HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

"The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him"  - G.K. Chesterton

 I was feeling festive today so I decided to make some yummy cupcakes. 

These were delicious! I have to confess, I did cheat a bit and made a box red velvet cupcake, but in my defense, my son was being a total energetic young boy so I had to take a shortcut. BUT, the buttercream is ALL MINE!

Ingredients: 

4 cups of sifted powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 sticks butter, softened.

Directions:

On a stand up mixer beat softened butter until light in color and creamy. Add 2 cups of sifted powder sugar and beat on low until all sugar is incorporated or you will end up with a sugar dust cloud. Add the milk and beat on medium high for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the sugar and the vanilla extract on low until incorporated, then on medium high for 2 - 3 minutes. Mixture should be light and fluffy. Voila! 

For the blue and red stripes effect, paint a line of red gel color on one side of your piping bag and a line of blue gel color on the opposite side. Then fill your piping bag as usual with buttercream. I used a large star tip to frost my cupcakes. As a little added bonus I found Star-Spangled Sprinkles at HomeGoods and I added a few to each cupcake.

If you are curious to see more of my creations check this post.