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Home » Featured » Red White and Blue Frosting

Red White and Blue Frosting

Published: Jul 2, 2021 by Arlene Mobley · This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

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Make red, white and blue buttercream frosting for your 4th of July cupcakes.

Three 4th of july cupcakes decorated with red, white and blue frosting.

You can make multicolored red, white and blue frosting to decorate your patriotic 4th of July Cupcakes.

I love homemade buttercream frosting. It is a rich and creamy frosting perfect for cupcakes.

Homemade frosting is very easy to make. All you need are a couple of ingredients to make it.

Ingredients needed to make red, white and blue frosting

You can find the full ingredient amounts below in the recipe card.

Red, white and blue frosting ingredients.
  • unsalted butter
  • powdered sugar
  • salt
  • vanilla extract (I always use my homemade vanilla extract)
  • red gel food coloring
  • blue gel food coloring

How to make red, white and blue frosting

Step 1: Cut the butter into cubes. Place the butter into a large bowl and allow to soften on the counter.

Cubed softened butter in a large bowl.

Step 2: Beat the softened butter with a mixer until light and creamy.

Creamed butter in a large mixing bowl.

Step 3: Sift ⅓ of the powdered sugar and the salt into the bowl.

Step 4: Beat the sugar and salt into the butter.

Step 5: Add the vanilla extract to the bowl and beat in.

Step 6: Add the cream to the bowl and beat in until fluffy.

Four photo collage of step 3, 4, 5 and 6 to make buttercream frosting.

Step 7: Beat more sifted powdered sugar into the bowl and scrape the sides of the bowl.

Adding more powdered sugar to the bowl.

Step 8: Add the remaining sifted powdered sugar to the bowl and beat until thick and creamy.

A bowl filled with fluffy buttercream frosting.

Step 9: Divide the frosting into three bowls.

Step 10: Add red food coloring to one bowl and blue food coloring to the other bowl. Leave one bowl uncolored.

Step 11: Mix the food coloring into the frosting until evenly combined and there are no visible streaks of color left in the frosting.

Step 12: Transfer the red, white and blue frosting to piping bags.

4 image collag with the steps to color frosting red, white and blue.

Step 13: Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles.

Step 14: Enough frosting to frost 24 cupcakes.

How to pipe multicolored frosting

There are a couple of different ways to pipe multi colored frosting. Today I am going to show you two of the methods I use to pipe frosting when I am decorating cupcakes with more than one color frosting.

Multi colored frosting using one piping bag

  1. Place a large star tip into the bottom of a 12 or 16 inch piping bag but do not cut the tip off.
  2. Place the empty piping bag into a tall glass to stabilize it while you're filling it with the frosting.
  3. Place a heaping tablespoon of red frosting into the bag off center.
  4. Place a heaping tablespoon of white frosting into the bag off center, next to the red frosting.
  5. 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.
  6. Continue filling the decorating bag in this manner until the bag is filled being sure to leave a couple of inches at the top of the bag empty.
  7. Remove the bag from the glass, twist the top of the bag and secure the bag top with a thick rubber band.
  8. Snip off the tip of the bag.
  9. 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 swirled frosting on the top of the cupcake. Repeat frosting all of the cupcakes.

3 colored frosting using multiple piping bags

Step 1: Fill individual 12 inch piping bags with each of the three colors of frosting. Do not over fill the piping bags. Only fill them about a third of the way.

Step 2: Place a large closed star tip into the bottom of a disposable 16 or 18 inch piping bag. Push the tip down tightly into the tip of the bag.

Step 3: Snip the tips off of the three filled piping bags. Slid each of the individual piping bags of frosting down into the larger piping bag fitted with the star tip. Make sure each of the open tips are down far enough into the bag to reach the star tip.

Step 4: Secure the top of the large piping bag with a rubber band. Squeeze the piping bag so some of the frosting begins to come out to make sure each of the three colors start to come out of the piping tip.

Step 5: Frost each of the cupcakes with the multicolored frosting.

3 rows of frosted cupcakes on a wire rack.

Decorate the frosted cupcakes with sprinkles and 4th of jJuly cupcake picks.

Red, white and blue cupcakes decorated with sprinkles.

Recipe FAQS

How do you make red and blue icing?

Red and blue icing is made by mixing vibrant red and blue gel food coloring with vanilla or white icing.

Which food coloring brand is the best for icing?

Americolor soft gel paste food coloring. This is the brand I have been using for years. I get the best colors using this brand to color cake and cupcake batter and icing.

Recipe Expert Tips

  • Softening the butter: The butter will take a couple of hours to soften. Cutting it into cubes will speed it along.
  • Powdered sugar: 24 ounces of powdered sugar equals 4 ¼ level cups of un-sifted powdered sugar.
  • Food coloring: My preferred brand of food coloring is Americolor soft gel paste food coloring. Liquid food coloring should not be used to color frosting.
  • 4th of July cupcake decorations: Decorate the cupcakes using patriotic sprinkles and 4th of July cupcake toppers.

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3 cupcakes decorated with red white and blue buttercream frosting.

Red White and Blue Frosting

Arlene Mobley - Flour On My Face
Use this red, white and blue homemade buttercream frosting to decorate 4th of July cupcakes or cakes to celebrate the holiday with a patriotic dessert.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 9 minutes mins
Cook Time 0 minutes mins
Softening Butter 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Total Time 2 hours hrs 19 minutes mins
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 24 Servings
Calories 213 kcal

Equipment

  • Piping Bags
  • Large Star Tip

Ingredients  

  • 3 sticks unsalted butter
  • 24 oz. powdered sugar
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 5 drops red gel food coloring
  • 5 drops blue gel food coloring
  • 3 tablespoons whipping cream
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Instructions 

  • Cut the butter into cubes. Place the butter into a large bowl and allow to soften on the counter.
  • Beat the softened butter with a mixer until light and creamy.
  • Sift ⅓ of the powdered sugar and the salt into the bowl.
  • Beat the sugar and salt into the butter.
  • Add the vanilla extract to the bowl and beat in.
  • Add the cream to the bowl and beat in until fluffy.
  • Beat more sifted powdered sugar into the bowl and scrape the sides of the bowl.
  • Add the remaining sifted powdered sugar to the bowl and beat until thick and creamy.
  • Divide the frosting into three bowls.
  • Add red food coloring to one bowl and blue food coloring to the other bowl. Leave one bowl uncolored.
  • Mix the food coloring into the frosting until evenly combined and there are no visible streaks of color left in the frosting.
  • Transfer the red, white and blue frosting to piping bags.
  • Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles.
  • Enough frosting to frost 24 cupcakes.

Recipe Expert Tips

  • Softening the butter: The butter will take a couple of hours to soften. Cutting it into cubes will speed it along.
  • Powdered sugar: 24 ounces of powdered sugar equals 4 ¼ level cups of un-sifted powdered sugar.
  • Food coloring: My preferred brand of food coloring is Americolor soft gel paste food coloring. Liquid food coloring should not be used to color frosting.
  • 4th of July cupcake decorations: Decorate the cupcakes using patriotic sprinkles and 4th of July cupcake toppers.

Nutrition

Serving: 1ServingCalories: 213kcalCarbohydrates: 28gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 4mgPotassium: 5mgSugar: 28gVitamin A: 353IUCalcium: 4mgIron: 1mg
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About Arlene Mobley

Arlene Mobley author of Flour On My Face-a Food & Lifestyle website helping busy families get dinner on the table by serving easy recipes every week.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Darla

    July 03, 2021 at 10:38 am

    How much cream is needed for this recipe- it doesn’t say how much; just to add it..

    Reply
    • Arlene Mobley

      July 05, 2021 at 10:31 am

      Darla

      3 tablespoons of whipping cream.

      Reply
5 from 1 vote (1 rating without comment)

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