Let your colors burst!

Red, white and blue was all around us this past weekend and I wanted to incorporate it into a cupcake. Afterall, they have always been my first love. sigh

I wanted something simple enough yet adorable. I had 2 ideas ( 3 actually because the last one came to me while I was frosting the last cupcake. Ill share with you, I promise)

The first to make an appearance is........

This little guy! Isnt he a cutie? His shiny wrapper is all the rage, not to mention it matches the stars that adorn his patriotic buttercream. I wish I had a runway to send him down!

First, I made a batch of vanilla buttercream. Next, I divided it into 3 portions. I dyed one red by using Americolor Red Red, the next I dyed blue by using Americolor Royal Blue and a teeny tiny bit of Violet and left the last portion white.

I baked the cupcakes ( you might have noticed the cupcakes on the right look a little different,I will share that with you very soon!)

I set up 3 decorating bags with graduated round tips. ( Ateco #807, 806 & 805)

A quick little helpful tip: after dropping the tip in the bag, twist the bag just above the tip.....

Then gently push it into the tip. This will prevent the contents from spilling out. Easy enough, right?

Another quick tip to make things easier is to put the decorating bag in a large glass or cup so you dont have to hold it while you fill it.

Take it out of the cup, untwist the bag and you're all ready to go!

I forgot to mention that I used the largest tip for the blue because it was going to be on the bottom. The middle for the white and the smallest tip for the red.

Pipe the blue buttercream in a circle making sure to fill the middle a little, so the next layer doesnt fall in.

Next, pipe a slightly smaller circle with the white buttercream, again filling in the middle.

Lastly, use the red to pipe an even smaller circle on the top. Et voila!

If you want to add sprinkles, or little stars or even sanding sugar.....the possibilities are endless!

Thanks so much for stopping by. I will post the other 2 options for 4th cupcakes as soon as possible.

Jess