Fun Patriotic Cupcakes

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Surprise family and friends with this fun, unique cupcake recipe. Whether you’re celebrating July 4th, hosting a backyard gathering for Memorial Day, or welcoming a soldier home from duty these American-themed cupcakes are perfect for the occasion.

Pin Patriotic Cupcakes to make later.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• I love that these fourth of July decorated cupcakes start with a mix. The white cake mix is soft and tender and the colors are so vibrant. 
• The layers are pretty impressive and look good when you bite into them. It’s really a fun treat that’s not only pretty but delicious.
• The party guests will think you’re so clever! Go ahead and take all the credit!

Ingredients

If you love to bake, you probably have all of the ingredients on hand.

• White cake mix
• Blue food coloring
• Red food coloring
• Buttercream frosting
• Patriotic sprinkles

Tips and Tricks for making Patriotic Cupcakes

• Use a white cake mix only. A yellow cake mix won’t give you bright colors.
• Frost the cupcakes with my favorite white buttercream frosting. 
• Use store-bought tub frosting for a shortcut.
• Use equal amounts of each color batter, so you know what that means…measure the cake batter into thirds before you start coloring it.
• Gently spoon each color into the cupcake liner. Start with either red or blue.
• DON’T OVERFILL THE CUPCAKE LINERS! Start by adding the first layer, then go back and even the layers out. You want to use all of each color. No need to save any.
• After adding each color to the cupcake liner, gently shake the pan to level the batter.
• Don’t wait to add sprinkles to the cupcakes after you frost them. Frost a cupcake, and add the sprinkles. If the icing sets, the sprinkles won’t stick.

The challenge is getting each color into the cupcake liners evenly. Try to get the colors one on top of the other so they don’t bleed down the side.

If they do, don’t sweat it. They will still be red, white, and blue and taste delicious!

I got 12 cupcakes from the recipe. These festive patriotic dessert cupcakes are sure to be the hit of your 4th of July menu.

I happened to have red, white, and blue fun star sprinkles, but you could use nonpareils, sprinkles, or jimmies. See some of my favorites below in the recipe card.

You can also use patriotic cupcake liners, although I used white ones because I had them and it’s kind of fun to see the colors of the cupcake through the liner.

Another cute idea is to bake the cupcakes in white liners and then, once decorated the way you want, place them into the festive colored liners.

This keeps the patriotic liners clean and pretty for presentation purposes.

I made my family’s favorite buttercream to top these cupcakes. You can find the recipe below.

I piped a swirl but you can just spread it on with a knife if you prefer.

Short on time? Use store-bought tub frosting in white then add the sprinkles.

Are you looking for more patriotic recipes?

These patriotic ice cream cones are a fun way to serve your favorite ice cream flavor. All-American patriotic dessert tarts are another kid-friendly dessert everyone will enjoy.

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Easy Buttercream Frosting

Yield: 2 cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

This buttercream is perfect for cakes, cupcakes and cookies.

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Ingredients

• ½ cup solid vegetable shortening
• 1 stick butter
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk

Instructions

1. In large bowl, beat shortening and butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla.
2. Gradually add sugar, about one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry.
3. Gradually add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.

Notes

This recipe is for stiff consistency buttercream, which is excellent for piping decorations like flowers. However, it will need to be thinned for icing cakes and borders. Add milk in small quantities until desired consistency is achieved.

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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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  Food Coloring AmeriColor Student Kit, 12 .75 Ounce Bottles Soft Gel Paste Colors

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below or share it on Pinterest!

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Patriotic Cupcakes

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Patriotic Cupcakes for patritotic holidays.

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Ingredients

• 1 package white cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
• ½ teaspoon blue food coloring
• ½ teaspoon red food coloring
• 1 recipe for buttercream frosting, recipe below
• Red, white and blue sprinkles (jimmies, non-pariels or stars)

Instructions

1. Prepare cake mix batter according to package directions for cupcakes. Line muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a small bowl, combine 1-⅓ cups batter and the blue food coloring. In another bowl, combine 1-⅓ cups batter and the red food coloring. Leave remaining batter plain.
3. Fill paper-lined muffin cups with evenly with the red batter, then evenly with the plain batter and finally evenly with the blue batter. Bake at 350° for 20-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
4. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.
5. Prepare buttercream frosting and frost cooled cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles.

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As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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  Food Coloring AmeriColor 12 .75 Ounce Bottles Soft Gel Paste Colors
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  Sweet Sprinkles Mix: Little Man
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  Sprinkles: Stars Patriotic
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  Sweet Sprinkles Mix: Fire Cracker
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  Sweet Sprinkles Mix: Stars & Stripes

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below or share it on Pinterest!