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American Flag Cupcakes
Perfect for the 4th of July or Memorial day - make these insanely easy red, white and blue American Flag Cupcakes!
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 495kcal
Equipment
- 2 Cupcake pans (24 cups total)
- large cookie scoop (optional, but makes transferring batter to pans much easier!)
- 3 large piping bags + star tips (you can use just one if you don't mind cleaning it out between colors)
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes
- 1 cup butter (melted and cooled)
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk (I used whole milk)
- ½ cup sour cream
- liquid red food coloring (optional)
- liquid bluefood coloring (optional)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese (one package; softened)
- 1 cup butter two sticks; softened
- 5 ½ -6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla
- 1-2 Tablespoons milk (to desired consistency)
- 3-4 large drops Red gel food coloring
- 5-6 large drops Navy gel food coloring
Filling (optional) + Decorations
- 6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (for filling; optional)
- 6 ounces heavy whipping cream (for filling; optional)
- 1 ounce white fondant (you can purchase this - buttercream fondant is the best-tasting one I’ve found - or make your own!)
- Star-shaped cookie cutter (mine came from a set similar to this one)
- White sugar pearl sprinkles (optional)
Instructions
Cupcakes
- (First – melt your unsalted butter and let it cool - this ensures it won’t cook your eggs when you add it!) Preheat your oven to 325℉, and prepare 24 muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, beat sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, milk and sour cream until well combined. Add the cooled melted butter and whisk again until well combined.
- Add flour mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't overmix. The batter will be fairly thick; this is normal.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, filling them about 2/3 full. (I like to use a cookie scoop for this part!) If desired, add a couple of drops of red food coloring to 9 cupcakes / blue to 6 cupcakes, and swirl the color in with a toothpick.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating. (This is a great time to make your frosting!)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together softened cream cheese and butter; slowly add in powdered sugar alternating with milk and vanilla until frosting reaches a smooth and pipeable and consistency.
- Transfer about 1 cup of frosting to a small bowl; divide the remaining frosting in half. Color the smallest bowl navy blue, and one of the other bowls red (leaving the last one white).
Filling (optional)
- (I cored my cupcakes and filled them with chocolate ganache, but this step is 100% optional. To make ganache, microwave 6 ounces semisweet chocolate + 6 ounces heavy whipping cream together in 30-second increments on half power until melted & smooth, then cool until thick enough to transfer to cupcake centers.)
Decorating
- Arrange your cupcakes in a 6-by-4 rectangle. (If you've colored them, place the 6 blue cupcakes to the top left, and the remaining cupcakes in red and white stripes.)
- Transfer frostings to piping bags. Pipe blue frosting onto the six top left quarter (2x3) cupcakes, and red and white frosting onto the remaining 9 cupcakes in red and white stripes (see photo).
- Cut 6 small fondant stars, and add stars (and sugar pearls if desired) to the blue ones.
- And you're done! You'll have an awesome-looking cupcake display.....right up until they all get eaten! Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 495kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 24g
Mentioned in post -
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
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