A Southern Grace: not red, white, and blue...

July 15, 2013

not red, white, and blue...

Yum

...so much as cherry tomato, French vanilla, and concord grape.*


*And yes, it's an absolute coincidence that all those hues happen to have culinary names.

I've been considering paint colors of late and boy, is that a daunting endeavor. I usually have a hard time deciding between two choices, so thousands of options is just a wee bit overwhelming. I've discovered that Sherwin-Williams has this awesome program called Chip It! that'll analyze any photo and tell you the corresponding paint colors used in it. Super cool and a fantastic waste of time.


I made these cupcakes to celebrate Independence Day, and they turned out to be less patriotic than I anticipated. I added strawberries and blueberries to the batter, but if I hadn't done the red and blue streaks in the frosting, one would never guess the theme was red, white, and blue. Regardless, it's a tasty and versatile recipe, and one you should definitely try.

Partially Patriotic Cupcakes
Makes about 17

Strawberry cupcakes:
  • 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup cake flour, sifted
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped strawberries
  • 3/4 cup blueberries, tossed in flour
Vanilla buttercream:
  • 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1-3 tablespoons milk, as needed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk flours, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Combine milk and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 3 additions, alternating with wet ingredients and ending with dry, scraping sides of bowl as you go. Fold in chopped strawberries and blueberries.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each 2/3 full and bake until testers inserted into centers come out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool in tins on wire racks.
To make the frosting, with an electric mixer, beat butter on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Reduce speed to medium and add the powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed; after every two additions, raise speed to high and beat 10 seconds to aerate frosting, then return to medium-high. Add vanilla and a tablespoon of milk, and beat until frosting is smooth. Add more milk as needed.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, apply the frosting as desired and enjoy!



22 comments:

pam said...

I'm all for patriotic cupcakes!

Pam said...

They look festive and delicious!

Becki's Whole Life said...

You are too funny! I would say just your attempt to be patriotic would make them completely patriotic:-). I will say that I do like that srawberry and blueberry combo in the cupcake!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Pretty and tempting!

Cheers,

Rosa

Katerina said...

I love the colorful frosting Grace. Makes them so happy and festive!

Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella said...

Hehe these are indeed very patriotic and delicious! And no, another app? I have so many! :P

~~louise~~ said...

They look pretty patriotic to me Grace. I wouldn't mind testing one just to be sure though, lol...

LOVE the Chip selector from Sherwin Williams! Choosing paint colors can be a daunting task not to mention the draws of paint chips I have collected through the years while deciding. I must find something creative to do with them once I decided on a color for the plant room!

Thanks for sharing, Grace...

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Patriotism is in the heart so the gesture itself is patriotic.

Gloria Baker said...

Just beautiful Grace, love them!!

Angie's Recipes said...

These are so pretty, esp. the frosting...so so gorgeous.

kellypea said...

I had a run in with that Sherwin Williams color picker. WAY cool! And I've also recovered from my attempts to use blueberries for a July 4 dessert which ended up lavender. Not exactly patriotic -- but your cupcake is!

Ally said...

Those look yummy! They remind me of those red/white and blue Popsicles that my boyfriend's kids love to eat. :)

Rosita Vargas said...

Realmente bellĂ­simo un encanto mi querida Grace,hugs.

Carolyn Jung said...

I think a touch of purple never hurt anything. These look plenty patriotic to me. Plus, what a thoroughly sweet way to celebrate the Fourth. ;)

Barbara said...

Your final photo tells the story! Very patriotic!

Juliana said...

This cupcake looks so pretty...I love the patriotic theme...and blueberries look great in it.
Hope you are having a lovely week Grace :)

Joanne said...

Apparently red white and blue = purple? :P Still, very pretty (and I"m sure delicious!).

I need to check out that Sherwin-Williams thing...a new work distraction is definitely happening.

Lisa said...

Yummy looking cupcakes! I think the purple of the blueberries looks much more taste-tempting for sweets than firecracker red. I am always suspicious of those red candies....

I Wilkerson said...

These cupcakes look great--and perfect for any patriotic occasion. I love all the fresh fruit they contain; that was totally unexpected!

Nutmeg Nanny said...

These look ultra sweet :) love the recipe!

dessert girl said...

I feel like it's difficult to pull off July 4th desserts without them looking cheesy or unappetizing, but these are lovely! Nice job!

Tania | My Kitchen Stories said...

delicious cup cakes enough said. hope you had a great holiday