Independence Day Cupcakes Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Whisk together the flour sugar baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl.

With a pastry cutter chop the shortening into the dry ingredients until the mixture becomes crumbly then beat in the egg whites vanilla extract and 1 cup of milk to make a smooth batter. Spoon batter into the paper-lined cupcake cups filling them about 2/3 full.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean 22 to 26 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool completely.

In a bowl beat together the pudding mix and 2 cups of skim milk until the pudding is thickened about 2 minutes. Allow to stand for 5 minutes to finish thickening. Spoon the pudding into a pastry bag with a medium tip.

To fill and decorate cupcakes use a thin paring knife to cut a small hole about 1/2 inch in diameter into the top of a cupcake. Insert the knife about 3/4 of the way down into the cupcake and remove the core. Use the pastry bag to fill the hole with pudding piping in enough pudding to fill the hole flush with the top of the cupcake. Frost the tops of the filled cupcakes with light whipped cream spreading it into a smooth layer.

Place a blueberry in the center of each cupcake. Around the blueberry arrange 5 slices of strawberry pointed ends outward to make a star shape. Store in refrigerator.