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4th of July Cupcakes

This award winning red velvet recipe is the perfect base for 4th of July cupcakes! Red, white, and blue give you a festive look that is ideal for your backyard parties and festivities
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Frosting Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 24
Author Jesseca

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes:

  • cups all-purpose flour
  • cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • cups oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tablespoons red food color
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Navy Blue Cupcake Liners

For the Frosting:

  • cups salted butter cold but slightly softened
  • 6 oz cream cheese slightly softened
  • 6 cups powdered sugar
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • Toppings:
  • Red White and Blue Sprinkles

Instructions

  • For the Cupcakes
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
  • Shift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
  • In a large measuring cup, whisk the eggs, oil, food coloring, milk and vanilla until combined.
  • Pour the liquid ingredients on top of the dry ingredients. Use a whisk or hand mixer to stir until the ingredients have incorporated and most of the clumps have smoothed into the batter. It’s ok if there are still a few.
  • Divide the batter evenly into the prepared liners. I find that about 1/4 cup is perfect.
  • Bake 15 to 18 minutes, or until the top puffs and a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Remove from the liners and allow to cool completely.

For the Frosting:

  • Combine the butter and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fit with the paddle attachment.
  • Beat on medium speed until combined, about 1 minute.
  • Scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing well between each addition.
  • Add the cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for 5 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl once halfway through.
  • Frost your cooled cupcakes. Top with patriotic sprinkles.

Notes

  • Use room temperature ingredients. This ensures even mixing and a perfect batter. Why is this important? Overmixed batter will produce dry and crumbly cake and could also result in your cupcakes sinking in the middle.
  • Do not over mix your batter. I like to mix this cupcake batter by hand. It uses oil in place of butter which makes the process super simple.
  • Use a scoop (affiliate) for even cupcake sizes. This isn’t necessary but does make it super simple to keep your cupcakes even.
  • Olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil are the oils I stick with when making cakes. They don’t have a bold flavor which means that they will not overpower the cake like an olive oil would.