Rocket pop cupcakes

Growing up, rocket pops were our all-time favorite frozen treat. The red, white and blue patriotic Popsicles always represented the exciting, lazy days of summer as a kid. Recreate your favorite rocket pops in a different way by making them into festive fluffy cupcakes!

These red, white and blue cupcakes look like your favorite pops, but don’t melt all over your fingers (and clothes) like the original. Add a fun Popsicle stick to make these even more like the originals! We think these would be perfect for your Fourth of July picnic!

Rocket pop-inspired cupcake recipe

Recipe slightly adapted from All Recipes.

Yields 6 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 stick softened butter
• 2 whole eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 cup light cream
• Blue food dye

For the frosting

• 1 stick softened butter
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• Red food dye
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Red, white and blue sprinkles

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin half with white paper liners and the other half with blue.
2. In a medium bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat, one at a time, until combined. Stir in vanilla.
3. In another bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder together. Gradually stir in the flour and cream to the wet mixture, ending with the flour.
4. Separate the batter into two bowls. Dye one bowl blue (with 4–6 drops blue food coloring), leaving the other one white.
5. In the blue liners, fill 2/3 full with blue cake mix. In the other 6, fill 2/3 full with regular cake mix. Bake for about 22–26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from pan and let cool.
6. Meanwhile, make the frosting. Beat butter and sugar together. Gradually add in milk until thick and creamy. Save about 1/2 of the frosting in another bowl. In the other, add red food dye until you get a red color (about 8–12 drops).
7. Cut off the top of each blue cupcake and remove the liners from the white cupcakes. (Discard blue tops or eat them separately.)
8. Add a bit of white frosting to the middle of the blue cupcakes and top with the white cupcakes. Cover the sides of the white cupcake with white frosting.
9. Place the red frosting in a piping bag with a star tip. Frost the tops of the white cupcakes with the red frosting. Add some red, white and blue sprinkles for extra garnish and a lollipop or Popsicle stick.

More Fourth of July desserts

Fourth of July firecracker cakelette recipe
4th of July cake pop recipe
Stars and stripes dessert recipe