When planning a 4th of July celebration, you're going to need to have sweet treats for all. Enter these adorable mini cupcakes. A red-swirled white cake is topped with a creamy blue-streaked frosting for the ultimate patriotic dessert. Get our Test Kitchen's recipe for the fluffiest mini cupcakes along with some pro decorating tips to complete your party.
How to Make Mini Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes
Here are the main steps to get you started on making these adorable mini desserts.
- Prep the Pans: Line your mini muffin pans with paper liners. The recipe makes 48, so you can bake the mini cupcakes in batches if you don't have enough pans.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients: Stir together the flour, leaveners, and salt. Set aside.
- Mix the Wet Ingredients: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla. Add the eggs before alternating incorporating flour mixture and buttermilk.
- Tint the Batter: For the red marbled effect, you'll remove some of the white cake batter, tint with red, and put in a resealable plastic bag.
- Fill the Liners: Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Snip the tip of the bag with the red batter off to drizzle a bit on each of the cupcakes.
- Marble the Batter: Lightly swirl in the red batter with a toothpick to create the marbled look.
- Bake and Cool: The mini cupcakes should only take about 12 minutes to bake. Make sure to let them cool completely before decorating.
- Frost and Decorate: Pipe blue-tinted frosting onto your cupcakes. Decorate with sprinkles and/or edible glitter. Serve and enjoy!
How to Decorate Cupcakes with Marbled Frosting
A stripe of blue gel food coloring in the piping bag creates a marbled effect in the frosting of these 4th of July cupcakes. Start with a piping bag fitted with a large tip and follow these steps for the asiest way to achieve the look.
- Put piping bag in a tall glass, folding the bag down and around the sides of the top to prop it open.
- Dip a clean paintbrush into the blue gel food coloring. Paint a long strip onto the piping bag from the bottom up the entire length of the glass. Repeat two to three stripes.
- Carefully put icing in the bag, gently twist, and pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line forty-eight 1 3/4-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line forty-eight 1 3/4-inch muffin cups with paper bake cups.
- In a small bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
In a small bowl stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- In a medium bowl beat butter with a mixer on medium to high 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat until well-combined. Add egg whites all at once. Beat on medium-high 2 minutes. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low just until combined.
In a medium bowl beat butter with a mixer on medium to high 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat until well-combined. Add egg whites all at once. Beat on medium-high 2 minutes. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture, beating on low just until combined.
- Remove 1/2 cup of the batter to a small bowl; stir in red gel food coloring. Place tinted batter in a resealable plastic bag; cut off corner.
Remove 1/2 cup of the batter to a small bowl; stir in red gel food coloring. Place tinted batter in a resealable plastic bag; cut off corner.
- Spoon plain batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Drizzle red batter over each. Use a toothpick to marble batters.
Spoon plain batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about two-thirds full. Drizzle red batter over each. Use a toothpick to marble batters.
- Bake 12 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove and let cool in pan(s) 5 minutes. Remove; let cool completely.
Bake 12 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove and let cool in pan(s) 5 minutes. Remove; let cool completely.
- For frosting, in a large mixing bowl beat shortening, vanilla, almond extract, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar. Gradually add milk until frosting reaches a spreading consistency.
For frosting, in a large mixing bowl beat shortening, vanilla, almond extract, and salt with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add 2 cups of the powdered sugar, beating well. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk. Gradually beat in remaining powdered sugar. Gradually add milk until frosting reaches a spreading consistency.
- Use a clean small paint brush to brush stripes of blue gel food coloring inside a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Spoon Creamy White Frosting into bag. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. If desired, top with sprinkles. Makes 48.Test Kitchen Tip: If you have a reusable piping bag, note that some of the food coloring can stain. If you still have residual streaks of blue on the bag after washing, not to worry—your next batches of frosting will be safe from color.
Use a clean small paint brush to brush stripes of blue gel food coloring inside a pastry bag fitted with a large star tip. Spoon Creamy White Frosting into bag. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes. If desired, top with sprinkles. Makes 48.
Test Kitchen Tip: If you have a reusable piping bag, note that some of the food coloring can stain. If you still have residual streaks of blue on the bag after washing, not to worry—your next batches of frosting will be safe from color.