Patriotic Cupcakes are a delicious way to celebrate the 4th of July! A chewy brownie on top of a chocolate cupcake, decorated with red, white, and blue pride, these cupcakes are the perfect addition to any patriotic party or bbq menu!
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Serve these patriotic cupcakes after BBQ with macaroni salad, potato salad, spicy BBQ sauce, and your favorite grilled meats.
With everything going on in the world today, it is important to spend a day with the people you love remembering all you have to be grateful for.
The 4th of July has always been a time for gathering, sharing meals, sharing laughs, and spreading kindness. Serving these red white and blue cupcakes are the perfect addition to your family’s celebration!
Whether you’re serving these at your own gathering or bringing them as a guest, they are sure to be a hit. They are easy to make, however, do involve multiple steps so they are a great make-ahead dessert!
If you want to shortcut it, using all premade ingredients and just assembling them is totally fine, too. I won’t tell.
INGREDIENTS FOR CUPCAKES
- Triple chocolate cake mix
- Eggs
- Softened unsalted sweet cream butter
- Whole milk
- Cupcake liners
Directions For Cupcakes
Preheat oven and line cupcake pan with the liners. In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, milk, and mix until combined – otherwise follow instructions on the box. Bake and let cool.
INGREDIENTS FOR CHOCOLATE FROSTING
- Unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
- Powdered sugar
- Dark chocolate cocoa powder
- Heavy whipping cream
- Vanilla extract
- Ice cream scooper
Directions for Frosting
Using a stand mixer, combine the butter, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and cocoa powder and mix on medium speed until combined and smooth.
INGREDIENTS FOR GANACHE
- Heavy whipping cream
- Semi sweet chocolate chips
- Squeeze bottle
Directions for Ganache
Using a small pot, bring the heavy whipping cream to a slow boil. Place the chocolate chips into a heat proof bowl and pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate chips.
Let sit for a minute before whisking until smooth. Pour prepared ganache into the squeeze bottle.
INGREDIENTS/SUPPLIES FOR RED WHITE AND BLUE FROSTING
- Unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
- Powder sugar
- Vanilla
- Heavy whipping cream
- Red and blue gel food coloring
- Patriotic sprinkles
- Medium star tip and pastry bag
- Large cup to put the piping bag in
- Pack of mini premade brownie bites
- Package of glitter star cupcake picks
- Package of toothpicks
Directions for Red White and Blue Frosting
Using a stand mixer, combine all ingredients except the food coloring into the bowl and mix on medium speed
If your frosting starts looking like powdery rocks, add another tablespoon of heavy whipping cream and mix until stiff peaks are formed.
Scoop a bit of frosting into each of the 3 bowls. Add red food dye to one bowl, blue to another, and leave the last bowl white.
Fit the star tip into the piping bag and place the bag inside the cup, pulling the bag over the edge of the cup.
Using a spoon, scoop some of the red icing and put it on 1/3 part of the piping bag and repeat with blue and white frosting.
HOW TO DECORATE AND ASSEMBLE CUPCAKES
- Using the ice cream scooper, scoop out some frosting and place it onto the cupcakes
- Using a mini angled spatula, lightly spread and smooth evenly into a thick mound of frosting.
- If you are feeling fancy, feel free to use a piping bag and frost your cupcakes however you’d like.
- Using the squeeze bottle pipe ganache onto already frosted cupcakes and sprinkle your patriotic sprinkles overtop.
- Pipe the patriotic frosting onto the brownie bites and sprinkle some patriotic sprinkles on top
- Place two toothpicks into the bottom of the brownie bite and place onto the top of the cupcakes.
- Place a glitter star cupcake topper next to the brownie bite.
HOW DO YOU MAKE BOX CAKE TASTE LIKE BAKERY CUPCAKES?
There are definitely some tips and tricks you can try to make boxed cakes taste better. Things like using butter instead of oil, adding an extra egg or two and using whole milk instead of water.
HOW DO YOU FROST CUPCAKES WITH 3 COLORS?
This step can get a little tricky if you haven’t done this before. But not to worry, there are some ways around it if you haven’t got the exact piping tools needed for a swirled frosting look. For a simple version, use 3 separate piping bags and pipe each color one at a time, layering as you go.
CAN I MAKE THESE CUPCAKES SEMI-HOMEMADE?
Absolutely! These cupcakes require a lot of steps especially when it comes to the frosting and decorations. To add convenience and simplicity to this recipe, using a boxed cake, premade frosting, and premade brownie bites is totally fine, too!
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Patriotic Cupcakes
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 box of triple chocolate cake mix
- 3 eggs
- ½ C unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 1 ¼ C whole milk
- cupcake liners
- cupcake pan
Chocolate Frosting Ingredients:
- 3 C unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 6 C powdered sugar
- ½ C dark chocolate cocoa powder
- 5-7 Tb heavy whipping cream
- 2 t vanilla extract
- 1 medium ice cream scooper
Ganache Ingredients:
- ¼ C heavy whipping cream
- ½ C semi sweet chocolate chips
- 1 squeeze bottle
- ¼ C patriotic sprinkles
Red White and Blue Frosting Ingredients
- ½ C unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 2 C powder sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3-5 Tb heavy whipping cream
- Red and blue gel food coloring
- ¼ C patriotic sprinkles
- 3 bowl
- medium star tip and pastry bag
- Large cup to put the piping bag in
- 1 24 pack of mini premade brownie bites
- 1 package of glitter star cupcake picks
- 1 package of toothpicks
Instructions
Cupcakes Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with the liners
- In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, milk, and mix until combined
- Fill the cupcake liners ¾ way full
- Bake in the oven for about 21 minutes
- Pull out and place on the side to cool
Frosting Directions:
- Using a standing mixer combine the butter, powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, vanilla, and cocoa powder and mix on medium speed until combined and smooth
- Using the ice cream scooper, scoop out some frosting and place it onto the cupcakes
- Using a mini angled spatula, lightly spread and smooth evenly into a thick mound of frosting
Chocolate Ganache Directions:
- Using a small pot, bring the heavy whipping cream to a slow boil
- Place the chocolate chips into a heat proof bowl
- Pour the hot heavy cream over the chocolate chips
- Let sit for 1 minute before whisking until smooth
- Pour into the squeeze bottle
- Decorating directions for the ganache part :
- Using the squeeze bottle, pipe ganache onto the chocolate frosting
- Sprinkle some patriotic sprinkles onto the ganache
Red White & Blue Frosting Directions:
- Using a standing mixer, combine all ingredients except the food coloring into the bowl and mix on medium speed
- If your frosting starts looking like powdery rocks, add another tablespoon of heavy whipping cream
- Mix until you see creamy stiff peaks
- Scoop ¼ C of frosting into each of the 3 bowls
- Add the red food dye into one bowl
- Add the blue food dye into the second bowl
- Leave the third bowl white
- Fit the star tip into the piping bag and place the bag inside the cup, pulling the bag over the cups edge
- Using a spoon, scoop some of the red icing and put it on 1/3 part of the piping bag
- Repeat with the blue and white frosting
Decorating the Cupcakes:
- Pipe the patriotic frosting onto the brownie bites and sprinkle some patriotic sprinkles on top
- Place two toothpicks into the bottom of the brownie bite and place onto the top of the cupcakes
- Place a glitter star cupcake topper next to the brownie bite
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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