How to make Paintball Cupcakes with Duff Goldman's Tie-Dye Cake Mix

When I think of paintball, I think of paint splatters in lots and lots of colors. So for 3Po's paintball birthday party, I decided to make cupcakes decorated to look like paintball splatters.

The easiest way to make a rainbow cake is to use Duff Goldman's Tie-Dye cake mix.  I used the box that I received in my DisneySide At Home Celebration box, and I was really happy with how it turned out.  It tastes great (waaay better than your run-of-the-mill cake mix) and you can't beat the beautiful colors.  In addition to the mix, you'll need 24 gumballs and a batch of white buttercream icing, with about 1/4 of the batch dyed to match the gumball colors.

Duff's Tie-Dye Cake Mix contains dry mix for a 2-layer 8-inch round white sponge cake and a packet of red, blue, and yellow food coloring. The instructions call for 3 egg whites, which was a surprise. All the ones I've used call for 3 whole eggs, but I think the cake turned out much lighter and fluffier because of it.  The idea is simple: divide the prepared cake mix into 6 equal parts, and dye each one a different color.  The instructions specify exactly how many drops of red, yellow, and blue food coloring go into each color (red, yellow, orange, green, blue, and purple).  You could definitely make a tie-dye cake without Duff's mix -- but you will not get Duff's amazing colors.  Trust me. I tried.  I could not replicate Duff's colors with my Wilton food coloring gels.

You'll be making 24 cupcakes, so line 2 12-cupcake tins. I used red polka dot cupcake liners (because Mickey!), and I was very pleased to see that they did not get washed out after baking.   To get the tie-dye effect, take turns filling the tins with each color, dropping the batter right into the middle of the cupcake bottom, right on top of the previous color.  My fill order was red-orange-yellow-green-blue-violet, and for each color, I used about 1 tablespoon of batter for each cupcake.  Filling the tins took a LOT of time!

After baking and cooling, it's time to decorate! Frost each cupcake with white buttercream icing, then pipe a paint splatter using colored buttercream icing.  Finally, nestle a gumball in the center of the paint splatter.  Don't they look gorgeous?!

Everyone is in for a surprise when they bite into the cupcake -- a brightly colored rainbow!  The colors did not get muted or muddied even when baked; they kept their bright colors. Even though the colors are extremely vibrant, they don't affect the taste of the cake. The cake itself is spongy and light and just slightly sweet, so it goes perfectly with the buttercream icing.

These cupcakes were the highlight of 3Po's Mickey Paintball Party!  I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate his 11th birthday.

More DisneySide party posts:

• DisneySide At Home Party kit reveal
• DisneySide Mickey Paintball party post
• How to make Mickey paintball invites, birthday signs, and thank you cards
• How to make a Mickey paintball bandana
• How to decorate paintball cupcakes
• How to make Mickey paintball rice krispy treats

Disclosure: I received a box of Duff Goldman cake mix as part of my DisneySide At Home Celebration Package, which was provided by Disney via MomSelect. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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