Red, White and Blue Cupcakes

These festive red, white and blue cupcakes are perfect for celebrating the 4th of July this year! They are tender, moist, and swirled with all the colors perfect for celebrating!

I love celebrating holidays with food, and for the fourth, you must celebrate with all things red, white and blue! Celebrate this year with this cheesecake salad, this strawberry pie, or these cherry pie bars!

Red, white and blue cupcakes on a marble cutting board.

Fourth of July Cupcakes

I LOVE the month of July! It’s warm, there are BBQs constantly, and my favorite holiday is celebrated! Does a holiday get much better than food, warm summer nights, and fireworks? Well, your celebration is about to get a little bit better with these festive red, white and blue cupcakes! They are MADE for this occasion!

My kids love these cupcakes because they are like tie-dye! The moist and tender cake swirled with bright colors, and then the frosting on top… Well, that just takes this cake over the edge. These cupcakes look like a million bucks but are actually really easy to make! Whip them up for this year’s festivities and they will be the star of any Fourth of July party!

Ingredients in Red, White and Blue Cupcakes

These cupcakes are simple and delicious. You are just going to make sure that you have some food coloring on hand! Check out the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact measurements.

Cupcakes

Cake Flour: If you don’t have cake flour, you can easily make your own! See the tips section further down the post.
Granulated Sugar: You need to sweeten up your cupcakes!
Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These make the cupcakes light and airy and help them to rise.
Salt: The salt enhances all of the ingredients in the cupcakes.
Buttermilk: You can buy buttermilk or easily make some at home using only two ingredients! Check out that super easy recipe here.
Milk: I used 1 percent milk but you can use whatever you have on hand.
Vanilla Extract: Add a splash of vanilla to your cupcakes with this ingredient.
Vegetable Oil: If you want your cupcakes to be moist and tender, don’t skip out on this ingredient!
Egg Whites: By not using the yolks, the egg whites can combine all of the ingredients without adding any flavor to the cupcakes.
Red and Blue Food Coloring: This is totally optioinal but this is what will make your cupcakes so festive!

Frosting

Butter: I used unsalted butter that was softened to room temperature so that it mixed in easily.
Powdered Sugar: I always use this in frosting because it dissolves easily and makes the frosting nice and smooth.
Milk: This will help bind the ingredients together.
Salt: The salt will enhance the flavors in the frosting.
Red and Blue Food Coloring: Use a generous amount to get that deep color.
Sprinkles: Add a little extra sparkle with some sprinkles on top!

4 pictures showing how to make the cupcake batter, color it and add it to the cupcake liners.

How to Make Red, White and Blue Cupcakes

The best part about these cupcakes is that they look amazing but they are actually simple to make! So whip these up and accept all of the compliments that are about to come your way… People LOVE these cupcakes!

Cupcakes

Prep: Preheat the oven to 350°F and line two muffin tins with cupcake liners.
Whisk: In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Mix Wet and Dry Ingredients: Add the buttermilk, milk, vanilla, and oil to the dry ingredients and whisk until fully combined. In a separate bowl whip, the egg whites until you get medium-stiff peaks and the gently fold the egg whites into the batter.
Tint the Batter: Split the batter evenly into three bowls and tint one bowl red, one bowl blue and then leave the third bowl white.
Fill: Use a small cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, starting with red and then white and then blue. Fill the liners only halfway full, or the cupcakes will puff over the top of the muffin tin.
Bake: Bake for 20-22 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops of the cupcakes bounce back when lightly pressed. Let the cupcakes cool completely.

Frosting

Beat: Add the butter, powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir on low to incorporate and increase the speed slowly as the butter absorbs the powdered sugar. Beat on high speed until the frosting is white and fluffy, about 10-15 minutes.
Separate: Separate the batter into 3 bowls and tint one bowl red, one bowl blue and leave the last bowl white.
Combine and Frost: Spread a sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and use piping bags to pipe a line of each color right next to each other. Carefully use the plastic wrap to make a log of the frosting, wrapping the ends tightly. Snip the end on one side right next to the frosting and drop into a piping bag fitted with your desired piping tip. Use the piping bag to pipe swirls on top of the cupcakes. Top with sprinkles and enjoy!

How to Make Cake Flour

If you don’t have any cake flour on hand for these red, white and blue cupcakes, don’t worry, you can easily make some of your own! The reason that I use cake flour instead of regular flour is because it makes the cake more tender.

For every 1 cup of all purpose flour, remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and replace with cornstarch. Then, you will sift it together. Once it’s been fully sifted, then measure out the amount of flour that you need for the recipe.

The top view of red, white and blue cupcakes on a marble platter.

How to Store Red, White and Blue Cupcakes

These red, white and blue cupcakes are fantastic the next day. Here is how you can store them so that they still taste fresh!

At Room Temperature: Unfrosted cupcakes can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container or a large ziplock bag for up to a week.
In the Refrigerator: Frosted cupcakes can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days. Allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
In the Freezer: Unfrosted cupcakes can be frozen for up to 3 months. It’s best to put them in a ziplock bag inside an airtight container and bring to room temperature before frosting.

The side view of a red, white and blue cupcake cut open so that you can swee the swirled colors inside.