Red White and Blue Cupcakes

Ingredients needed:

This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Red White and Blue Cupcake Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.

• all purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• granulated sugar
• unsalted butter
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• buttermilk
• powdered sugar
• heavy cream

How to make 4th of July Cupcakes?

1. Make the cupcake batter. Pre heat oven, and line a muffin tin with 12 paper cupcake liners. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to a medium bowl and stir them together.
2. Add the butter, and granulated sugar to a large bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment works great, but another bowl with an electric mixer works too) and beat them together until they are light and fluffy, at least 2 minutes.
3. Then add in the egg whites, and sour cream, mixing until just combined, then add in the vanilla extract. Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as you’re mixing them.
4. Add half the dry ingredients the the batter until mostly combined. Then add in the buttermilk and mix until it is combined. Then add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth, but do not overmix the batter.
5. Color the cake batter. Separate the cupcake batter into three bowls. Leave one as is for the white color. Add red gel food coloring to one for the red batter, and blue food coloring to another. Fold the batters gently to mix the color in without overmixing.
6. Add 1/2 Tablespoon of each color at a time as you fill each cupcake liner to be about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake the cupcakes until the tops are lightly golden and set and a toothpick can be inserted into the center and comes out clean. Remove the swirl cupcakes from the oven and let them cool for 5 to 10 minutes in the pan, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.
7. Make the homemade buttercream frosting. Add the butter to a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer and beat it until it is smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and mix it into the butter. Then add in the heavy cream, vanilla, and salt and mix until the frosting is combined. Continue mixing to make the frosting fluffy.
8. Color the frosting. Divide the cake batter to three separate bowls. Leave one color as is for the white batter. Then add red food coloring to another for the red frosting , and blue color to another for the blue frosting. Fold the color into the frosting until combined. Add the three frostings to separate bags and then snip the corner off of each. Spread out a piece of plastic wrap and pipe a row of each frosting color onto the plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap onto itself and wrap it into a long. Twist one end closed and trim the other open.
9. Frost the cupcakes. Put the frosting log into a large piping bag with a 1M piping tip with the open end down. Pipe swirls of frosting onto each of the cupcakes. Top with patriotic sprinkles if desired.

Tips and Tricks:

• Let your ingredients sit at room temperature to warm up before using, eggs, butter, and buttermilk for the best results. This will help your ingredients mix together smoothly.
• Properly measure the flour using the spoon and sweep method to prevent over measuring, which could lead to dry cupcakes.
• Only mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients until just combined. Over mixing could lead to dense cupcakes.
• If you don’t have buttermilk you can substitute whole milk, or make your own buttermilk substitute by adding a teaspoon of vinegar to 1/2 cup of milk.
• This recipe makes just 12 cupcakes. The recipe can be easily doubled if you need a bigger batch for an event.

How to store leftover cupcakes?

These cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. They can be stored frosted or unfrosted. You can also store them in the fridge. The cupcakes will stay their best for about 3 days.

More patriotic desserts:

• 4th of July Cookies
• Red White and Blue Strawberries
• American Flag Cake
• Fourth of July Cheesecakes
• Red White and Blue Popcorn