St. Patrick's Day Treats

Here are the cupcakes I made for my daughter's 1st grade class today. They came out just adorable!! I didn't snap a picture, since we were in such a hurry this morning after I frosted them (they came out exactly like the picture), and I put a gold chocolate coin on each frosting "cloud". They loved them. (I'll add an actual picture later, since I have to make another batch for my son's preschool class tomorrow. It is his day, after all, since his middle name is Francis-Patrick!!) Good Irish Boy!


Beware: Although they're cute...they take forever to make (like almost 2 hours!!)!! Imagine layering and spreading each of the 6 colors perfectly in each little cupcake cup, so the colors don't mix. Things we do for our kids!! (My batch of batter only produced 17 cupcakes)

Ingredients:
White cake mix (we used an 18-1/4-ounce box)
Food coloring (red, blue, green, and yellow)
Baking cups
Whipped cream (optional) (I used whipped frosting)
Chocolate Coins

Instructions:
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.
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

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.
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.