Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes

Week 535. Year 11. Tommy is 44. The Fourth of July cookout on Claycut Drive — the annual institution, the neighborhood gathering, the brisket or the hog or the ribs on the pit and the thirty or forty people in the driveway and Carl at the door and the sparklers at dusk. Colette (17) in college/nursing school. The summer is loud and hot and full.

Made shrimp tacos this week — the kind of food that fills the house with the smell of Louisiana and the knowledge that whoever walks through the door is walking into a home where the stove is on and the food is ready and the welcome is unconditional. The meal was the day. The day was the meal. Both were good. The spoon doesn't stop.

The small union-electrician role at the small IBEW Local 995 in Baton Rouge continues to be the small career-spine. The small thirty-year-Local-995-membership has built the small senior-electrician-status. The small commercial-construction-projects are the small steady-work in the small Baton-Rouge-Industrial-Corridor.

The three kids are: Luc (born 2006, the small oldest), Colette (born 2008, the small middle-daughter), Rémy (born 2011, the small youngest). The small Danielle (the small wife, from Lafayette) is the small partner Tommy has built the small Baton-Rouge-life with. The small two-income family-of-five has been the small Baton Rouge middle-class household.

The small Hurricane Katrina (August 2005) destroyed the small Chalmette, Louisiana home where Tommy had grown up. The small twenty-year-anniversary of the small loss is the small ongoing-marker. The small move to Baton Rouge in October 2005 had been the small refugee-from-the-storm displacement. The small Baton Rouge has been the small home for the small twenty years now.

The small Cajun-cooking-tradition is the small kitchen-identity. The small jambalaya, the small gumbo, the small etouffee, the small red-beans-and-rice (on Mondays, the small traditional-Cajun Monday-staple). The small recipes from Maw-Maw Beaumont (Tommy’s grandmother who had been in Chalmette before Katrina, passed in 2014) continue to be the small kitchen-spine.

The small St. Aloysius Catholic Parish congregation is the small Sunday-worship and social-network. The small twenty-year-membership has been the small post-Katrina-rebuild of the small community. The small parish-cookouts, the small parish-bingo, the small parish-school-fundraisers are the small Beaumont-family-engagement.

The small Louisiana-summer-heat-and-humidity is the small weather-reality. The small grilling-and-outdoor-cooking happens in the small early-morning or the small late-evening when the small temperature is bearable. The small Louisiana-spring-and-fall are the small narrow-windows of pleasant cooking-weather.

The small Sunday-publishing-rhythm of the recipe blog continues to be the small organizing-spine of the small week. The small Sunday-cooking happens in the small late-morning-to-early-afternoon window. The small photographing of the finished dish happens at the small three-PM kitchen-light-window. The small writing-up of the recipe happens at the small four-PM workspace at the kitchen-counter. The small final-edit happens at the small five-PM. The small post publishes at seven PM. The small ritual has been running for years.

The small recipe-development-philosophy continues to be the small small-batch-test-then-publish approach. The small first cook of a small new recipe happens on the small Saturday afternoon. The small adjustments are noted in the small kitchen-notebook. The small second cook happens Sunday with the small adjustments incorporated. The small Sunday-cook is the small version that gets photographed and published. The small two-test process catches the small recipe-flaws before they reach the small reader.

The small kitchen-equipment-inventory has the small key-pieces that show up in nearly every recipe. The small heavy-bottomed Dutch oven for the small braises. The small twelve-inch cast-iron skillet for the small sears and the small pan-roasts. The small half-sheet baking-pans for the small roasted vegetables and the small cookies. The small wooden-spoon-collection in the small ceramic-pitcher on the counter. The small chef’s-knife and the small paring-knife and the small bread-knife that are the small daily-tools.

The small grocery-shopping rhythm runs through the small Tuesday-evening trip and the small Saturday-morning top-off. The small Tuesday-trip is the small weekly-stock-up for the small staples and the small produce and the small protein. The small Saturday-trip is the small quick-fill for whatever the small Sunday-recipe requires that is not already in the small pantry. The small two-trip-per-week pattern keeps the small grocery-bill manageable and the small food-waste low.

The small meal-planning happens on the small Sunday-evening for the small week-ahead. The small dinners are mapped out across the small Monday-through-Saturday. The small repeating-meals are slotted in (the small pasta-Monday, the small taco-Tuesday or similar pattern). The small new-recipes are slotted for the small Wednesday-or-Thursday for the small variety. The small planning ahead reduces the small daily what-are-we-making-for-dinner stress.

The small weekday-cooking is the small efficient-and-fast mode. The small Sunday-cooking is the small slow-and-careful mode. The small two-modes serve the small two-different-needs. The small weekday-cooking has to be on the small table within forty-five minutes of getting home from the small work-or-school-pickup. The small Sunday-cooking can take three hours and benefit from every minute of that time.

The small recipe-archive on the small blog has grown to many hundreds of recipes over the years. The small archive is the small searchable-resource for the small weekday-meal-planning. The small reader-feedback in the small comments-section helps refine the small recipes over time. The small note-from-a-reader who tried a small substitution that worked better than the small original gets incorporated into the small recipe-revision.

The small Sunday-cooking-and-writing rhythm is the small thing that has held across years of life-changes and family-events and small ordinary-weekday-disruptions. The small constant is the small Sunday. The small constant is the small recipe. The small constant is the small posting-at-seven-PM ritual. The small constant is the small reader on the other end of the small post who is going to read the small recipe and try the small recipe in the small reader’s own kitchen.

The brisket and the ribs get all the credit at the Claycut Drive cookout, and they deserve it — but it’s the thing you carry out at the end of the night, when Carl’s still at the door and the sparklers are going, that people remember longest. These Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes were built for that moment: easy to hand off, festive without being fussy, and the kind of thing that travels across a driveway without complaint. If the Fourth is the one day a year the whole neighborhood shows up, you might as well send them home with frosting on their fingers.

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 45 min | Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
Red gel food coloring
Blue gel food coloring
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
3–4 tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Garnish: red, white, and blue sprinkles; fresh blueberries; sliced strawberries

Instructions

Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake liners and set aside.
Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together for 3–4 minutes until light and fluffy.
Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
Alternate dry and wet. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk in two additions (flour — milk — flour — milk — flour). Mix just until combined; do not overmix.
Divide and color the batter. Divide the batter evenly into three bowls. Tint one bowl red with gel food coloring and one bowl blue, leaving the third bowl white. Stir each until the color is uniform.
Layer the batter. Spoon one tablespoon of red batter into the bottom of each liner, followed by one tablespoon of white batter, then one tablespoon of blue batter. The cups should be about 2/3 full.
Bake. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Make the buttercream. Beat the softened butter on medium-high speed for 3 minutes until pale and creamy. Reduce speed to low and gradually add the sifted powdered sugar. Add the heavy cream one tablespoon at a time, the vanilla, and the pinch of salt. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 2 minutes until fluffy and spreadable.
Frost and garnish. Pipe or spread the buttercream onto fully cooled cupcakes. Top with red, white, and blue sprinkles, fresh blueberries, and sliced strawberries. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Red, White, and Blue Cupcakes — For the Cookout on Claycut Drive