HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY! HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

These red, white and blue cupcakes are an eye- and palate-pleaser for any patriotic occasion.

And they’re easy to make, with just the added step of dividing cake mix into three bowls and coloring two of them. We chose a frosting of stabilized whipped cream, stiffened with gelatin (it won’t collapse) and topped the cupcakes with red, white and blue decorations.

RECIPE: PATRIOTIC CUPCAKES

Ingredients For The Cupcakes

 
Ingredients For 4 Cups Stabilized Whipped Cream

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE a cupcake pan with paper liners. Place the cream in the freezer for 20 minutes prior to whipping (it will whip better).

2. PREPARE the cake batter and divide it into three bowls. Use blue and red gel food coloring in two of the bowls (see notes about gel-paste below.)

3. ADD one tablespoon blue batter to the each cupcake liner and spread evenly (we used a plastic teaspoon). Follow with a tablespoon of white batter, and a red layer on top of that, taking care not to mix the colors as you spread them.

4. BAKE per cake recipe instructions and cool. While the cupcakes cool…

5. MAKE the stabilized whipped cream frosting. Place the cold water in a small pan and sprinkle the gelatin over it. Let it thicken; then place the pan over low heat, stirring constantly, just until the gelatin dissolves. Remove from the heat and cool, but do not allow it to set.

6. WHIP the cream with the powdered sugar, until slightly thick. While slowly beating, add the gelatin to whipping cream. Whip at high speed until stiff peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.

7. DECORATE and serve.

[1] Red, white and blue layered cupcake (photo Elegant Affairs Caterers | Facebook). [2] Even easier options: red fruit atop white frosting (photo GoBoldWithButter.com) and [3] cupcake “flag” (photo Sprinkles Cupcakes).

 
WHY USE SOFT GEL INSTEAD OF LIQUID FOOD COLOR

The typical food colors available in supermarkets are water-based liquids that work well for most purposes. In many recipes, you use so little of it that the teaspoon or so of water isn’t going to impact the outcome of the recipe.

But if you are looking for intense color—such as in red velvet cake—you need to use a lot of liquid to get the vibrant color. Too much liquid will alter the consistency of cake, candies, donuts and deep-colored frostings.

 
You can often find gel food colors in craft stores, as well as in baking supplies stores and online, where you can buy red only or the four basic food colors. Wilton sells a set of eight gel colors, as well as neon and pastel sets. Don’t substitute one for another, unless you have time to test the results.
 
TIPS FOR COLORING ICING

[1] Homemade ketchup [2] with burgers (photos courtesy GoodEggs) and [3] on franks (photo courtesy Applegate).

If you’re considering making something for a cookout, how about homemade ketchup?

You can make your own ketchup in just ten minutes of prep time, plus 45 minutes of cooking. You can choose a better sweetener, avoiding high fructose corn syrup by substituting agave*, cane sugar, honey, maple syrup or non-caloric sweetener.

And you can add specialty seasonings such as chipotle, curry, garlic, horseradish, jalapeño and sriracha.

The following recipe is from Good Eggs of San Francisco. Here’s an alternative ketchup recipe made with honey (instead of brown sugar and molasses), cloves (instead of cumin) and coconut oil (instead of olive oil).

RECIPE: HOMEMADE TOMATO KETCHUP

Ingredients For 1 Pint

 
Flavor Variations

Instead of the allspice, cloves and cumin, you can flavor the ketchup with other seasonings.

Divide the base ketchup into half-cup test batches and test different flavors. Flavoring a half cup at a time enables you to adjust the seasonings to your particular taste.

1. ADD 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a heavy-bottomed pot and place over high heat. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Cook for 3 minutes, until translucent; then add the garlic.

2. AFTER another 4 minutes, add the tomatoes (including the liquid), vinegar, salt, allspice, cayenne and black pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes over medium heat, until the tomatoes have broken down. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for a few minutes.

3. POUR the mixture into a blender and pulse until it’s a smooth purée. Be careful: Blending a hot liquid requires extra attention. Using a dish towel, hold down the lid tightly. An immersion blender is a superior alternative for puréeing hot liquids.

4. POUR the purée back into the pot and add the the brown sugar and molasses. Cook over medium heat for 20 minutes uncovered, until the mixture has thickened. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to a week.
 
THE HISTORY OF KETCHUP

The concept was brought to England from Southeast Asia in the late 1600s, and had no tomatoes. The first printed recipe for kachop was an early version of what we know as Worcestershire Sauce.

Check out the history of ketchup.
 
  

This easy flag cake from McCormick is made from reddened brownie layers with vanilla ice cream and a blue-tinted whipped topping. You can cut 12 servings from the loaf.
 
RECIPE: AMERICAN FLAG ICE CREAM CAKE

Ingredients

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Empty the brownie mix into a large bowl. Add the sour cream, eggs and red food color; mix well.

2. SPOON the batter into a greased, foil-lined 9×5-inch loaf pan. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

3. MAKE the frosting: Stir the whipped topping, lemon extract, 1 teaspoon Neon Blue and 5 drops Neon Purple food colors with a spatula until evenly tinted. Stir in 3/4 cup of the marshmallows. Set aside.

4. LINE a loaf pan with foil, with the ends of the foil extending over the sides of pan. Cut the brownie loaf horizontally into 2 layers. Place the bottom layer in the loaf pan and gently spread with the ice cream and the optional strawberries.

5. PLACE the top brownie layer over the ice cream and spread the whipped topping mixture over the top. Press the remaining 1/4 cup of marshmallows into the whipped topping. Cover carefully with foil.

6. FREEZE at least 2 hours or until firm. Use foil handles to remove dessert from pan. Place on cutting board; let stand 10 minutes to soften. Cut into slices to serve.
  

[1] Grilled cinnamon rolls (photo courtesy SafeEggs.com). [2] Ground cinnamon (photo courtesy McCormick). [3] Mixed raisins (photo courtesy California Raisins).

When the grill is fired up, make cinnamon rolls with this recipe from Davidson’s Safest Choice Pasteurized Eggs.

RECIPE: GRILLED CINNAMON ROLLS

Ingredients For 15 Rolls

Prep time is 20 minutes, total time including rising is 1 hour.

For The Rolls

 
For The Cinnamon Filling

 
For The Glaze

 
Plus

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the dough. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the milk and heat until the mixture reaches 110°F. While the mixture is warming…

2. COMBINE the yeast and honey in a bowl. Stir in the milk mixture, then add the egg and salt. Combine thoroughly, then fold in 2-1/2 cups of the flour. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough comes together (it will still be sticky).

3. FLOUR your hands and the work surface. Knead the dough about 5 minutes, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 20-25 minutes. While the dough rises, make the filling: Combine the ingredients and set aside.

5. GREASE the grill grate and place a row of cinnamon rolls on the grill for 5 minutes. Flip and grill another 2 minutes. Remove from the grill. As the rolls cool down to slightly warm…

6. COMBINE the glaze ingredients and drizzle generously over the rolls. Serve.
 
IS IT CINNAMON OR CASSIA?

Check out the different types of cinnamon.
 
  

For cookouts and picnics, our family never had everyday soft drinks. For these special occasions, the beverage menu included lemonade, iced tea and Mom’s favorite fruit punch (recipe: equal parts of grape juice, lemonade and orange juice, all from frozen concentrate).

For July 4th, we switched to a “patriotic” lemonade: red, white and blue. The ingredients: pink lemonade tinted darker with some food color, white ice cubes and blueberries inside the ice cubes.

Beyond red food color, there are different ways to tint the lemonade a deep rose:

 
The herbal teas are delicious iced, so instead of lemonade, you can make patriotic—and caffeine-free—iced tea!

For adults, keep bottles of gin, lemon liqueur, tequila or vodka (especially lemon-flavored vodka) next to the pitcher with a shot glass and a mixing spoon, and allow the grown-ups to add what they like.
 
 
RECIPE #1: BLUEBERRY ICE CUBES

First, make the white and blue ice cubes. You may need to start making batches a couple of days in advance, depending on how many ice cube trays you have and how many guests you expect.

This recipe makes enough cubes for a quart of lemonade, assuming 3 cubes per glass.

Ingredients For 12 Ice Cubes (One Tray)

 
Preparation

1. PLACE 3 berries in each of 12 ice cube compartments.

2. FILL with water and freeze. Remove the frozen cubes to a freezer storage bag to use the tray for another batch.
 
 
RECIPE #2: RED, WHITE & BLUEBERRY LEMONADE

While you can purchase pink lemonade in a large format, frozen concentrate is less expensive—and lighter to carry! If you want sugar-free lemonade, you can use Crystal Light (we prefer the taste of their regular lemonade to the pink lemonade; or squeeze fresh lemonade and add your sweetener of choice.

Ingredients For 1 Quart (Four 1-Cup Servings)

 
Preparation

1. ADD water to the lemonade concentrate per package instructions. Then add the coloring agent to get the desired shade. Note that excepting food color, the more juice you add, the less the drink will taste like classic lemonade. But there’s nothing wrong with that! ss measuring cup or other container. Microwave on high until hot, about 1 minute.

2. STIR until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice and enough water to make 1 quart. If the red color isn’t strong enough for you, add a drop of food color or some juice to create your preferred shade. Chill.

3. FILL tall glasses with the blueberry ice cubes. Add the lemonade and optional spirits.
 
 
MORE JULY 4TH LEMONADE RECIPES

[1] Red, white and blue lemonade (photo courtesy BlueberryCouncil.org). [2] We added some hibiscus iced tea to make the frozen pink lemonade in the top photo a deeper rose color (photo of hibiscus tea courtesy Republic Of Tea). [3] A pint of blueberries for the ice cubes (photo courtesy Good Eggs). [4] Pink lemonade concentrate (photo courtesy Minute Maid).