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Fireworks Cupcakes

Fireworks cupcakes with tall swirled vanilla buttercream are topped with red and blue star sprinkles and sparkler picks for a 4th of July look. Bake fluffy cake mix cupcakes, pipe a dramatic tri-color frosting peak, then finish with a firework-burst sparkler decoration.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 24 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Cupcakes (cake mix)
  • 1 white or vanilla cake mix, plus ingredients on box Use whatever eggs/water/oil are required on the box.
Buttercream
  • 1 cup unsalted butter Softened.
  • 4 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream Start with 3 tbsp; add more as needed for pipeable consistency.
  • 0.5 red and blue gel food coloring Use to color buttercream red and blue (as needed).
  • 1 red, white, and blue star sprinkles
  • 1 sparkler picks or flag picks for decoration

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 muffin tin

Method
 

Bake and cool cupcakes
  1. Bake cupcakes according to package directions in lined muffin tins, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
Make vanilla buttercream
  1. Beat softened unsalted butter until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and heavy cream, then beat on high for 3 minutes until very light and fluffy.
Color and set up the piping bag
  1. Divide buttercream into three portions and keep one white. Color one portion red and one portion blue using gel food coloring, leaving the portions ready for tri-color piping.
Pipe tall tri-color swirls
  1. Load a piping bag fitted with a large star tip with all three colors side by side for a tri-color swirl. Pipe a tall swirled peak of frosting onto each cooled cupcake.
Decorate like fireworks
  1. Shower each cupcake with red, white, and blue star sprinkles, letting them fall around the swirled peak. Insert a sparkler pick into the center and serve.

Notes

Pro tip: If your buttercream looks too thick to pipe, add heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until it holds a tall peak. Store cupcakes covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days; bring to cool room temperature before serving. Freezing is not recommended for the decorated sparkler-pick look. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat butter while keeping the same powdered sugar ratio for stability.