Firecracker Cupcakes

By srumbel

These fun Firecracker Cupcakes have a red, white, and blue surprise inside. A licorice topper and sprinkles make them fun to eat and share at any summer picnic.
from insidebrucrewlife.com

Ingredients

• For the Cupcakes
• 1 1 1 vanilla cake mix*
• 1 3.4 1 3.4 1 - 3.4 ounce box instant vanilla pudding
• 1 1 1 cup water
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 cup oil
• 4 4 4 eggs
• blue and red gel food coloring
• For the Frosting
• 1 1 1 cup butter
• 1/2 1/2 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 4 4 4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 4 4 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 1 1 package pull and peel licorice, cut into small pieces
• red, white, and blue sprinkles

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place 24 liners in a cupcake pan.

Beat together the cake mix, pudding mix, water, oil, and eggs in a mixing bowl. Beat for 1 minute on low, and 2 minutes on medium.

Divide the batter evenly into 3 bowls. Add a little red and blue food coloring to two of the bowls.

Fill your cupcake liners 2/3 full by alternating colors 1 Tablespoon at a time. Change it up by starting with a different color each time. Bake 20-22 minutes or until the top springs back. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Beat the butter, salt, and vanilla until creamy. Slowly add the powdered sugar and heavy whipping cream until completely mixed in. Beat on high for a minute or until light and fluffy.

Use an icing bag and icing tip 1M to swirl the frosting on the cooled cupcakes. Push a short piece of licorice into the top of each cupcake and add sprinkles on top. Store in a loosely sealed container.

Notes

*To get swirls like the pictures, just use the ingredients from the back of the box. **Using the pudding mix recipe will give you cupcakes that look like the video. We prefer the taste and texture of this version more.

Yield: 24 cupcakes