RED, WHITE, & BLUE CUPCAKES in a JAR with FLOUR FROSTING

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This is an old post but 4th of JULY is coming up and these are super cute!

Well, today I decided to spend some time with my 4 year old making some cupcakes in a jar. We made these from a white cake mix. We simply made the mix according to package directions, divided the batter into 3 equal parts, tinted one red and one blue, and layered the colors into jars sprayed with cooking spray. I used a cookie scoop to put the batter into the jars, but had to use a baby spoon to spread out the white and red batter. It would probably work better to put the batter in pastry bags or Ziploc bags with the corner cut off and pipe it into the jars in even layers. We baked them on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes or until they sprung back a little when gently pushed in the center.

NOTE: I used 1 cup wide mouth jars. I think I am in love with these jars and will be making more things in them. They are just soooo cute!

Here they are before they were baked:

Here they are after:

I left them on the counter to cool and this is what happened, compliments of my two year old:

Here is how he got up there:

He is a stinker. Good thing he is super cute:

Well, I went looking for a recipe for some new kind of frosting so I could try out something new. I came across a recipe that uses flour several times and everyone was raving about it. I read many different versions, but decided to use the one I found HERE on The Girl Who Ate Everything. I think she got it from The Pioneer Woman.

I had my doubts that it could REALLY be as good as everyone claimed. But I decided to put the recipe to the test.

Here are my notes on making it:

1. Add the flour to COLD milk in a COLD pan and make sure it is fully whisked together before turning on the heat-this helps avoid clumps.

2. When you cook the milk and flour together it will get REALLY thick…like the skin on a pudding thick. That is ok. Just don’t burn it.

3. Beat the butter and sugar together for a LONG time, like 5 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the bowl several times. If you don’t mix it long enough, you will have grainy sugar in your frosting.

4. It doesn’t take as long to cool the flour mixture down as you think. Stick it in the freezer while you beat the butter and sugar and it will be done when you are ready for it.

5. Beat the flour mixture with the butter mixture for another 5 minutes. It won’t ruin it. You can’t overbeat it, I don’t think. It just makes it silkier.

Well, I have to admit this is a really good buttercream. I am not a fan of most buttercream frostings….too sweet for me. But this one is not as sweet as most. It has a very smooth and silky texture and is a little lighter in feel than a traditional buttercream. I think it would lend itself well to some fruity flavors, like lemon or a raspberry puree. I read that a lot of people have problems getting it to turn out. I had no problems. It was pretty easy. I think the key is just to beat everything really well.

I will say it has quite a buttery flavor. I think it might be better if it had 1/2 c. more sugar. But then maybe all the sugar would not dissolve. But it was ALMOST too buttery I wonder how it would taste on chocolate cake. Probably pretty good. UPDATE: I think when I made this I might have left out the vanilla on accident. I made this frosting again recently and I really did like it! Give it a try!

I prefer cream cheese frosting, but you can’t ALWAYS use it so this is a good substitute. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

CAUTION: This frosting MIGHT make your kid look like this:

Flickr Tags: cupcake,frosting,flour,dessert,baking,4th of July,mason jar,jar