I Think it was the Fourth of July

And what better way to celebrate than with some (patriotic) cupcakes! I adapted this recipe from Ina's flag cake: instead of doing a sheet cake, I made 2 dozen rather large cupcakes, topped with the white frosting and some fruit. I had a fruit trauma, so I ended up using strawberries instead of raspberries, but they were still divine and kept within my red, white & blue color scheme.

I find it's best to use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tin with the batter. As this was originally a sheet cake, it doesn't rise too terribly much so you really do want the muffin cups to be rather full. Also, if you make the whole recipe and don't fill the muffin cups, you'll spend all day making cupcakes there will be so many! Anywho, I opted not to (because I didn't have any) add lemon zest, but you very well could. In fact, the other sheet cake recipe I use is identical to this one, but it adds lemon zest.

I will share with you the original recipe, which is really only altered by whether or not you use a sheet pan or muffin tin. I baked mine for 30 minutes at 350.

Flag Cake

Barefoot Contessa Family Stlye (Ina Garten)

Serves 20-24

For the Cake

18 tablespoons (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

For the Frosting
1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese at room temperature
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 18 by 13 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides and stir until smooth.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Pour into the prepared pan.

Smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool to room temperature.

For the icing, combine the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mixing just until smooth.