Red, White, and Blue's

Because the only thing better than fireworks is DESSERTS!

Happy 4th of July peeps!

How are we already in July though? I feel like July is all about BBQ-ing and swimming and really EATING. Lucky for you, if you are going to go to a 4th BBQ then these red, white, and blue cupcakes filled with American buttercream will scream independence. ​

If you are in the mood for a cupcake, (let's be honest, who isn't!) this one's for you! This easy recipe will not only taste amazing, but it will completely wow your friends too. 

Red White & Blue Swirl Cupcakes

Tools:
Electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (a handheld on works great too!)
3 Mixing bowls
Spatula
Muffin/Cupcake tins
Baking cups (for cupcakes)
Red & Blue food coloring (I use Wilton Gel food coloring)
4 Decorating bags (ziploc bags work just as well)


Vanilla Cake

You'll need:
2 1/2 cups of All Purpose flour
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp of table salt 
4 tsp pure vanilla extract 
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup of whole milk
1 cups (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, at room temperature

American Buttercream (recipe from Chelsweets) 

You'll need:
4 sticks or 2 cups (434 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 cups (907 grams) powdered sugar
1/2 tsp (3 grams) salt
2 Tbsp (30 grams) heavy cream
3 tsp (12 grams) vanilla

To make the cupcakes :
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your cupcake pans with your desired cups. 

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and whisk together. Set it aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, & vanilla on medium speed until the mixture looks fluffy.

Add the eggs, two at a time, beating until each addition is well mixed. You can use your spatula now to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.

Adding the dry and wet ingredients: Add the flour mixture in 4 parts, alternating with the milk in 3 parts, beating just until each addition is mixed well before adding the next, try not to over mix it. 

Separate your batter into 3 bowls as evenly as you can (a good tip is to weigh the batter and divide it into 3). In one bowl, add 3 drops of red gel food coloring, in the other bowl 3 drops of blue gel food coloring, and the last bowl leave it as is. (red, white, and blue... get it?)

The next part is where it can get tricky. After coloring the batter, I filled each one in its own piping bag (ziploc is okay too) and filled my cupcake pans according to the colors I wanted starting with red, then white (in this case the one we did not color), and finally blue. 

Once they are all filled, give your pan a good tap on your counter to release any air bubbles and bake for 10-12 mins or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow to cool and start on your buttercream.

To make the American Buttercream:
Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment, until smooth.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Alternate with small splashes of cream.

Once fully mixed, add in the vanilla and salt, and beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated, and the desired consistency is reached. If the frosting is too thick, add in additional cream (1 teaspoon at a time).

If the frosting is too thin, add in more powdered sugar (quarter of a cup at a time).

To achieve my red, white, and blue swirls, separate the buttercream again into 3 separate bowls and add 2 drops of red gel food coloring into one, 2 drops of blue gel food coloring in the other, and leave the rest white. I actually separate more white (not colored) buttercream so I can fill the inside of my cupcakes.

To fill your cupcakes:
Now that your cupcakes have baked and cooled and your buttercream is ready, it's time to fill the center of your cupcakes. There are various gizmos and gadgets out there to core the cupcake but I use a basic pairing knife.

Make a circle using your pairing knife and hollow out the middle of your cupcakes (small circle, do not get crazy).
Once the middles are completely hollow fill your cupcake with your white buttercream (you can do the other colors, I just like the simplicity of the white one).

After hollowing out the centers and filling them with buttercream, it's finally time to frost your cupcakes! 

To Frost:
Place your red, white, and blue American butter cream in horizontal lines in the center of a piece of saran wrap. Wrap it up, leaving a tail at each end.
Feed one end of the saran wrap through the tip of your piping bag (with or without a coupler) I did not use a coupler, I only used a disposable piping bag with a Wilton 1M tip. Pull it through and snip off the excess saran wrap.
Pull the frosting pouch up just a little, to be able to squeeze the frosting into the tip of the bag. Twist the top shut and you're all set to pipe. I like to start at the rim of my cupcakes and circle in.
*Test a few lines so that you don't get too much of one color versus the other.

For decoration, I used mini cherry flavored twizzlers on each!

​And VIOLA! 4th of July Cupcakes!!

---