Rainbow sherbet is a popular treat for most kids – it’s sweet and tangy, cold and colorful. It was a favorite of my middle daughter Holly. I think even now, at 30 years old, “rainbow sherbet” describes her personality quite well! She is an artist, and a talented photographer, with a knack for color and light. She is a writer with a novel, and several short stories published. She loves animals, and has had a long list of pets in her life, including dogs, rabbits, a rat, a guinea pig, a hamster, fish, and a horse named Carolina! She loves to cook, bake, and try new recipes. She is also a professional nanny, taking care of 3 small children. She has a beautiful, adventurous soul, and has dreams beyond all of this. I can’t wait to see where they take her next!
So for Holly, I created a Rainbow Sherbet cupcake. It incorporates both the color, and the flavors of rainbow sherbet. I used King Arthur Flour’s Golden vanilla cake mix as a base for the cupcakes. You could use any white or vanilla cake mix, but substitute the water or milk for melted rainbow sherbet. For the King Arthur mix, it’s 1 cup of milk that is replaced with 1 c of sherbet. This makes about 24 cupcakes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners into 2 cupcake tins to make 24. Prepare your cake batter per package instructions. Add sherbet as described above. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full, using a large icecream scoop. Bake for 15 – 17 min until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.
Prepare frosting – I made my cream cheese buttercream, and added Kool aid powder to it! This gave the frosting just the right amount of “sherbet” flavor and color.
Recipe:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 1/2 pkgs cream cheese, room temp
6 c powdered sugar
Kool aid pkgs in raspberry, lime, and orange flavors
Combine butter and cream cheese in a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment. Blend until smooth. Add powdered sugar 1 c at a time, until well-incorporated and smooth. Separate the frosting into 3 bowls. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp of flavored Kool aid, to each of the 3 bowls of frosting (making 1 bowl of raspberry, 1 bowl of lime, and 1 bowl of orange frosting). Whip to combine. (add more or less of the kool aid, depending on your taste). So go ahead and taste it!!
Use a pastry bag with your favorite tip (I used Wilton 1M). I placed each of the 3 frosting flavors side by side in 1 bag, using an offset spatula to insert the frosting into the bag.
Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle if desired. Refrigerate covered for up to 1 week.
Update: I made a new batch of these rainbow sherbet cupcakes, and made these more “pastel” in color, by using only 1/4 tsp of the Koolaid powder per bowl of frosting. Which do you like better?
