Rainbow Cake Pops

Who doesn't love a rainbow?  I sure do! How about multiple rainbows? :)

 A rainbow in cake pop form just makes me happy:)

These rainbows can be had in any kind of weather, and only a couple of extra steps are needed to achieve such colorful, tasty cake pop goodness.

Perfect for St. Patrick's Day, or any day you need some extra cheer!

One extra step involved dividing up the cake batter and adding a different gel food coloring to each. I ended up with these vibrant cupcakes.

After each color is crumbled into fine cake crumbs this is what you end up with. Pretty, huh?

After the cake balls were formed,  I loved them already!

{Inside~Out} Rainbow Cake Pops (Adapted from the talented Brooke McClay on Babble)

Supplies:
1 box of yellow cake mix (I'm sure you can use white too)
1 can vanilla frosting (I only used about a quarter of it)
1 12-ounce package blue candy melts
1 package mini m & m's
Mini marshmallows~one for each pop (I ended up with 13 pops)
Food coloring pastes~purple, blue, green, yellow, orange, red
Block of styrofoam to hold pops while they dry

Directions:
Mix up cake batter as directed on the box.
Separate the cake batter into six bowls with 1/2 cup of batter in each bowl. Tint each bowl with one of the colors of the food coloring.  (I had enough cake batter left for a one layer 5-inch cake which I'm saving for later in the freezer. I suppose I could have made more colored batter/pops, but followed Brooke's directions.)
Spoon each cake color into two cupcake wrappers, and bake in a muffin tin according to package directions. You will have a dozen cupcakes.
In six small bowls, crumble each cupcake color by color into fine crumbs. Add just enough vanilla frosting to create a playdoh like consistency with each of the colors. I only needed to add about a full teaspoon of frosting to each.
In your palm, press a small amount of red cake dough, then press a bit of orange on top. Follow with yellow, green, blue, and purple, then roll the dough into balls.
In a small, deep, microwave-safe bowl, heat the candy melts according to the directions on the package.
Press the end of a lollipop stick into the melted chocolate, then press that end into the center of your cake ball, about halfway. Allow the candy melts to harden at room temperature.

Gently dip each cake ball into the candy melts. Allow any excess to drizzle back into the bowl before pressing the bottom of the lollipop stick into a piece of styrofoam. Allow the cake pops to cool upright.

For rainbow/clouds decoration:
When the pops have dried, use the leftover (there should be some left) melted candy melts to adhere the rainbows and clouds.
Cut a mini marshmallow in half and flatten with your fingers.  With a toothpick add a bit of candy melt to the back (sticky part) of the marshmallow and place on the pop.  Add the other marshmallow cloud.
Use a toothpick and add a dot of candy melt to the back of each (blue, green, yellow, orange, red) m & m (one at a time) and place in an arch between the marshmallow clouds. Stick each pop in the styrofoam block to dry.

Serve, or package in cellophane bags tied with a ribbon to save for later:)

They REALLY do taste as good as they look!

ENJOY!

Linked to:
Best of 2012 Blog Hop
Sweet Treats Thursday
Crazy Sweet Tuesday
I'm Lovin' it Fridays
Inspiration Friday
Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday
Weekend Wrap Up Party
Sweets for a Saturday
Positively Splendid