Red, White, and Blue Velvet Cupcakes

These festive red, white, and blue velvet cupcakes are made with one batter and topped with a simple cream cheese frosting! The perfect summer dessert for any occasion! Strawberries, blueberries, and Skittles America Mix are added on top, because, who doesn’t love adorable toppings?! 

Summer has ARRIVED.

I suppose it’s only appropriate that the start of summer began with nearly 115 degree temperatures; however, I would have been more than fine to kick off the celebration of summer with 85 degree temps.

Apparently California did not agree with me.

This record-breaking heat wave is enough to make me want to lay down on the floor in front of a fan and never leave.

Or, lay on a raft in the pool and have an endless supply of cupcakes, ice cream sandwiches and iced tea available.

If the latter could happen, I would prefer the cupcakes to be these red, white, and blue velvet cupcakes. I have a thing for cute food, and these festive colored cupcakes are about as cute as it gets!

There’s something about the summer season as a whole that feels patriotic. Perhaps it’s the patriotic holidays commemorating our country’s independence, and the men and women who have served for our country, as well as all of those who continue to serve.

Or perhaps it is a combination of those patriotic holidays with the typical summer pastimes, including baseball, ice cream, and barbecues that makes the whole summer feel like a celebration.

As such, for summer, there is nothing I like more than fun desserts filled with all of the summer feelings–you know, the feelings of all things red, white, & blue, and sunshine and happiness. As if the tie dye cake batter wasn’t enough, the limited edition Skittles America Mix add the perfect amount of festiveness to these cupcakes.

Aaaand, any leftover Skittles America Mix fit perfectly in a candy dish so they can be enjoyed all day long (or all summer long if buy the big pack on Amazon.com). Just saying.

These Skittles America Mix still offer the same great taste of Skittles candy, but they’re just in fun, summery, red, white, & blue colors, making the summer a little bit sweeter!

Red, White, and Blue Velvet Cupcakes

Prep: 25 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

These festive red, white, and blue velvet cupcakes are made with one batter and topped with a simple cream cheese frosting! The perfect summer dessert for any occasion!

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Ingredients

 

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Vanilla Cake Batter Base

• ▢ 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/4 cup brown sugar
• ▢ 2 eggs (large)
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• ▢ 3/4 tsp baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp baking soda
• ▢ 1/4 tsp salt
• ▢ 1/2 cup buttermilk
• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1/3 cup sour cream

Red Batter

• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
• ▢ 2 Tbsp buttermilk
• ▢ 3-5 drops red food coloring (until you achieve your desired red hue)

Blue Batter

• ▢ 1 1/2 tsp cocoa powder
• ▢ 2 Tbsp buttermilk
• ▢ 3-5 drops blue food coloring (until you achieve your desired blue hue)

Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ 8 oz cream cheese (softened)
• ▢ 6 Tbsp butter (softened)
• ▢ 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ▢ 1-2 Tbsp heavy cream
• ▢ 3-4 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ salt to taste

Topping

• ▢ Skittles America Mix
• ▢ Strawberries (sliced (optional))
• ▢ Blueberries (sliced (optional))

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 and line a 12-cup cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

Vanilla Cake Batter Base

• With a mixer, cream butter until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add in white sugar, and mix until combined. Next, add in brown sugar and mix until combined.
• Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In a separate bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Alternately add dry ingredients and buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.
• Add in vanilla extract and sour cream, and stir.

Red Batter

• Transfer 1 cup of the vanilla cake batter base into a separate bowl. Add in cocoa powder and stir until combined. Mix buttermilk and red food coloring until combined (beginning with 3 drops of food coloring), and add to the batter. If the you would prefer a deeper color, add in another drop or two of food coloring. Set aside.

Blue Batter

• Transfer (another) 1 cup of the vanilla base into a bowl. Add in cocoa powder and stir until combined. Mix buttermilk and blue food coloring until combined (beginning with 3 drops of food coloring), and add to the batter. If the you would prefer a deeper color, add in another drop or two of food coloring.
• Divide the red velvet cake batter evenly in the cupcake tin. Next, divide the vanilla cake batter evenly in the cupcake tin. Finally, divide the blue velvet cake batter evenly in the tin.
• Bake cupcakes for 19-20 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Allow to cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
• Add in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, beginning with 3 cups.
• Add in vanilla extract. Beat together, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
• Add in 1 Tbsp of heavy cream and beat. If frosting seems too thick, add in another Tbsp of cream. If it seems too thin, add in the last cup of powdered sugar (cream cheese frosting has a slightly thinner consistency than buttercream). Add in salt to taste (salt helps even out the sweetness).
• Frost each cupcake with cream cheese frosting, and top with Skittles America Mix, strawberries, and blueberries.
• Enjoy!

The nutrition facts provided are calculated using a third-party tool and are estimates only. Actual nutritional content may vary based on the ingredients and brands you use, as well as portion sizes. For accurate results, please consult a registered dietitian or nutritionist.

Make sure to tag me on Instagram and leave a rating below and let me know how it turned out!

My favorite products used in this recipe:

This post for Red, White, and Blue Velvet Cupcakes has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Skittles. All opinions are mine alone. #SkittlesAmericaMix #tastetherainbow #CollectiveBias