Red White and Blue Cupcakes
Red white and blue cupcakes are the perfect patriotic addition to any Fourth of July or Memorial Day party! They are soft and moist and always a big hit!
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Why we love these cupcakes
- They are stunning! With some fancy piped frosting, sprinkles, colorful cupcake liners and maraschino cherries, these cupcakes are definitely a show stopper and look like they took forever to make. But they don’t!
- They’re easy! It’s just a box cake mix and an easy frosting.
- Perfect for a Memorial Day or Fourth of July Party. You could swap out the colors for different holidays!
- They’re delicious! The cake is soft and moist and the frosting is a sweet buttercream.
What you’ll need for Red White and Blue Cupcakes
- White cake mix
- Red and Blue food coloring
- Muffing tin
- Cupcake liners
- Scooper
- Frosting piping bags
- Salted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Stand mixer
- Powered sugar
- Heavy whipping cream
- Red white and blue sprinkles and maraschino cherries (optional)
- Fun serving platter or cupcake stand
How to make Red White and Blue Cupcakes
(Full instructions at the bottom of the post)
- Prepare the cake mix according to package directions. It’s typically the cake mix, eggs, water and oil. Divide the batter evenly between 3 bowls (about 1 1/2 cups in each bowl) and add red and blue food coloring to 2 of the bowls and mix well.
- Prepare the cupcake liners in the muffin tins. I made 18 cupcakes filling them 3/4 full. You’ll get 24 cupcakes filling the cupcake liners 1/2 full. With a small cookie scoop add a little batter from each bowl into the cupcake liners. They will mix together and that’s ok!
- Bake according to package directions. I bake for 18 minutes at 350ºF.
- Prepare the frosting. Cream the butter in a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and powered sugar and mix on medium to medium high speed until well incorporated and the frosting is fluffy, scraping the sides down as needed. Add 1-2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream to make the frosting less thick.
- After the cupcakes are cool, pipe the frosting on however you like. I use a large star tip and pipe 3 stars on each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles and add to your platter to serve.
Aren’t those just gorgeous!
Tips & Tricks:
- The yolks in the eggs will turn the white cake batter yellow. If you want to keep it as white as possible, use 4 egg whites in the batter instead of the 3 whole eggs.
- Bake 1-2 minutes less than what the package directs and check them so they don’t over bake. My package directed to bake 19-22 minutes and mine were perfect at 18 minutes.
- Don’t over frost or you’ll run out of frosting. If you love a lot of frosting, then prepare a double batch and go nuts!
- Scrape the bowl often when making the frosting to ensure the butter and powdered sugar are well incorporated.
- If using unsalted butter, add just a dash of salt in the frosting, about 1/4 tsp. Do not use 1 whole teaspoon of salt. Don’t ask how I know 😉
- You can use white food coloring if you want the white batter to pop.
- If you don’t have an icing bag and tips, just use a Ziplock bag. Add your frosting to the bag and snip off the corner. Pipe on as usual.
- These can be prepared ahead of time, put the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container and store in the fridge. Let them sit on the counter and come to room temperature before serving.
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Red White and Blue Cupcakes
Red white and blue cupcakes are the perfect patriotic addition to any Fourth of July or Memorial Day party!
Ingredients
- 15.25 box white cake mix + ingredients to prepare the cake mix
- Red food coloring
- Blue food coloring
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature (2 sticks)
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp heavy whipping cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Mix together the cake batter according to package directions. Evenly divide the batter into 3 bowls (it’s about 1 1/2 cups each bowl)
- Add red food coloring to 1 bowl and mix
- Add blue food coloring to 1 bowl and mix
- Line muffin tins with cupcake liners. Using a small cookie scoop or spoon add each color batter to the cupcake liner. Fill a little more than halfway
- Bake according to package directions, about 18 minutes.
- Meanwhile prepare the frosting.
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, mix the butter a couple of minutes until soft and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and the sifted powdered sugar and beat together for a couple of minutes on medium to medium high speed. add in the heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time and continue mixing until smooth and fluffy. If the frosting is too thick add 1 more tablespoon of heavy cream.
- Add the frosting to a piping bag.
- Let the cupcakes cool and pipe on the icing. Decorate with maraschino cherries and red, white and blue sprinkles.
Video
Notes
The yolks in the eggs will turn the white cake batter yellow. If you want to keep it as white as possible, use 4 egg whites in the batter instead of the 3 whole eggs.
Bake 1-2 minutes less than what the package directs and check them so they don’t over bake. My package directed to bake 19-22 minutes and mine were perfect at 18 minutes.
If using unsalted butter, add a dash of salt in the frosting, about 1/4 tsp.
If you don’t have an icing bag and tips, just use a Ziplock bag. Add your frosting to the bag and snip off the corner. Pipe on as usual.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
