Tricolor Christmas Cupcakes

By srumbel

Very Merry Tricolor Christmas Cupcakes in red, green and white have a hint of peppermint! See how easy it is to turn plain cupcakes into colorful marble cupcakes and frosting, just like fancy café-style confections.
from tidymom.com

Ingredients

• FOR CUPCAKES:
• 1 box white or vanilla cake mix (I prefer Duncan Hines French Vanilla)
• 3 Large Eggs
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon peppermint extract (*optional)
• red and green gel food color
• FOR FROSTING:
• 1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
• 8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 to 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• bright white gel color (optional)
• sprinkles

Preparation

Step 1

FOR TRICOLOR CUPCAKES:

Heat oven to 350° and line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, butter, water and extracts using an electric mixer on low for one minute, then mix on high for one minute.
Divide batter evenly into 3 bowls. Set one bowl aside. Add red gel coloring to one bowl until you reach the desired color. Mix really well with spoon or spatula scraping the bottom of the bowl until you no longer see any white batter. Repeat with the second bowl of batter using the green food coloring gel.
Using a spoon, add a spoonful of each color of batter into cupcake liners, filling each two thirds full.
Bake for 20 minutes and cool completely before frosting.

FOR TRICOLOR FROSTING:

Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until well combined, about 30-60 seconds.
Add vanilla and sugar and blend on low until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy. (*I use clear vanilla and bright white gel color to keep my frosting nice and white)
Slowly add the cream a little at a time until desired consistency is met. (if frosting is too thin, add a little more powdered sugar)

TO DECORATE TRICOLOR CUPCAKES:

Place a 1M tip in a 16-inch pastry bag.
Using a small paintbrush, line the inside of the pastry/decorating bag with 2 stripes of each, red and green gel color.
Fill the bag with white frosting and pipe on to cupcakes
Top with sprinkles

*if you only want a hint of peppermint, just add 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract to the white batter.

Yield: 24 cupcakes