Sweet Treats: Fruity Tie-Dye Cupcakes!

My oldest nephew (Sebastian) turned 4 last week - he's growing up so fast! Since he has pretty much every material thing that he could ever want or need, I decided to make him something fun that he could enjoy in an entirely different way - an edible gift, if you will. Those of you who know me personally know that I'm not such a big fan of sweets, so it's rare for me to bake anything because, well...I won't eat it! In fact, this is the first time I've EVER baked cupcakes on my own. As you'll see in the picture, I'm certainly not in the running for America's Next Top Cupcake Decorator...but hey, they actually tasted great! So, in honor of Sebastian's birthday, I'm giving you the recipe for these tart & fruity, soft & sweet tie-dye cupcakes that are a great treat to make for any Springtime occasion (just in time for Easter!).

Fruity Tie-Dye Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix

1 box lemon jello gelatin mix*

1 box lime jello gelatin mix*

1 box strawberry jello gelatin mix*

cream cheese frosting

white cupcake papers

Prepare cake mix as noted on box and preheat your oven accordingly. Once the mix is ready, pour into three small, separate bowls. Add 1/2 of jello packet to the cake mix, keeping each flavor separate. Place cupcake papers in muffin pan and spoon cake mix into each cup, alternating spoonfuls of different flavors of mix until the cupcake paper is 2/3 full. Bake as directed on package and cool for 10-20 minutes before removing from muffin pan and frosting.

*Note: You can certainly change up these flavors depending on your taste. The lemon and lime compliment the strawberry very well, and the cupcakes are light and tart for a great spring dessert - but feel free to mix and match your own flavors according to what you like!

I was feeling lazy, so I simply used a knife to spread my frosting onto the top of my cupcakes. However, if you'd like to make them a little fancier (and appealing to the eye as well as the mouth!), you can use a large ziploc bag to do so. Just spoon the frosting into the bag and cut off a corner of bottom to pipe the frosting onto the cake! You could also purchase a can of "cupcake frosting" from your grocer if you're looking for a faster option; this option comes with pop-on attachments to make frosting pretty and easy, but aren't quite as cost-efficient.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Cheers!