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4th of July Cupcakes with real strawberry cake under a red, white, and blue funfetti buttercream are the dessert that disappears first at every cookout, and when I set a tray out at our Fourth of July barbecue, Maddie and Lizzie handed them out to the whole block like they were running a bakery stand. If you love a patriotic centerpiece, our 4th of July cake is the big-format version of the same crowd-pleaser.
The batter is a doctored cake mix with strawberry jello and fresh puree, so it tastes homemade with about ten minutes of actual work.
4th of July Cupcakes Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 20 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 30 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 12 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 373kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Sweet strawberry cake with vanilla buttercream and a red, white, and blue crunch
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, simpler than the layered swirls on our lemon cupcakes
Quick Answer
Mix a white cake mix with strawberry jello, egg whites, oil, and water, then blend in fresh strawberry puree and red food coloring. Fill liners two thirds full and bake at 325 degrees for 17 to 19 minutes. Whip butter with powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk, fold in red and blue sprinkles, and frost the cooled cupcakes.
Jump to:
- 4th of July Cupcakes Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make 4th of July Cupcakes
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- 4th of July Cupcakes FAQs
- Other Recommended Patriotic Party Recipes
- 4th of July Cupcakes
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Jello plus puree, double strawberry. The jello powder concentrates strawberry flavor without adding liquid, while the fresh puree adds real fruit moisture. Together they out-flavor any strawberry extract.
- Egg whites only. Yolks would tint the batter yellow and mute the pink. Whites keep the crumb light, fluffy, and true to color, the same trick professional white cakes use.
- A 325 degree bake. Twenty five degrees lower than standard keeps the sugary jello batter from over-browning at the edges before the centers set, so every cupcake bakes level and soft.
- Two thirds full, no more. This batter rises enthusiastically. Filling liners two thirds of the way gives a perfect dome instead of a mushroom spill-over.
- Cooling in two stages. Five minutes in the tin lets the structure set, then the wire rack stops the bases from steaming soggy. Fully cool cupcakes are the only ones that hold a frosting swirl.
- Sprinkles folded in last. Stirring the red and blue sprinkles in at the very end keeps their color from bleeding pink and blue streaks through the white buttercream.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- They are red, white, and blue inside and out, pink strawberry cake, white frosting, and patriotic sprinkles in every bite.
- The funfetti buttercream is the same homemade buttercream frosting we use on everything, just loaded with holiday sprinkles.
- Ten minutes of prep and one bowl, which leaves you free for the grill, the sparklers, and the rest of the cookout spread.
- It delivers that same everyone asks for seconds energy as our angel food cupcakes with blackberry frosting.
- It delivers that same everyone asks for seconds energy as our margarita cupcakes.
- It earns a spot in the rotation right next to our strawberry sugar cookies.
Key Ingredients
A doctored cake mix does the strawberry heavy lifting, and the sprinkle-studded buttercream brings the fireworks.
- White Cake Mix: The blank canvas. Starting with white mix instead of yellow lets the strawberry color and flavor come through bright and clear.
- Strawberry Jello: The 3 ounce box is the secret to real strawberry flavor in every crumb, it dissolves into the batter and deepens both the taste and the pink color.
- Strawberry Puree: About 6 fresh strawberries blitzed in the blender. Real fruit keeps the cupcakes moist and honest, this is not just extract flavoring.
- Egg Whites: Using only the whites keeps the crumb light and the color clean, so the pink stays vivid instead of turning muddy.
- Butter, Powdered Sugar, and Sprinkles: The funfetti frosting trio. Red and blue sprinkles whipped right into the buttercream turn a plain swirl into a firework.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Swap the colors and this same strawberry funfetti formula covers birthdays, Memorial Day, and every summer party in between.
- Blueberry swirl: Swirl a spoonful of blueberry preserves through the frosted tops for a deeper blue and a berry double-feature.
- Straight funfetti: Skip the jello and puree and use rainbow sprinkles for the classic birthday version, like our funfetti cupcakes.
- Whipped cream topping: Trade the buttercream for stabilized whipped cream and a fresh strawberry on top for a lighter summer bite.
- Berry shortcake energy: Core each cupcake and tuck diced strawberries inside, a handheld take on our strawberry angel food cake.
- Mini size: Bake 11 to 13 minutes in mini tins for two-bite poppers, you will get about 36 and they vanish even faster.
- If you want to switch things up, our 4th of july cupcakes plays on similar flavors in a whole new way.
- If you want to switch things up, our chocolate whoopie pies recipe with strawberry frosting plays on similar flavors in a whole new way.
- In the mood for something different? Our jello shots scratches a similar itch.
How to Make 4th of July Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix the cake mix, strawberry jello, oil, water, and egg whites with a hand mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes, then scrape the bowl and add the strawberry puree and red food coloring.
- Mix until the batter is smooth, evenly pink, and fully combined.
- Fill lined cupcake tins two thirds of the way full with the strawberry batter.
- Bake 17 to 19 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- While they cool, cream the butter and powdered sugar together, then add the vanilla and milk and whip until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the red and blue sprinkles and mix just until combined.
- Frost the cooled cupcakes, top with extra sprinkles if desired, and serve.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Puree the strawberries smooth, about 6 berries with the tops removed. Chunks of fruit sink to the bottom of the cupcake and make wet pockets.
- Cool completely before frosting, even slightly warm cupcakes melt buttercream into a glaze that slides right off.
- Fold the sprinkles in by hand at the very end, over-mixing with the beaters bleeds red and blue dye through the white frosting.
- Use gel food coloring if you have it, the 20 drops of liquid works, but a small squeeze of gel gets a deeper pink without thinning the batter.
- Do not overfill the liners. Two thirds full is the line, this jello batter rises more than a standard mix and overfilled cups bake into mushroom tops.
- Make them a day ahead if you need to, unfrosted cupcakes keep sealed at room temperature overnight and frost up fresh in minutes.
- Plan the whole menu. This pairs effortlessly with our fresh strawberry cream cheese frosting when company is coming.
- Plan the whole menu. This pairs effortlessly with our banana cupcakes with brown sugar frosting when company is coming.
- Make it a full spread. Our cherry cupcakes rounds out the table.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Arrange them on a flag-themed platter with a blue candy star or a mini flag pick in each swirl, they double as table decor at the cookout.
And if you want one more idea for the table, our banana cupcakes with cream cheese frosting never misses.
Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or refrigerate for 4 and let them stand 20 minutes before serving.
4th of July Cupcakes FAQs
Yes. Bake the cupcakes up to 2 days ahead and store them unfrosted in an airtight container at room temperature, then frost the day of the party. The buttercream can also be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated, just re-whip it briefly and fold in the sprinkles right before frosting.
The red comes from the pink strawberry cake, tinted deeper with food coloring, the white is the vanilla buttercream, and the blue comes from sprinkles folded into the frosting plus a candy star or flag pick on top. Blue liners or star-print liners finish the theme with zero extra work.
Sinking usually means the liners were overfilled or the oven door opened too early. Fill only two thirds full, keep the door closed for the first 15 minutes, and test with a toothpick at 17 minutes. Underbaked centers collapse as they cool, so the toothpick must come out clean.
Yes, fresh strawberry puree is exactly what this recipe calls for, about 6 berries with the tops removed, pureed smooth in a blender. Frozen strawberries work too, thaw and drain them first so the extra juice does not thin the batter. The puree plus strawberry jello is what gives real fruit flavor.
A simple vanilla buttercream with red and blue sprinkles folded in, funfetti style, is the easiest showstopper. Cream a stick of butter with 3 cups of powdered sugar, add vanilla and a splash of milk, and whip 3 minutes until fluffy. It pipes cleanly and holds up outdoors better than whipped cream.
Keep them shaded and covered until dessert time, buttercream holds its shape for a couple of hours in the shade but melts fast in direct sun. If the day is very hot, keep the tray in a cooler with an ice pack underneath a towel, and set them out just before serving.
Need the centerpiece too? Our 4th of July cake brings the same red, white, and blue to the middle of the table.
4th of July Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 3 oz strawberry jello
- 4 egg whites
- 1/3 Cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 Cup water
- 1/2 Cup strawberry puree about 6 strawberries, tops removed and pureed in blender
- 20 drops red food coloring
- 3 Cups powdered sugar
- 1 stick butter unsalted, room temp
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 Tbls milk or water
- 1 1/2 tsp blue sprinkles
- 1 1/2 tsp red sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix together cake mix, jello, oil, 1/2 cup water and egg whites with hand mixer on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Scrap the sides of the bowl, add in the strawberry puree and food coloring. Mix until combined.
- Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 17-19 minutes until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place cupcakes tin on wired rack and let cool 5 minutes. Transfer cakes to wire rack and let cool completely.
- While cakes cool, make the frosting by creaming together the butter and powdered sugar. Add in the vanilla and milk. Whip until light and fluffy about 3 minutes. Add in the sprinkles and mix again until combined.
- Top cupcakes with frosting and additional sprinkles if desired.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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I do not currently have one on this blog, so sorry! I searched and another blogger I know has a great recipe for one here: http://iambaker.net/the-perfect-white-cake/
Making these for Memorial Day, do u have a white cake homemade recipe , I don’t like the boxed kind . Thanks! Jazzy
Love your cupcakes! I’m featuring them tomorrow. 🙂
You’ve done it again! Thank you for sharing. You are one of the features today at the Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Here is the link to the party. http://www.thededicatedhouse.com/2014/06/make-it-pretty-monday-week-102.html Hope to see your prettiness again at the party. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
These cupcakes look delicious, cute, and perfectly patriotic! Thanks for sharing at Submarine Sunday!
Yummm! fresh strawberry cupcakes. you can’t beat that!