Invited to a 4th of July party this year? Bring these easy and taste mini 4th of July cupcakes! Festive and delicious.
Mini Cupcakes
In my humble opinion, mini cupcakes are perhaps the best dessert for potlucks, cookouts and parties. Perfect little 2-bite desserts that don’t require utensils or a plate.
Stable in varying temperatures, they don’t require specials dishes that need to be cleaned or returned.
And they are super verstile. Basic boxed cake mix hacks are used to make this white cake mix into a pop of 4th of July fireworks, complete with buttercream frosting.
Ingredients
The ingredients are pretty basic for cupcakes, but you might see one that usually isn’t included in boxed cake mix recipes…
- White cake mix– make sure the mix is white and not yellow. Yellow cake mix will be yellow and the sprinkles will make green.
- Egg whites– See below on how to use up those yolks!
- Buttermilk– you heard right, folks. We are ditching the water and replacing it with tangy buttermilk for the moistess boxed cupcakes you ever did eat.
- Clear vanilla– this isn’t a pure vanilla extract, it is man-made, but you need clear to be able to maintain the snowy white color. Use regular vanilla, but know there will be a little brown tinge.
- Vegetable or canola oil– oil helps keeps these puppies moist.
- Red and blue sprinkles- I like to use jimmies, the long sprinkles, but any type will do as long as they are patriotic and festive.
- White frosting– Do yourself a favor and just grab a tub at the store. If you want to elevate it, put it in a piping bag and use a star tip to apply.
- Decorations– Pick anything red, white and blue!
Egg Yolks
Now you have 4 egg yolks… what can you do with them? They can of course be scrambled eggs or an omelette, yolk only. Or you can make…
How to Make 4th of July Cupcakes
The process is easy! First, I strongly recommend sifting the dry cake mix before adding to wet ingredients. This reduces clumps and will also reduce the tendency to overmix, which leads to dry and crumbly cupcakes.
Next, mix with wet ingredients, but until until combined. Don’t just turn on the stand mixer and walk away.
By hand, fold in the sprinkles. Do not over mix or the colors will run. You can use the stand mixer, but literally only let it do 2-3 full turns.
Divide in the muffin tins, but only about 2/3 of the way.
Bake, keeping a watchful eye to not overbake.
Remove and allow to cool fully before frosting. Use a star tip for festive firework like frosting or a large circle for fluffy, billowing clouds.
Best Cupcake Tips:
ONE. Do not overmix the batter. The most commonly made mistake in making cupcakes is overworking the batter. This is actually made easier when you are using a stand mixer because we overestimate how long the batter has been beaten. Pay attention!
TWO. Don’t over bake your cupcakes! This might seem like it is super apparent, but many folks wait too long before taking the cake out of the oven and presto, dry cake. Whomp, whomp. They shouldn’t jiggle in the middle, but spring back when lightly touched.
THREE. Don’t overfill the cupcake tins. Only fill them half to two thirds full. You want the mounds to peak over the top, but not bubble on over or being hiding below.
More 4th of July Desserts
Here are a few more red, white and blue desserts to get the party started!
- Red, White and Blue Chocolate Covered Strawberries
- Red, White and Blue JELLO Cups
- No Bake Strawberry Shortcake Cake
Red, White and Blue Cherry Pie
Super Simple American Flag Sugar Cookie Cake Recipe
Mini 4th of July Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix 15.25 ounces*
- 4 large egg whites , room temperature **
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon clear vanilla***
- ½ cup vegetable or canola oil
- ½ cup red and blue sprinkles
- White frosting
- Decorations
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and add cupcake liners to a mini cupcake pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl, beat together the cake mix, egg whites, buttermilk, vanilla and oil.
- Mix until smooth, but do not overmix.
- Fold in sprinkles carefully so colors don’t run. Do not overmix.
- Evenly divide among lined cupcake wells.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
- Decorate with buttercream frosting, and add sprinkles or other decorations.
- If you’ve tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings!
These cupcakes are super fun and festive. A perfect treat for the Holiday.
These cupcakes are absolutely adorable, I love the distinct red white and blue colors! I’ll definitely be making these for multiple holidays this summer. Thanks for the recipe!
This Mini 4th of July Cupcakes looks delicious and fluffy!! will make it with the kiddos so they can decorate them. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Putting these on my list for summertime parties – I can’t wait to share them with guests!
What a fun festive treat! We made it and really enjoyed our time together. Will definitely be making these again for a 4th of July party!
Funfetti for 4th of July! My kids love these cupcakes. They can never have enough sprinkles, lol! And, I love the way you decorated the tops. So colorful!
Could these fluffy cupcakes be any cuter?! Your piping and sprinkle design reminds me of little fireworks — I cannot wait to make these for 4th of July to share with family and friends!