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With this versatile buttercream rainbow frosting, you can decorate cupcakes; pipe swirls into whoopie pies, sandwich cookies, or macarons; or fill homemade donuts or cream puffs. Read on to learn how to make rainbow buttercream with this easy recipe and step-by-step instructions.
Tools and Equipment for Making Rainbow Frosting:
You’ll need a few special tools to make this rainbow frosting. Before you get to work, I suggest gathering the following:
- Piping Bags – You’ll need two kinds. First, you will need six disposable piping bags (I like these smaller, clear plastic bags). Inaddition, you’ll need one large, heavy-duty bag. These blue bags, ubiquitous in pastry kitchens, are my go-to.
- Piping Tip – Feel free to use any style of piping tip you’d like—an open star, a closed star, or even just a round tip. You’ll want to choose the size based on how you plan to use the buttercream. (For instance, a larger tip works best for cupcakes, but you’ll want something smaller for macarons). I used a French star for the cupcakes pictured here.
- Clingfilm/Plastic Wrap – To create the rainbow, you’ll pipe long strips of colored buttercream onto a long sheet of clingfilm/plastic wrap, then wrap it into a tube shape and place it inside a big piping bag. You cannot make rainbow buttercream without this key component!
- Kitchen Shears – You’ll need kitchen shears for cutting the plastic tube, and to snip the corners of your piping bags.
- Mixer – Eassential for whipping up smooth, fluffy buttercream. You can use a hand mixer or a stand mixer, but there really isn’t an easy way to to make buttecream with a hand whisk.
- Gel Food Coloring – Last but certainly not least, you’ll need gel food coloring to create the rainbow colors. Keep reading to learn more about my favorite food coloring for this recipe.
The Best Gel Colors to Make Rainbow Frosting
Gel food coloring is a must for this buttercream rainbow frosting. My go-to is the Chefmaster brand.
For this batch of buttercream, I used the following colors: Christmas Red, Sunset Orange, Lemon Yellow, Leaf Green, Sky Blue, and Violet. Feel free to vary the shades. For instance, I sometimes like to use their Neon Brites line—the orange, green, and blue are great if you prefer a brighter rainbow—or opt for a different shade of purple. Chefmaster‘s Purple contains warm, reddish tones, whereas Violet looks more blue.
Use gels rather than water-based grocery store coloring; the latter just isn’t strong enough to achieve vibrant colors, so you’ll end up adding the better portion of a bottle of water-based food coloring for shades that gels can do in 2-3 drops.
Uses for Rainbow Frosting
Rainbow buttercream frosting makes a vibrant and versatile addition to any baker’s repertoire, adding a splash of color and a touch of whimsy to birthday parties, Pride month events, and other festive celebrations.
Add swirls of homemade buttercream frosting to:
- Cakes and cupcakes
- Cookies (especially soft sugar cookies or sandwich cookies)
- Macarons
- Choux pastry (pipe it into choux buns or rainbow éclairs)
- Roulades and Swiss roll
- Brownies, traybakes, and bar cookies
- Homemade donuts
- Whoopie pies
How Much Does This Rainbow Buttercream Recipe Make?
As written, this versatile buttercream recipe makes enough frosting for:
- Approximately 8 standard-size cupcakes (for a full dozen, I suggest making an extra half-batch of buttercream), or about 18 – 24 miniature cupcakes
- 8 large (3-4-inch) whoopie pies, or 18 – 24 miniature whoopie pies
- About 24 standard-size macarons
- 12-16 3-inch sandwich cookies
Note that the exact yield will depend on how much buttercream you prefer per pastry. You can add thick dollops and swirls, or be slightly more judicious with your application if you want to stretch one batch a bit further. You can also double this recipe if working in larger quantities.
Rainbow Piping Bag Tips and Tricks
Keep extra whole milk (or cream, or your plant milk of choice) and confectioner’s sugar on hand to adjust the buttercream consistency. Depending on how you plan to use it, you might prefer a slightly stiffer buttercream, or something more fluid.
When piping the strips of buttercream onto the clingfilm/plastic wrap, dont worry too much about technique. Nobody will ever see this piping (you’ll eventually roll the plastic into a tube shape) so if some strips are thinner than others, or if you pipe double layers of some colors, that’s totally fine. Its important to use all of the buttercream—you shouldn’t have any left over.
I suggest cutting the tube of buttercream into two pieces, and piping in two batches. You can do it all at once, but I find that the long tube tends to crumple inside the bag, resulting in wasted buttercream. It’s also just easier to handle when working in smaller portions.
Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions
While the shelf life will depend on the type of treats you’ve made, you can prepare the buttercream base itself up to 24 hours in advance, and store the bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use. Wait until decorating day to add the gel colors and assemble the bag.
Feel free to create the rainbow piping bag a few hours ahead of time, but don’t do it too far in advance. And once assembled, keep the piping bag at room temperature—chilled buttercream won’t be easy to pipe! Also, note that the colors will deepen over time, so your finished treats will actually grow more vibrant a few hours after piping.
Other rainbow recipes you might enjoy:
Slice and Bake Rainbow Heart Cookies
Funfetti Slice and Bake Shortbread
Rainbow Whoopie Pies
And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!
How to Make Buttercream Rainbow Frosting
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: See post
Description
Learn how to make rainbow buttercream with this recipe and step-by-step instructions for making a piping bag of buttercream rainbow frosting.
Ingredients
113 grams unsalted butter, softened (1/2 cup / 1 stick)
470 grams confectioner’s sugar (about 3 1/2 cups)
4–5 tablespoons whole milk or whipping cream, plus more to adjust consistency
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, or other flavoring of choice
Gel food coloring: Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the butter on high speed until light and fluffy.
Add the confectioner’s sugar in small increments, alternating with the milk and mixing well after each addition. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until you’ve fully incorporated all of the sugar.
Add the vanilla extract and mix until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. If necessary, add more confectioner’s sugar or milk to adjust the consistency. The buttercream should be thick and creamy, yet soft enough to pipe.
Portion the buttercream into six individual bowls.
Add 2-3 drops of gel food coloring to each bowl.
Stir to create six differently-colored buttercreams: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple.
Transfer each color to its own disposable piping bag. Use kitchen shears to snip the tip of each bag.
Unroll a piece of clingfilm/plastic wrap, about 16-18 inches long. Pipe a stripe of each color on top of the plastic, mimicking the color pattern of the rainbow. Use all of the buttercream.*
Gently roll the clingfilm around the buttercream, forming a tube.
Cut the tube in half.**
Place one half of the tube, cut side facing down, inside a larger piping bag fitted with a star, French star, or other piping tip of choice.
Pipe as desired.
Repeat with a clean piping bag and the second half of the buttercream tube.
Notes
*Don’t worry if your piping isn’t perfect—nobody will ever see it! If necessary, you can also pipe double layers to use all of the buttercream.
**You can use the entire tube at once, but I’ve found that cutting it in half and piping in two batches makes the buttercream much easier to handle, with less wastage.
- Category: Frostings and Fillings
- Method: No Bake
