Layered Red, White & Blue Vanilla Cupcakes with Fool-Proof Cream Cheese Frosting

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Well hi friends! Before we get into all this cupcake business, I first need you all to go ‘like’ my Chicken Pad Thai photo on the Around the World in 80 Plates page. You see, I’m trying to get the most likes on my photo so I can beat a bunch of other bloggers and prove to them that my readers are the best ever! I’ve won the last few weekly contests, but I need to win one more to clench victory! Please oh please if you have a minute, go click the like button. THANK YOU!

Moving on……

Happy 4th of July! 

Wait, what? 

Oh. It’s not today? Are you sure?

Ok good cause I was just kidding….and I just happened to make Red, White and Blue Cupcakes for the fun of it. Riiiiiiiiiiight.

You guys, these are the bomb dot com. My go-to vanilla cupcake recipe pimped out with food coloring, killer cream cheese frosting and sprinkles! Nothing says summer holiday quite like sugar on sugar on sugar. Basically, every kids’ dream come true.

I brought these to a BBQ a few nights ago and people ended up fighting over them. Like mother against daughter “give me a bite of your cupcake!!” I think they were surprised that a plain old vanilla cupcake could taste that awesome.  Moist, sweet and tender cake with a tangy, perfectly sweet and creamy frosting. Simplicity at it’s best. AND, you probably have all the ingredients on hand 🙂 Cha-ching! Money in the bank. Just be sure to NOT over-bake the cupcakes and to use Philly cream cheese. Those are my tips.

Here’s how you make them:

Start by whipping some egg whites to stiff peaks. An easy job for a handheld or stand mixer.

Once they’re nice and foamy, transfer over to another bowl and set aside.

Into that same bowl you mixed the egg whites in, whip up some butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Be sure to add in some vanilla to this too.

In a small bowl, measure out and stir all the dry ingredients together.

With the mixer on low, alternate pouring in the dry ingredients with the milk until there’s nothing left.

Before you know it, you have some yummy vanilla-y concoction. This tastes awesome, by the way…..not that I swiped a lick–or 14.

Last step now if to fold in the egg whites! That’s the cake batter!

Now comes the fun part. Kiddies would be perfect for this next job! Divide your cake batter into 3….

grab a little food coloring,

and have at it! I tried to find a balance between bright colored cupcakes and tastes like gross food coloring cupcakes.

Now you just spoon small amounts of each color into your cupcake liners and bake! Once you pull these babies out of the oven, let them cool completely.

For the frosting, cream your butter and cream cheese together. Add in the powdered sugar

and vanilla and mix. Scrape the sides, mix again and then increase the speed to lighten the frosting….maybe 3 minutes. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles if desired.

After you pull the paper liners off, kids go NUTS for these! This one was all three colors BUT

This is a fun blue and white one that was just as tasty! All my Canadian friends could do red and white for Canada Day too! OR, you could pick out some favorite colors and turn these into birthday cupcakes. And, come to think of it, this is almost THE recipe my sister uses for the wedding cakes she makes. Yes, my sister is super cool cause she makes wedding cakes. And since she’s not here to accept all that praise you want to give her, I’ll take it on her behalf. Thank you for your cooperation.

ANYWAYS, enjoy your weekend! Hopefully these will be in your near future! Here’s the printable:
cake recipe adapted from Betty Crocker

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Layered Red, White & Blue Vanilla Cupcakes with Fool-Proof Cream Cheese Frosting

Say hello to summer with red, white, and blue vanilla cupcakes. They have a moist, sweet cake with a tangy, perfectly sweet and creamy frosting.

servings 18 cupcakes

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 40 mins

Ingredients

for the cupcakes-

• ▢ 4 large egg whites
• ▢ 1/2 cup softened butter
• ▢ 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 cup milk
• ▢ red & blue food coloring

for the frosting-

• ▢ 8 oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese at room temperature
• ▢ 1/2 cup softened salted butter
• ▢ 2 1/3 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ Sprinkles optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
• In a large bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
• In another large bowl, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, 2 minutes. Stir in vanilla.
• In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Alternate stirring in the dry ingredients with the milk until none remain. Scrape sides to ensure even mixing. Fold in whipped egg whites.
• Divide batter between 3 different bowls. Stir red food coloring into one and blue into another one. Alternating between the white, red and blue cake batters, spoon into prepared cupcake pans, alternating colors. Once muffin tins are filled 3/4 of the way, bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean after inserted. Set aside to cool.
• For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter together to combine. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Scrape sides and beat 3 minutes until frosting lightens in color and thickens slightly. Frost cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles.

Nutrition

Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 214mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 506IU | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: summer, vanilla cupcakes