Age of Aquarius Psychedelic Cupcakes

The Sugar Mommas celebrate July like it’s the Summer of Love by baking (what else?) cupcakes!

We’re taking it back to the age of Aquarius with these tye-dye goodies. Admit it, you wore a nearly identical shirt to Woodstock!

Kids will love these crazy-colored (not to mention, moist and cakey) treats and they’ll be a hit at your next cook out! 

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided 
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups egg whites (10 to 12 large eggs)
1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Food Coloring

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Prepare a 12-cup baking sheet with cupcake liners and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and salt. Set aside. Whisk the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment on medium high speed until stiff but not dry, about 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and add the cream of tartar, the remaining sugar, and the vanilla.

Use a spatula to slowly fold the flour mixture into the eggs, a little at a time, stirring gently. Divide the batter into 4-5 small bowls.  Choose different food colors and add a small amount of each color per bowl. (Note: Food coloring drops and gels both work.)  Add more color as necessary to get the desired psychedelic vibrancy.

Drop a tablespoon of batter from each bowl into the cupcake liners. Repeat the process until the cupcake liners are 3/4 full.

Bake for about 17-22 minutes, or until the cupcakes spring back when touched in the center. Gently remove the pans from the oven and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. When the cupcakes are cool, take a serrated knife and gently cut the tops of the cupcakes off so you have a flat surface to frost. Make the icing.

To make the frosting

2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup whole milk, plus more as needed
Colored Cake Decorating Gels

Place the confectioner’s sugar in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the milk until the frosting reaches the desired consistency. Use an angled spatula to frost the cupcakes and set them aside.

To get the tie-dye effect, use decorating gels. Taking one tube at a time, draw a circle on the cupcake. Then use another color to draw a smaller or larger circle. Continue to make circles using different gels. We suggest using 2 to 4 colors per cupcake.

Next, take a toothpick, bamboo skewer or tip of a sharp knife to make the spider web effect. Start at the center of the cupcake and draw the line out the edge of the cupcake. Keep turning the cupcake using the same technique until you have the desired tie-dyed look.

Sugar Mommas Notes:

Carpool Crunch: You can use a white cake box mix or prepare your favorite white cake according to instructions. Then separate the batter into bowls and proceed as instructed above.

Sass It Up: Instead of using a sharp point to decorate the frosting, use a small whisk and make whisps as you would with meringue for a different effect. Make zig-zags, dots or squiggles too.
 

SUGAR SCOOP!

We couldn’t resist this adorable pink cake plate from Mosser Glass – made in America! We thought the pink plate was a perfect complement to our Strawberry Celebration Cake (recipe from our book “Sugar, Sugar“), but they are available in other lovely pastels. We also used the red Mosser cake plate for the cupcakes above. 

Happy Baking,

The Sugar Mommas