These Patriotic Blue Raspberry Cupcakes with Lemonade Swirled Frosting are the perfect addition to your family get-together, Summer barbecue or Fourth of July parties.

They’re bright, they’re festive, and best of all they’re so easy, you’ll still have energy left to actually enjoy the party. These cupcakes are packed with fun blue raspberry flavor, topped with a sweet, citrusy lemonade frosting that’s swirled in all the colors of freedom.

Here’s What You’ll Need

For the Cupcakes:

1 box (15.25 oz) white cake mix
1 ¼ cups water
¼ cup vegetable oil
½ cup mayonnaise (trust me, it makes them so moist)
4 egg whites
1–2 teaspoons blue raspberry Jello powder
LorAnn Blue Raspberry Flavoring (grab it from Amazon a little goes a long way!)
Cupcake liners (find cute patriotic ones at Walmart or Amazon)
1 large mixing bowl and 2 small bowls

For the Frosting:

1 ½ sticks salted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3–4 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons heavy cream
LorAnn Lemonade Flavoring
Blue and red gel food coloring
Patriotic sprinkles (because everything’s better with sprinkles)
3 small bowls
3 small piping bags
1 large piping bag + 1 large star frosting tip
1 tall glass or wide-mouth mason jar

How to Make Patriotic Cupcakes

Step 1: Prep Your Kitchen

Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Spray or line a standard muffin tin with your liners. (Don’t skip liners they make your cupcakes look party-ready and save your sanity at cleanup time.)

Step 2: Mix Up Your Cupcake Batter

In your large mixing bowl, toss in the cake mix, water, vegetable oil, egg whites, and that magical half-cup of mayonnaise. Using a hand or stand mixer, beat everything together on medium speed until smooth and well blended.

(If your arm’s getting a little workout with the hand mixer, just tell yourself you’re earning your cupcake!)

Step 3: Divide and Conquer

Separate your batter evenly into 3 bowls.

In the first bowl, add a few drops of red gel food coloring and stir until you get a vibrant red.
In the second bowl, add blue gel coloring and 1–2 teaspoons of blue raspberry Jello powder. Stir it up good this is where that juicy blue raspberry flavor pops!
Leave the third bowl plain no color needed.

Step 4: Fill Those Liners

Now for the fun part! Alternate spoonfuls of blue, white, and red batter into each cupcake liner. Just a little scoop of each, layering as you go, until the liners are about 2/3 full.

No need to stress about perfection the more imperfect, the more charming the final swirl will look!

Step 5: Bake

Pop the pan into your preheated oven and bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting. Completely. I know it’s hard to wait, but warm cupcakes + frosting = a slippery, melty mess.

Let’s Talk Frosting: Sweet, Swirly, and So Easy

This frosting is what takes these cupcakes from cute to cue the fireworks spectacular. It’s creamy, lemonade-flavored, and so much fun to pipe.

Step 6: Whip Up the Frosting

In your large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter for about 2 minutes until it’s light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla extract and just 1–2 drops of that strong LorAnn Lemonade Flavoring. (Seriously go slow. It’s powerful but amazing.)

Step 7: Powdered Sugar Time

Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, alternating with a tablespoon of heavy cream after each cup. Keep going until your frosting is creamy, fluffy, and holds stiff peaks when you lift your beaters.

If it’s too thick, add a splash more cream. If it’s too soft, toss in a little more powdered sugar. You’re the boss.

Step 8: Divide and Color

Split the frosting evenly into three bowls.

Tint one bowl red and one blue with your gel food coloring (a drop at a time until it’s bright and bold).
Leave the third bowl plain for that pretty white stripe.

Here’s the trick to that gorgeous swirled frosting:

Step 9: Piping Bag Magic

Place your large piping bag fitted with the star tip into a tall glass or mason jar to hold it steady.
Use a small spatula or frosting spreader to swipe a stripe of red frosting on one side of the inside of the bag.
Swipe a stripe of blue on the opposite side.
Carefully spoon in the plain white frosting to fill the middle.

Give it a gentle squeeze onto a plate first to make sure all three colors are coming out.

Step 10: Frost and Sprinkle

Now the real fun begins frost your cooled cupcakes with big, generous swirls.
Top each one with a handful of patriotic sprinkles, and just try not to feel like a total rock star while you do it.

Tips and Tricks

Don’t overbake! Keep an eye on those cupcakes dry cupcakes are nobody’s friend.
Get the good food coloring. Gel coloring gives you vibrant colors without watering down your batter.
Use a wide-mouth jar for your piping bag. It’s like having a third hand and makes filling the bag way less messy.
Make ahead. You can bake the cupcakes a day ahead and frost them the morning of your party. They hold up beautifully!

Whether you’re hosting a big backyard party or just bringing a dozen to your neighbor’s block party, these Patriotic Blue Raspberry Cupcakes with Lemonade Swirled Frosting are a guaranteed hit. They’re bright, bold, and bursting with flavor just like the best parts of summer.

So go ahead. Whip up a batch. Celebrate big. And most importantly, enjoy every sweet, messy, unforgettable second.

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