We do a lot of things to amuse our children.  This frivolity is no exception.  I saw this cool looking cupcake on the Disney family site and thought it would be a great Saint Patrick’s Day party food… and that it would amuse the children.

I worked as predicted; the kids and even some of the parents loved it.  One thing I didn’t expect though, it was more labor-intensive than I expected.

I was up until 1:30am (starting at 10:30pm cleaning dinner dishes after getting kids to bed and waking from a mini-nap myself) making a white cake batter from scratch so that I could make it with mostly spelt flour and less sugar. 

Using spelt gives it a nuttier flavor and makes it more dense, so it doesn’t rise quite like white flour.  Even though it was probably flatter than a white flour cupcake would be, I’d use spelt again because the affect turned out well anyway and it is a little more nutritious.  White flour and sugar for kids is a “recipe” for blood sugar spikes and kids bouncing off the walls possibly into temper tantrums.  I’m not opposed to sugar for children in limited amounts especially if it is tempered with wheat, spelt, oat or some flour other than white flour.

All in all, I might make this recipe again if the occasion calls for it.

Anything to amuse the children, right?

Here’s the original recipe (below is the cake batter recipe that I altered with spelt:

Rainbow Cupcakes

Instructions

1. Prepare your favorite white cake mix, then divide the batter evenly among six small bowls. Following the chart below, dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color.
   

   RAINBOW COLOR	DROPS OF FOOD COLORING
   Purple	9 red and 6 blue drops
   Blue	12 drops
   Green	12 drops
   Yellow	12 drops
   Orange	12 yellow and 4 red drops
   Red	18 drops

2. Line 16 muffin pan wells with baking cups. Evenly distribute the purple batter among the cups, then the blue, and so on, following the order shown. As you go, gently spread each layer of batter with the back of a spoon to cover the color underneath.
3. Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe directions. Before serving, remove the paper wrapping, and if you like, top each cupcake with a whipped-cream cloud.

(I used many more drops of red and blue to make a darker purple)

Spelt Flour Cupcakes

(Original Cupcake Recipe courtesy Cheryl Day/Foodnewtwork.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups spelt flour
• 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 & 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup whole milk (I used goat milk)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.

Combine in a bowl both flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Mix on low speed until combined for about 3 minutes. Add in cubed butter, mixing until just coated with flour.

Add eggs 1 at a time until combined. Slowly add milk and vanilla to batter until completely mixed scraping down the bowl as you mix.

(Here is where I divided the batter into six bowls and added food coloring, then layered in rainbow colors)

Scoop batter into baking cups filling about 2/3 full. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 17 to 20 minutes.

Cool and top with whipped cream and sprinkles, Yum!

Enjoy and hope you find that pot of gold at the end of your rainbow,

Your Sensible Girlfriend