Jan Moon, author of Big Book of Cupcakes
 

Toppings: red jumbo sprinkles, edible glitter stars, red candies, star picks (optional)

Additional Ingredients:  1 ½ cups strawberry or blueberry jam, red and blue food coloring gel      

White Cake Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup shortening

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 ¾ cups all-purpose soft-wheat flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ tsp. almond extract

Paper baking cups

Vegetable cooking spray
 

White Cake Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.

3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in extracts.

4. Place paper baking cups in 2 (12-cup) muffin pans, and coat with cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full.

5. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Vanilla Frosting Ingredients:

½ cup butter, softened

3 to 4 Tbsp. whipping cream

1 tsp. clear vanilla extract

1⁄8 tsp. salt

1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar

Vanilla Frosting Directions:

1. Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

2. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until blended. Beat at high speed 2 minutes or until creamy. Makes 3 cups.

Finishing Touches:

1. Fill each cupcake with strawberry or blueberry jam. _How-To Fill:_ To fill cupcakes, insert the end of a wooden spoon or dowel into the center of the cupcake to make a hole. Fill a zip-top plastic freezer bag with filling or frosting. Use scissors or kitchen shears to snip about ¼ inch from one corner of bag; insert bag into the hole in the cupcake. Squeeze gently until filling comes to the top of each cupcake. Note: If you want to fill _and _frost 1 recipe of cupcakes with the same frosting, you will need about 6 cups of frosting total.

2. Divide frosting into 3 bowls. Tint 1 bowl of frosting with desired amount of red food coloring and 1 bowl of frosting with desired amount of blue food coloring.

3. Insert metal tip no. 2D into a large decorating bag; spoon 1⁄4 cup each of red, white, and blue frosting into bag. Pipe a generous peak of frosting onto each cupcake. Top each with sprinkles, glitter stars, 1 red candy, and, if desired, 1 sta