4th of July Cupcakes

Enjoy lasting memories with your loved ones on Independence Day with these vibrantly colored, festive, and addictively sweet cupcakes! Moist cupcakes topped with brightly colored cream cheese frosting will provide an unforgettable 4th of July dessert!

Makes about 12 cupcakes

Course Dessert/Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 760kcal

Author Imma

Ingredients

The Cupcakes

1½ cups (180g) sifted cake flour
¼ teaspoon (1-2g) salt
1½ teaspoons (7g) baking powder
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter softened at room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
¼ cup (60ml) vegetable oil
½ cup (120ml) buttermilk
2 teaspoons (10ml) vanilla extract
½ tablespoon (7-8ml) vinegar
red food color (see notes)
blue food color

The Cream Cheese Frosting (double if you want more frosting)

8 ounces (225g) cream cheese
4 ounces (113g) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
4-6 cups (450-700g) powdered sugar

Instructions

The Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350℉ (180℃). Grease the muffin or cupcake pan, line the wells with cupcake liners, and set it aside.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl, and set it aside.
Cream the butter and sugar at high speed with a hand or stand mixer until fluffy and looking white. It took me about 4 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, whipping the mixture well between each addition.
Then add the buttermilk and mix for another minute or two. Pour in the oil and mix for another minute.
Mix in the vanilla extract and vinegar thoroughly. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
Divide the batter equally into 3 bowls. Add red food coloring to one bowl of batter and blue food coloring to another. Mix gently until the colors are evenly distributed. Be careful to avoid overmixing.
Spoon or pipe a tablespoon of the blue batter into each cupcake well. Then, add a tablespoon of the white (uncolored) batter in each one, and end with a tablespoon of the red batter. The muffin wells should be about ⅔ full, so they have room to rise. You can layer the colors or mix and match as you like.
Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350℉ (180℃) or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean. Let them cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
After they've completely cooled, wrap them in plastic and chill them in the refrigerator for at least an hour (preferably overnight) for easier frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Whisk the softened cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
Gradually sift in the confectioners' sugar, mixing as you go until the frosting reaches the desired consistency.
You can pipe the uncolored frosting on the cupcakes, or divide the frosting into 2 bowls and color one frosting blue and the other red.
Then transfer each color of frosting to separate piping bags and have fun frosting your cupcakes.

Notes

No buttermilk? Mix a tablespoon of light-colored vinegar into a cup of milk. Stir well and let sit for 5-10 minutes before adding it to the batter.
No cake flour? Replace it with all-purpose flour. It won't be quite as tender, but it will still be delicious.
To color the batter, start with ⅓ teaspoon of gel or 6 drops of standard food coloring and add more as needed to get the desired intensity.
For light, fluffy cupcakes, resist the urge to overmix. Mix the batter until just combined.
Please remember that the nutritional data is approximate and can vary significantly based on the ingredients used in the recipe.

Nutrition