Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes

This is a real dandy. It would be a great addition to your July 4th celebration spread. The
amusing effect of the swirled frosting can be duplicated using any colors for any occasion. It
makes a fun Christmas cupcake using red and green or a pretty spring cupcake using pink and
blue.

History

In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name cup cake or cupcake. In previous
centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups,
ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is the use of the name that
has remained, and the name of "cupcake" is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup.
While English fairy cakes vary in size more than American cupcakes, they are traditionally smaller and are
rarely topped with elaborate icing.

[ CITATION Wik \l 1033 ]

Ingredients
 White Cake  Vegetable cooking spray
 1/2 cup butter, softened  1 1/2 cups strawberry or blueberry jam
 1 cup shortening  Vanilla Frosting
 2 cups sugar  1/2 cup butter, softened
 4 large eggs  3 to 4 tablespoons whipping cream
 2 3/4 cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour  1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
 2 teaspoons baking powder  1/8 teaspoon salt
 1/2 teaspoon salt  1 (16 oz.) package powdered sugar
 1 cup buttermilk  Toppings
 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract  Red jumbo sprinkles, edible glitter stars, red candies,
 1 1/2 tablespoons almond extract star picks (optional)
 Paper baking cups
Preparation
1. To prepare White Cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until
creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour
mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in extracts.
3. Place paper baking cups in 2 (12-cup) muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes;
remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely.
5. Fill each cupcake with strawberry or blueberry jam. To fill cupcakes, insert the end of a wooden spoon or dowel into the center of
the cupcake to make a hole. Fill a zip-top plastic freezer bag with filling. Use scissors or kitchen shears to snip about 1/4 inches
from one corner of the bag; insert bag into the hole in the cupcake. Squeeze gently until filling comes to the top of each cupcake.
6. To prepare Vanilla Frosting, beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered
sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Beat at high speed 2 minutes or until creamy. Make 3 cups. Divide frosting into three
bowls. Tinet1 bowl of frosting with desired amount of red food coloring and 1 bowl of frosting with desired amount of blue food
coloring.
7. Insert a metal tip into a large decorating bag; spoon 1/4 cup each of red, white, and blue frosting into bag. Pipe a generous peak of
frosting onto each cupcake. Top each with sprinkles, glitter stars, 1 red candy, and, if desired, 1 star pick.

Jan Moon, Dreamcakes Bakery, Southern Living Big Book of Cupcakes, Oxmoor House 2011

Bibliography
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupcake