If you are having a street party, or celebrating at home 🇬🇧 these easy Platinum Jubilee red, white and blue cupcakes are right up your street! White sponge cake coloured red, white and blue with a red jammy centre and vanilla flavoured red, white and blue buttercream.
So here in the UK were are about to be treated to a double bank holiday in celebration of HRH The Queen's 70th Platinum Jubilee. How exciting! I do love a bit of pomp and ceremony! I am looking forward to following the celebrations as they unfold 🎉.
Whilst baking of course. Because I basically never stop baking!
To keep to our red, white and blue theme, these are actually white cake cupcakes, they are made with egg whites only, rather than whole eggs. The addition of sour cream and milk give these red, white blue cupcakes a soft, muffin-like texture with a vanilla flavour.
Ingredients
- Egg whites
- Unsalted butter
- Self-raising flour
- Caster (super fine) sugar
- Icing (confectioner's) sugar
- Sour cream
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Gel food colourings, in red, white and blue.
- Strawberry or raspberry jam
Instructions
See end of post RECIPE CARD for precise quantities and instructions.
Platinum Jubilee Red, White and Blue Cupcakes
Beat softened butter and sugar until light and airy.
Beat egg whites until frothy and standing in peaks.
Mix together sour cream, milk and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in on a low setting, alternately with flour.
Adding a quarter at a time, beat the egg whites into the cake batter mixture on a low setting.
Give the mixture a beat on a medium-high for 10 seconds.
Split the cake batter into 3 equal amounts and colour with red, white and blue gel food colouring.
Add heaped teaspoonfuls of each colour to cake cases, ensuring they are all filled equally.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden and the cakes spring back when touched. Leave to cool.
Red, White and Blue Buttercream
Beat softened butter until smooth, then gradually beat in sifted icing (confectioner's) sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth.
Use a Wilton Colour Swirl 3 colour icing bag coupler fitted with a large star nozzle such as a Jem 1M piping nozzle. Add icing to 3 separate bags.
See ”Top Tips” below for an alternative method if you do not have a Wilton Colour Swirl.
Cut a hole in the top of each cupcake, a Cake Corer is great for this. Fill with jam. Then pipe stars of buttercream onto each cake.
Hint: use weighing scales to ensure that your cake batter and buttercream are split into 3 equal amounts, simply weigh out the same amounts for each one.
Substitutions
If you don't have the exact ingredients listed then no problem, the following can be used instead:
- Caster sugar - can be replaced with granulated sugar.
- Sour cream - natural or Greek yoghurt works fine instead.
- Self-raising flour - plain or all-purpose flour can be used, add 1.5 teaspoons of baking powder and a large pinch of salt and then sift everything together first.
- Strawberry jam - any red jam can be used but try to use seedless if possible.
- Vanilla extract - almond essence can be used, but only add a teaspoon as it is quite strong.
Why use gel food colouring?
Because we want to achieve really strong colours for our Platinum Jubilee red, white and blue cupcakes, we need to use a food colour that is not water-based and will not therefore add extra moisture, such as a gel or paste food colouring.
What are white cakes?
White cake is made from just egg whites, not the full egg which gives a cake batter perfect for colouring. The egg whites are beaten first, to add plenty of air to the batter and ensure the cakes rise.
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Variations
Vegan - to make these into vegan cupcakes, simply follow my Very Best Vegan Coffee and Walnut Cupcakes recipe, however omit the coffee, boiling water and cinnamon, replace the brown sugar with caster sugar, and increase the vanilla extract to 1 tablespoon.
Storage
Platinum Jubilee red white and blue cupcakes are iced with buttercream and so will keep for 2-3 days at room temperature or up to a week if refrigerated.
These cupcakes can be frozen pre-iced and should be eaten within 3 months.
Top tip
If you do not have Wilton 3 colour coupler you can still easily pipe 3 colours at once.
Simply take a piece of cling film (plastic wrap) and lay it out.
Take 3 sandwich bags and add your coloured buttercream to each one, so that you have one red, one white and one blue.
Cut a hole in the corner of each bag and then pipe a strip of each one, about 15cm long, next to each other.
Roll the clingfilm over the buttercream strips to form a sausage and then place in a piping back pre-fitted with a large star nozzle.
Watch this video for guidance.
Linked Recipes
Light and fluffy Biscoff cupcakes, with a secret Biscoff surprise hiding inside, a crown of soft Biscoff frosting on top and a sprinkle of Biscoff biscuit crumb to decorate.
Light and fluffy vegan coffee cupcakes dotted with nuggets of soft chopped walnuts and topped with smooth dairy-free vegan coffee icing, with a sprinkling of walnut pieces. There is a reason why I confidently name them the best.
📖 Recipe
Platinum Jubilee Cupcakes
Here's what you'll need...
- Wilton 3 colour icing bag coupler
- 3 Piping bags
- Jem 1M large star nozzle
- Teaspoons
Ingredients you'll need...
Both Jubilee Cakes and Buttercream
- Red gel food colour
- White gel food colouring
- Royal blue gel food colour
Jubilee Fairy Cakes
- 115 g Unsalted butter softened (1 stick or ½ Cup)
- 150 g Caster (super fine) sugar (10 tablespoons)
- 3 Egg white from large eggs US = extra large
- 175 g Self-raising flour (1¼ Cups)
- 90 ml Milk (6 tablespoons)
- 70 mls Sour cream (5 tablespoons)
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
Jubilee Buttercream
- 180 g Unsalted butter softened (13 tablespoons)
- 350 g Icing (confectioners) sugar sifted (3 Cups)
- 2 teaspoon Milk
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract
Here's what we do...
Jubilee Fairy Cakes
- Heat your oven to 160°C Fan/180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.
- Add 12 Cupcake or muffin cases to a cupcake or muffin tin.
- Beat your softened butter to spread it out a little, then add your caster (superfine) sugar and beat until paste-like and soft, this can take a couple of minutes, but it is important to get right because it beats in air.
- In a separate bowl add your egg whites and start beating them on a low setting, gradually turn up the speed until they have transformed into white foam which forms soft peaks, this can take a few minutes to achieve.
- Mix together your milk, sour cream and vanilla extract and beat in a quarter of it on a low setting, then beat in a quarter of your flour.
- Repeat the above two steps until of the milk mixture and flour have been added. Scrape down the sides and base of the bowl again with your spatula to mix everything in.
- Add your egg whites in four lots, beating in on a low setting. Wipe down your bowl with your spatula to ensure everything is fully mixed in.
- Give the batter a good mix for 10 seconds on a medium-high setting.
- Split the mixture into 3 lots and add white gel colour to one, red to another and blue to the last one, fold the colours in.
- Place teaspoonfuls of each coloured batter mixture into your cupcake cases, making sure that they all have the same amount.
- Bake in the centre of your oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden on top, then leave to cool.
- Cut a hole in the top of each cake with a cake corer or sharp knife and fill with strawberry jam.
Jubillee Buttercream
- Beat your butter to ensure softened, it should stick to the outside of the bowl and should not be clumping around the beater paddle.
- Then gradually beat in your sifted icing sugar, adding it a spoonful at a time, and then your vanilla extract and milk. Wipe down with your spatula in-between and beat until smooth
- Split the buttercream into 3 equal amounts and colour each one either red, white or blue.
- Fit your piping bags to your 3 colour Wilton coupler and add a coloured buttercream separately to each one.
- Holding the piping bag upright, gently squeeze down and pipe stars onto the top fo each cake, 4 around the sides so that they are all touching and then one on top.
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