Vanilla cupcakes filled with red, white and blue sprinkles... and a sweet surprise! Topped with a fluffy vanilla buttercream that's to die for! Perfect for Memorial Day or the 4th of July!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one standard cupcake pans with liners, set aside. Line the bottom of one standard size loaf pan with parchment paper, lightly coating it with baking spray and flour, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract and almond extract. With mixing speed on low, add egg, then egg yolk, mixing until just combined.
In a medium size mixing bowl whisk together flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a glass measuring cup mix together sour cream and milk. With mixing speed on low, alternate dry and wet ingredients, mix until batter is smooth and homogeneous (being careful not to over mix).
Remove bowl from stand. Portion out ¾ c. batter into on small mixing bowl, and ¾ c. of batter into another mixing bowl. Dye one red, and the other blue. Gently swirl the two together in the prepared loaf pan (don’t go too crazy or you’ll end up with purple). Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the cake is set. Once the cake has cooled, remove from pan and cut out star shapes (you’ll want to use a small star, about 1″ in diameter and ½”- ¾” thick/depth so that it fits nicely into the cupcake liner with room for the cupcake to bake around it).
Notes
-I made my stars tie-dyed, but I think a single color might stand out better (just plain red or plain blue).