Flag Cupcakes

I love cooking for any holiday and these look delish for the next one! I found this at The Girl Who Ate Everthing blog

These flag cupcakes have a classic vanilla flavor with a hint of lemon that compliments the strawberries and blueberries. I finally found a frosting that I love. It isn't a pure white frosting (more off-white), but it tastes yummy.

Flag Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream

adapted from OurBestBites and the SavorySweetLife

Cupcakes:

1 white cake mix

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

½ cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Strawberries for garnish

Blueberries for garnish

Frosting:

1 cup butter (2 sticks), softened

3-4 cups powdered sugar, sifted

½ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Up to 4 Tablespoons milk or heavy cream

¼ teaspoon lemon zest (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

For Cupcakes: Combine all ingredients until incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl and then beat on med-high speed for 3 minutes.

Divide batter equally in half between two bowls.

Use red food coloring to color one bowl of batter to desired color of red and leave the other one white. Wilton brand gel colors have the brightest color and are good to use here.

To make flag striped cupcakes alternately place a spoonful of red batter and a spoonful of white batter in the cupcake holder. The batter is thick, so it won't spread on its own. A great tip is to set out a little bowl of water where you're working. Dip your finger in the water and then gently spread the batter out. The water will make it so the batter doesn't stick to your fingers.

Bake cupcakes according to the cake mix package directions.