The only thing better than fireworks when I celebrate the 4th is the spread of summer eats! From summertime salads to just-off-the-grill hot dogs and hamburgers, I can’t get enough of the festive food goodness. And when it comes to desserts, these 4th of July cupcakes just add to the joy.
Sure, I love an adorable presentation with strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream that brings on the red, white, and blue, but who can resist some moist, colorful cupcakes covered in frosting and fun flag-inspired decorations? This delicious dessert delivers with both tastiness and patriotic presentation.
One of the best parts of these cute 4th of July cupcakes is that they come together almost as quickly as you can sing the Star Spangled Banner. You certainly won’t be up baking until the dawn’s early light to get these on the table.
Let everyone else be the bearers of the pasta salad and coleslaw. You can bring these sweet treats to the patriotic party to set off some tastebud fireworks before the main event.
Why You’ll Love These
Festive- there’s nothing more festive than some red, white, and blue cupcakes for the 4th of July! These will be a hit at any cookout or fireworks display party.
Easy- using boxed cake mix makes whipping up these cupcakes a cinch while buying the decorations to put on top makes it a fun activity to get these cupcakes together quickly.
Colorful- these brightly colored cupcakes are eye-catching and the perfect adornment for any festive table.
Ingredients
- White cake mix- make sure to choose white cake mix instead of yellow and to prepare according to this recipe rather than the one on the box.
- Egg whites- bring your egg whites to room temperature – it will result in a fluffier texture.
- Buttermilk- buttermilk lends a richness and buttery flavor to baked goods so make sure to use it instead of regular milk.
- Clear vanilla- since this 4th of July Cupcakes recipe calls for a cake mix that is white, clear vanilla is a good choice to avoid adding a brown hue to the batter from typical vanilla extract.
- Vegetable or canola oil- using oils when making cake typically results in a baked good that stays moist for far longer than when butter is used.
- Red and blue sprinkles- you can use typical sprinkles from the store, or find fun shaped sprinkles to fold into the batter or decorate with.
- Buttercream frosting – You can find this at the grocery store in the baking section, but it’s also super easy to make your own buttercream frosting.
- Decorations- (you mentioned in your email that you’d cover this with links so I’m leaving the description empty)
How To Make 4th of July Cupcakes
- Preheat oven and prepare pan. Preheat the oven and prepare a cupcake pan by adding cupcake liners.
- Mix ingredients. Beat together the cake mix, egg whites, buttermilk, vanilla, and oil. You can use either a hand mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Color batter. Divide the batter into three bowls. Keep one white, and dye the other two red and blue.
- Fill cupcake liners. Spoon each batter into the liners in the cupcake wells, being sure that it is evenly divided so that they all bake at the same rate. Gently swirl with a toothpick.
- Bake. To test to ensure that they are finished, insert a toothpick to see if it comes out clean.
- Cool and frost. Cool completely on a wire rack. Decorate with buttercream frosting, and add sprinkles or other decorations.
4th of July Cupcakes Decorations
Feel free to grab your own decor at the craft or grocery store, but here are the ones we used, all purchased from Amazon.
- Glitter Star Toothpicks
- American Flag Cupcake Liners
- Red, White and Blue Sprinkles
- Silver Sparkler Toothpicks
Variations
Instead of using vanilla extract in these 4th of July Cupcakes, use coconut or almond.
You can replace vegetable oil with either ⅓ cup Greek yogurt or refined coconut oil.
Use the whole eggs instead of just the whites (though the batter will be slightly yellow.)
More easy cupcake recipes:
4th of July Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16.25 ounce white cake mix
- Ingredients to prepare cake mix
- blue gel food coloring
- red gel food coloring
- 2 batches buttercream frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven and line 20-24 wells of a muffin tin with liners.
- Prepare the cake batter mix according to package directions using the egg white version.
- Measure 3/4 cup white batter into one bowl and 3/4 cup batter into a different bowl. Blend one bowl with blue color and one bowl with red color.
- Evenly divide the white cake batter between lined muffin tines. Spoon a small amount of both red and blue batter in each tin.
- Using a toothpick, gently swirl the colors into the cupcake.
- Bake according to package directions.
- Remove and allow to cool fully.
- Frosting using homemade buttercream frosting, pipe frosting onto each cupcake and garnish with festive decorations.
- Store at room temperature.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how they were in the comments or star ratings!
Andrea
Oh these are darling! I love that you used box cake mix. I’m going to try your method of making two tone cupcakes. Thanks!
Roxana
Wow these look amazing. Just inspires the festive feeling already. Cant wait to try these.
Holley
This is such a fun and festive way to make cupcakes! My kids love making these with me and are always a hit!
Jamie
These are so festive and perfect for 4th of July! I’m adding it to my list of recipes to make for the holiday!
Liza
These red, white and blue cupcakes are so tasty and patriotic. Any recipe that calls for “glitter star toothpicks” is one I want to make! Thanks for another winner from Best Dessert Recipes!