Firecracker Cupcakes are so fun and perfect for celebrating summer! They're made with a moist vanilla cupcake with a festive surprise inside and topped with vanilla buttercream, sprinkles, and an edible firework.
Firecracker Cupcakes
It's summer! (Well, almost!) And I'm celebrating this week with these Firecracker Cupcakes!
They're like a pinata cake in cupcake form!
These cupcakes are so cute and perfect for celebrating Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day over the summer! Plus, they're really easy to make. No serious decorating skills required!
Firecracker cupcakes are made with classic vanilla cupcakes, filled with a patriotic, red, white, and blue surprise, and topped with vanilla buttercream, a firework and more sprinkles.
There's a couple techniques for making these cupcakes that might be new, such as cutting the butter into the flour (read this post for more information about that) and cutting out the hole to stuff the cupcakes.
Both of these techniques are shown in the video, so be sure to check it out (especially if you're a visual learner like me!).
What's Inside these Firecracker Cupcakes?
The firecracker cupcakes that I made are filled with sprinkles (I'll link to the ones I used below!).
You can switch it up and add other things, like sixlets, M&M's (or mini M&M's, red hots, or other candies.
Here's the links to the sprinkles I used:
How to Make Firecracker Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease and line a muffin pan, and set aside.
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk together. (Photo 1) Add sliced butter and cut in until crumbly. (Photo 2) Set aside.
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla. (Photo 3)
Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients in two additions. Stir between each addition. (Photo 4)
Scoop batter evenly into each muffin cup. (Photo 5) Bake cupcakes for 16-18 minutes, until cooked through and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. After baking, allow cupcakes to sit in the pan for an additional 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
Decorating the Cupcakes
If you have trouble with any of these steps, watch the video for more instructions!
When cupcakes are cool, cut a cone into the center of each cupcake with a knife (or a decorating tip as shown in the video). (Photo 6) Cut off the excess from the piece removed from the middle and just keep the top circle portion. We'll be using it like a little lid in the next step.
Fill the holes you just cut with sprinkles. (Photo 7) Then cover the hole with the saved circle so that the cupcake looks normal for frosting. (Photo 8) You may need more or less sprinkles than ½ cup depending on how big you cut your holes.
Frost cupcakes with my favorite recipe for a fluffy vanilla buttercream. (Photo 9)
Pull the Twizzler apart so that it looks like a firework, leaving about an inch intact at the base. (Photo 10) Place the intact portion of the Twizzler into the top of the cupcake. Top with more sprinkles and a sparkler candle, if desired.
Top with a sparkler candle and more sprinkles for the full effect!
Enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Only fill the cupcake tin about ⅔ full with batter. This will help get the perfectly round top, without being to flat or overflowing.
- Instead of sprinkles inside, try mini M&M's, crushed nuts, mini chocolate chips, red hots, or other small candies.
- Cake flour will make these cupcakes super soft and fluffy. If you don't have any cake flour, try this homemade cake flour substitute that works just as well (and you probably already have the ingredients!)
- I like to frost these with a classic vanilla buttercream. You can also opt for a cream cheese frosting, if you prefer.
- I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost my cupcakes. A Wilton 2D tip would have a similar affect as well.
- I used red, white, and blue Pull 'n Peel Twizzlers for the topper. But these cupcakes would look just as cute with the original red ones.
- Make Ahead Instructions: Cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature. Frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Store fully decorated cupcakes well covered in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cupcakes, without filling, can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before continuing to step 10.
More Patriotic Recipes You'll Love
- Berries and Cream Cupcakes - red, white, and blue cupcakes made with fresh berries.
- Berry Cheesecake Salad - fresh berries topped with cheesecake filling and whipped cream.
- Berry Spritzer - bubble, sweet, refreshing with fresh berries.
- Watermelon Pops -
- 72 Patriotic Recipes - check out this huge list of fun recipes to celebrate this summer!
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE: Firecracker Cupcakes
Firecracker Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cup red, white, blue sprinkles, plus more for decorating (I also added some silver and gold)
- 4 red, white, and blue Pull-and-Peel Twizzlers, cut into 3 pieces for topping
For the frosting
- 1 batch buttercream frosting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F.
- Grease and line a standard muffin pan. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients (first 4) in a large mixing bowl.
- Add butter and cut in until crumbly. Set aside
- In a separate mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
- Add wet ingredients to dry in two additions, stirring between each addition.
- Scoop batter evenly into each muffin cup.
- Bake cupcakes for 16-18 minutes, until they're lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the middle cupcakes comes out clean.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven. After 5 minutes, remove from pan to finish cooling before for frosting.
- When cupcakes are cool, cut a cone into the center of each cupcake with a knife. Cut off the excess from the piece removed from the middle and just keep the top circle portion. We'll be using it like a little lid in the next step.
- Fill the cones you just cut with sprinkles. Then cover the hole with the saved circle so that the cupcake looks normal for frosting. You may need more or less sprinkles than ½ cup depending on how big you cut your holes.
- Frost cupcakes with my favorite recipe for a fluffy vanilla buttercream.
- Pull the Twizzler apart so that it looks like a firework, leaving about an inch intact at the base. Place the intact portion of the Twizzler into the top of the cupcake. Top with more sprinkles and a sparkler candle, if desired.
Notes
- Only fill the cupcake tin about ⅔ full with batter. This will help get the perfectly round top, without being to flat or overflowing.
- Instead of sprinkles inside, try mini M&M's, crushed nuts, mini chocolate chips, red hots, or other small candies.
- Cake flour will make these cupcakes super soft and fluffy. If you don't have any cake flour, try this homemade cake flour substitute that works just as well (and you probably already have the ingredients!)
- I like to frost these with a classic vanilla buttercream. You can also opt for a cream cheese frosting, if you prefer.
- I used a Wilton 1M tip to frost my cupcakes. A Wilton 2D tip would have a similar affect as well.
- I used red, white, and blue Pull 'n Peel Twizzlers for the topper. But these cupcakes would look just as cute with the original red ones.
- Make Ahead Instructions: Cupcakes can be made ahead 1 day in advance, covered, and stored at room temperature. Frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Store fully decorated cupcakes well covered in the refrigerator for 3 days. Cupcakes, without filling, can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before continuing to step 10.
Nutrition
UPDATES: This recipe was originally published in May 2018, but was republished in June 2019 with updated photos, step-by-step directions, and a how-to video.
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Lily Jitse says
Cupcake receipe is really delicious and amazing i made this for the party for the 4th of july . Thanks for the great sharing.