Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes
These Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes are festive vanilla frosted cupcakes that are perfect for your next Patriotic celebration, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, or all summer long.
Servings: 12 cupcakes
Calories: 471kcal
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 TBS vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk (can sub for any milk)
- red and blue gel food coloring
For the Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted)
- 3-4 TBS heavy cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 dash salt
- red and blue gel food coloring
Instructions
For the Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a standard muffin pan with muffin liners, set the pan aside.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to a medium sized bowl and whisk them together. Set them aside.
- In a large bowl (the bowl of a stand mixer works well), add the granulated sugar, and butter and mix them together with the stand mixer, or a hand mixer for 1-2 minutes.
- Add in the egg whites, sour cream, and vanilla extract and mix them in until they are just combined. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in half the dry ingredients, and mix until mostly combined.
- Add in the buttermilk and mix until combined. The batter may look curdled, but that's okay.
- Add in the remaining dry ingredients, and mix until combined.
- Divide the batter into 3 bowls. Leave one bowl as is, add red gel coloring to another bowl, and blue to the third. Gently fold the batter to combine and mix the color into the batter.
- Add 1/2 Tablespoon at a time of each of the colors until you fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Fill all 12 of the cupcake liners evenly.
- Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for 16 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let the cupcakes cool for a few minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- Add the butter to a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or large mixing bowl with a handheld mixer. Beat it for 1 to 2 minutes until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing on low speed until each cup is mixed in completely. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the heavy cream (start with 3 TBS), vanilla extract, and salt and mix on medium speed until everything is well combined.
- Mix the frosting for another 2 to 3 minutes at medium speed until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Add a little more powdered sugar, or heavy cream as needed to get the right consistency.
- Separate the frosting into three bowls. Leave one bowl as is for the white, add red gel coloring to another bowl, and blue to the third. Gently fold the batter to combine and mix the color into the frosting.
- Scoop each color of frosting into a ziplock bag. Trim off one of the corners.
- Lay out a piece of plastic wrap, and pipe a thick row of each of the frosting colors along the plastic wrap.
- Fold the plastic wrap onto itself and wrap it into a log, twist one end closed and leave the other open.
- Transfer the log into a piping bag with your favorite star tip. (I used a 1M tip).
- Pipe the frosting into swirls onto the cupcakes. Top with sprinkles if desired, and serve.
Nutrition
Calories: 471kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 126mg | Potassium: 97mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 48g | Vitamin A: 811IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 1mg