Independence Day Cupcakes

Red, White, and Blue and yummy too!

How perfect are these for your 4th of July Celebration?!!  

Don't think this is just a pretty face either - this cupcake is as delicious as it is pretty. It is filled with vanilla pudding and topped with a homemade whipped topping and fresh fruit  yum yum yum

Just a note about homemade whipped topping - it's awesome! Well worth the little bit of extra effort!

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 egg whites
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup milk
• 1 (3.4 oz) small package instant vanilla pudding mix
• 2 cups skim milk
• • Thinly sliced strawberries (smaller strawberries work better for this recipe)
  • Fresh blueberries
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  Directions
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• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
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• With a pastry cutter, chop the shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture becomes crumbly, then beat in the egg whites, vanilla extract, and 1 cup of milk to make a smooth batter. Spoon batter into the paper-lined cupcake cups, filling them about 2/3 full.
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• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.
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• In a bowl, beat together the pudding mix and 2 cups of skim milk until the pudding is thickened, about 2 minutes. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to finish thickening. Spoon the pudding into a pastry bag with a medium tip.
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• To fill and decorate cupcakes, use a thin paring knife to cut a small hole, about 1/2 inch in diameter, into the top of a cupcake. Insert the knife about 3/4 of the way down into the cupcake, and remove the core. Use the pastry bag to fill the hole with pudding, piping in enough pudding to fill the hole flush with the top of the cupcake. Frost the tops of the filled cupcakes with whipped cream (see recipe below), spreading it into a smooth layer.
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• Place a blueberry in the center of each cupcake. Around the blueberry, arrange 5 slices of strawberry, pointed ends outward, to make a star shape. Store in refrigerator.

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• Whipped Topping

• Ingredients

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
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  Directions

  In a chilled small mixing bowl and with chilled beaters, beat cream until it begins to thicken. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; beat until soft peaks form. 

• Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com Independence Day Cupcakes