Tiny blue buttercream stars and red-licorice stripes create a patriotic batch of cupcakes to celebrate Independence Day. Festive cupcake liners carry out the theme.
Ingredients
- 24 Yellow Buttermilk Cupcakes or One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
- Swiss Meringue Buttercream
- Blue gel-paste food color
- 1 small bag (about 5 ounces) red licorice laces
How to Make It
- Tint 1 cup buttercream bright blue with gel-paste food color. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a small plain tip. Using an offset spatula, spread each cupcake with a smooth layer of untinted buttercream. Cupcakes can be refrigerated up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before decorating.
- To finish, cut licorice laces into seventy-two 1½-inch-long pieces and seventy-two ¾-inch-long pieces. Arrange three longer pieces and three shorter pieces to form a flag pattern on each cupcake. With blue frosting, pipe nine dots in each open corner to form “stars.”