vanilla Gluten Free Cupcakes

For the cupcakes in the photo I used my gluten free and dairy free vanilla cupcake base. 

Gluten Free Flour - I use Bob's Red Millk 1-to-1 flour blend in my recipes.  It is great for cookies, cakes and quickbreads.  You can use your favorite blend, but be sure it includes xanthan gum.  Measure your flour by weight for the best results.

Sugar - Just plain white sugar to sweeten the cakes.

Baking Powder - This helps with the rise, to make the cakes soft and fluffy.

Salt - Just a little to balance the sweetness.

Eggs - To provide structure and moisture to the cakes.

Oil - I use olive oil in my baking, but any light flavored cooking oil can be substituted.

Non-Dairy Milk - I have used unsweetened coconut milk in this recipe.  Any non-dairy or regular milk will work.

Vanilla - This is key for the vanilla flavor.  Use a good quality vanilla since it's the star of the recipe.

For the frosting:

Vegan Butter - I use either unsalted Miyokos Vegan Butter or Country Crock Plant Butter for my buttercream.  You can use another vegan butter or regular butter if you're not dairy free.  Do not use a spreadable butter or margarine.

Powdered Sugar

Non-Dairy Milk

Vanilla

How to Make Dairy Free Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

To get the lightest, fluffiest buttercream you will need to use an electric mixer.

• First, cut your vegan butter into cubes and place it into a large mixing bowl.  Beat the butter until it's smooth and creamy.
• Then sift your powdered sugar into the bowl.
• Turn the mixer on a low setting and mix until it turns into a thick paste. Do not mix on high or you will spray sugar everywhere. 🙂
• Add the dairy free milk and the vanilla. 
• Finally, begin mixing about medium speed.  Once all the liquid from the milk has been incorporated, turn the mixer to high and beat about 4-5 minutes. 

The frosting will have increased a lot in volume and will be very light, almost white in color.

You can frost your cupcakes immediately or cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you know when cupcakes are done?

Gently poke the top center of your cupcake.  If the top springs back then it is cooked through.  If it leaves an indentation, then cook for another 2 minutes and check again.  Repeat until ready.

Can you make cupcakes ahead of time?

Absolutely.  Because of the baking powder, you cannot really mix them up and bake them later.  But you can definitely bake them before you need them. 

If it’s just a day or two, they will be fine to store in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator.

If it’s longer than that, wrap each cupcake individually in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag.  Store in the freezer up to 3 months.  Bring to room temperature before serving.

Can you freeze frosted cupcakes?

Yes, it works great and provides the perfect single serving treat when you have a sweet tooth.

Just freeze the cupcakes until solid, 4-8 hours.  Then individually wrap each cupcake in plastic wrap and place in the freezer container or storage bag.  Freeze up to 3 months.  Thaw before eating.

Can you freeze buttercream frosting?

Sure thing! If you want to make your frosting ahead of time, freeze it in an airtight container.  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  Then give it a quick beating with the mixer to fluff it up back to the original state.

If you're looking for more fun birthday cake ideas, check out these great recipes!

Gluten Free Dairy Free Cookie Cake (Great American Copycat)

(Copycat) Gluten Free Milk Bar Birthday Cake

To pin this recipe for later, click the save button on any image in this post or the recipe card.  Please tag me @wellfedbaker on Instagram if you make this recipe!