Red, White, & Blue Swirl Cupcakes

Beautifully swirled cupcakes that taste as great as they look! Perfect for any patriotic celebration or any time you want some American pride in your dessert.

Instructions

CUPCAKES

Preheat oven to 350ºF(177ºC). Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
1 and ⅔ cup (199g) all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter in the microwave and allow to cool a bit. Whisk in the sugar, egg, yogurt, milk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until no lumps remain.
½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar, 1 large egg, ¼ cup (57g) yogurt, ¾ cup (180mL) milk, 1 and ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Pour the batter evenly into 3 bowls-- one for white, one for red, and one for blue. Add the red food coloring to one of the small bowls, stir, and add more coloring until it is to your liking. Repeat with a second bowl and the blue coloring.
½ teaspoon red gel food coloring, ½ teaspoon blue gel food coloring
Using a Tablespoon measure, add 1 heaping Tablespoon of batter to each cupcake liner, starting with whatever color you prefer. Remember that whichever color you end on will be the color of the top of your cupcakes. You should have enough batter for 3 heaping Tablespoons of batter in each liner, and any leftover can be distributed evenly.
Bake cupcakes for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating.

FROSTING

In a large bowl with a handheld mixer, or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes.
1 cup (227g) unsalted butter
With the mixer on low, add in the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk or cream. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. If frosting is too stiff, add more milk. If it is too thin, add more powdered sugar. Add salt to taste.
4 to 5 cups (452g to 565g) powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ to ⅓ cup (60mL to 79mL) milk or cream, salt
For more buttercream troubleshooting tips, see my book, The Home Baker's Guide to Basic Buttercream.

DECORATE THE CUPCAKES

Separate the frosting into 3 equal portions-- one for white, one for red, and one for blue. Add the red food coloring to one of the small bowls, stir, and add more coloring until it is to your liking. Repeat with a second bowl and the blue coloring. Set aside.
red and blue gel food coloring*
Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap, approximately 18" long. Line three stripes of frosting side by side in the middle of the piece of plastic. Stripes should be about 6-8" long.
Once all 3 colors are in there, roll it up into a log. Log should have about 4-6" of "tail" on either end. Refrigerate log for about 10 minutes.
While the frosting chills, fit a piping bag with the tip of your choice (I like a Wilton 1M for cupcakes). When the frosting is ready, thread one end of the log through the bag and pull it through the tip, snipping off the tail when it's seated nicely in the piping bag. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes.
Alternatively, you can forego swirled frosting and dollop the three different frostings onto the top of the cupcake and swirl with a small offset spatula. Cupcakes stay fresh covered tightly at room temperature up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator up to 5 days.

Red, White, & Blue Swirl Cupcakes

Ingredients

CUPCAKES

FROSTING

Instructions

CUPCAKES

FROSTING

DECORATE THE CUPCAKES

Notes

Nutrition Disclosure