4th of July Cupcakes

These pretty 4th of July Cupcakes in red, white and blue are perfect for your 4th of July celebration. I used a sweet frosting technique that I like to use when frosting a cupcake or a cake in multi colors. This technique can be used as a frosting for cupcakes or even a cake. If frosting a cake you will need to make adjustments in the amount of frosting you use. Here I only colored enough frosting for six cupcakes to demonstration purposes.

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4th of July Cupcakes

Back in February when I posted my Rainbow Jello Poke Cake I never expected the amount of interest it would get. I got comments, emails and Facebook requests asking for instructions on the way I made the pretty rainbow frosting. I was blown away when two men contacted me asking me about this cake so they could make it for their wives birthdays. Way to go guys. You made my day!

When I made the Rainbow cake I used all the colors in the rainbow to color the frosting. For these red, white and blue cupcakes I used two colors and left the cool whip frosting uncolored. The vanilla cool whip frosting is a bright white. Do not try using the cream cheese flavor. It is off white in color and will look yellowish with the red and blue frosting.

To Make Red, White and Blue Frosting

You will need:

1 container of Cool Whip Vanilla Frosting
2-5 drops Americolor Red-Red soft gel paste food coloring (affiliate link)
2-5 drops Americolor Blue soft gel paste food coloring (affiliate link)
12 red, white & blue cupcakes to frost
Wilton 12 inch decorating bag (affiliate link)
a large closed star decorating tip (affiliate link)

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Color the frosting

Step One: Color Frosting

Divide the frosting into three separate bowls. You can just leave the white frosting in the cool whip container.
Add 2-5 drops of the AmeriColor Red soft gel paste to one bowl and mix well to combine the gel with the frosting. Set aside
Add 2-5 drops of the AmeriColor Red soft gel paste to one of the remaining bowls of frosting. Mix well to combine the gel and frosting. Set aside.

Load the decorator bag with frosting

Step Two: How to fill a Decorator Bag with frosting

Place the star tip into the bottom of the decorator bag but do not cut the tip off yet.
Place the empty decorator bag into a tall glass to stabilize it while you’re filling it with the frosting.
Place a heaping tablespoon of red frosting into the bag off center.
Place a heaping tablespoon of white frosting into the bag off center, next to the red frosting.
Place a heaping tablespoon of the blue frosting into the bag in the remaining empty area of the decorating bag. It will slightly overlap the red and white frosting.
Continue filling the decorating bag in this manner until the bag is filled being sure to leave a couple of inches of the top of the bag empty.
Twist the top of the bag and fasten with a thick rubber band.

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Decorator bag filled with frosting

Step Three: Frosting the cupcakes

Gradually snip off the end of the decorator bag tip making sure that the star tip slides down into the tip of the decorator bag but does not slip out. This is best done in two or three snips. You need to make sure the holes along the side of the start tip is out of the plastic bag. Carefully clip off a little bit of the tip at a time then slide the star tip out of the hole to see if you have cut enough off. Once it is stop cutting.
WARNING! if you cut too much off the tip you are done for. There is no way to get the frosting out of that bag and into another without turning it into a nasty color. There is no way that I know of to get another tip on the bag.
Once you have the bag tip clipped squeeze out a little rosette until the colors start to blend.

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frosting rosette

Step Four: Frosting the cupcakes

Begin frosting the cupcake from the center out creating a nice rosette swirl pattern with the frosting. As you squeeze the frosting out the colors will begin to blend making a pretty multi colored frosting rose on the top of your cupcake.

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Pretty 4th of July cupcakes with a red, white and blue swirled frosting

Have a safe and happy 4th of July!

How to make 4th of July Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

1 container of Cool Whip Vanilla Frosting
2-5 drops Americolor Red soft gel paste
2-5 drops Americolor Blue soft gel paste
Cupcakes to frost
12 inch decorating bag
a large closed star decorating tip

DIRECTIONS

Step One: Color Frosting

Divide the frosting into three separate bowls. You can just leave the white frosting in the cool whip container.
Add 2-5 drops of the AmeriColor Red soft gel paste to one bowl and mix well to combine the gel with the frosting. Set aside
Add 2-5 drops of the AmeriColor Red soft gel paste to one of the remaining bowls of frosting. Mix well to combine the gel and frosting. Set aside.

Step Two: Load the Decorator Bag

Place the star tip into the bottom of the decorator bag but do not cut the tip off yet.
Place the empty decorator bag into a tall glass to stabilize it while you’re filling it with the frosting.
Place a heaping tablespoon of red frosting into the bag off center.
Place a heaping tablespoon of white frosting into the bag off center, next to the red frosting.
Place a heaping tablespoon of the blue frosting into the bag in the remaining empty area of the decorating bag. It will slightly overlap the red and white frosting.
Continue filling the decorating bag in this manner until the bag is filled being sure to leave a couple of inches of the top of the bag empty.
Twist the top of the bag and fasten with a thick rubber band.

Step Three: Frosting the cupcakes

Gradually snip off the end of the decorator bag tip making sure that the star tip slides down into the tip of the decorator bag but does not slip out. This is best done in two or three snips. You need to make sure the holes along the side of the start tip is out of the plastic bag. Carefully clip off a little bit of the tip at a time then slide the star tip out of the hole to see if you have cut enough off. Once it is stop cutting.
WARNING! if you cut too much off the tip you are done for. There is no way to get the frosting out of that bag and into another without turning it into a nasty color.There is no way that I know of to get another tip on the bag.
Once you have the bag tip clipped squeeze out a little rosette until the colors start to blend.

Step Four: Frosting the cupcakes

Begin frosting the cupcake from the center out creating a nice rosette swirl pattern with the frosting. As you squeeze the different colored frostings out the colors will begin to blend making a pretty multi colored frosting rose on the top of your cupcake.