Red, White and Blue Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350°F. and line a 12 cupcake pan with paper liners.

With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at at time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

On low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and milk, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Split the batter evenly into three small bowls. Add red, white and blue gel paste until you achieve the colors that are desired. (The white won't turn completely white, but a squirt or two will lighten up the batter a little bit.)

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups- a spoonful of red, white and blue in each cup. Use a toothpick to gently swirl the batter in each cup.

Bake 16 to 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Center should puff up slightly and not feel gooey. Center should feel springy to touch when finished).

Cool completely before icing. I used Wedding Cake Buttercream for this recipe. Prepare the recipe for Wedding Cake Buttercream , then divide the frosting into 3 bowls and color red/blue. Put red/white/blue icing in the SAME piping bag, and you'll get a nice swirl effect with all three colors.