The Fourth of July is such an important day to commemorate. I love honoring America’s adoption of the Declaration of Independence by being mindful of the tremendous Freedoms we enjoy as Americans, and celebrating those Freedoms with  Family, Food, Fireworks, and Fun.

When I think of a Patriotic treat that represents America, I think of Pie. More specifically… Apple Pie.

But this Mommy doesn’t do pies. I’ve tried. It’s tough. It takes a lot of counter space to roll out the dough, and I don’t have a lot of counter space. So for now I’m stickin’ to my cupcakes.

But trust me… these Cupcakes are, “as American as Apple Pie!”

I used apples, peaches, and raspberries in mine because those are my family’s favorite kinds of pies, but you could use whatever fruits your family loves best. Cherries and Blueberries would be lovely too, and so Patriotic.

I used a Butter Pecan box mix.

I’ve made cupcakes from scratch and eaten cupcakes from scratch and they can be delicious, but I’ve also never had a boxed cake mix that I didn’t like.

This Butter Pecan flavor is perfect for these mini pies, both in taste and color.

I used canned pie filling for my Peach, and Apple Pie Cupcakes, but for the Raspberry Pie Cupcakes I used Fresh Raspberries lightly covered in store bought Strawberry Glaze.

My family LOVES fresh raspberries!!! I make Raspberry Tarts all the time.

In order to make these Fruit Pie Cupcakes, you’ll need to leave plenty of room in your cupcake papers for the fruit to lay on top of the cake and still be held within the paper. When pouring the batter into the cups don’t fill them more than 1/2 way. Somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 full is just about perfect. And, if you do have some cupcakes that puff up too high to fill with fruit, never fear… once they’re baked just use a knife to gently cut the cupcake down enough so the fruit will fit. No one will ever see the part you cut hidden under all that fruit.

Next, cover the top of the cupcake with your favorite fruits. For Raspberries, Blueberries, and Cherries, they look beautiful if you place them one by one with your fingers, but for the canned Peaches and Apple slices, you can dice them up and spoon them on.

Once you get all your fruit on, you’ll be tempted to stop right there. And… of course, you could. These Fruit topped cupcakes are beautiful and delicious just like this.

But if you want to take it a step further and create a little American Country Creation that will thrill your guests, give this extra step of turning Fruit topped Cupcakes into little Mock Pies, a try.

The Pie Hatch and Crust design is created by piping on Frosting. I chose a delicious mixture of Butter Cream and Caramel frosting to get a great taste and a Pie Crust color.

One or two tablespoons of Caramel Frosting mixed into a full tub of Buttercream will give just the right shade for a Mock Pie Crust.

If you seen any of my other Cupcake recipes, I often just use a plain old Ziploc bag as my piping tool, but in order to get a flat appearance for the Hatch work on the top of the pie you really are going to want to use a piping bag and a flat tip.

Here are some examples of Wilton Tips that would be appropriate for this project. Personally I prefer a small smooth flat tip like #44 above, to create the look of a pie. The ribbed edge tips are more for creating the look of a basket weave, although if you already have a ribbed tip, you can turn it upside down so that the smooth edge is on top to get the same effect as a smooth flat tip. Tip #46 above demonstrates this.

When you place your berries in one by one, you’ll end up with some gaps in between them. You should fill those holes in with cut or torn pieces of berries so that you have a nice full dome shape for your hatching to rest on.

Don’t start your first line on the middle of the cupcake because it can throw off the spacing of your lines. Using your piping bag and tip, lay your first line just off of one of the sides.

Lay all of your lines across the top, from one side to the other. I was able each time to fit three or four lines across in each direction, depending on the spacing. I think the cupcakes with four lines going each way came out the best.

Rotate your cupcake and begin piping lines horizontal to the ones you’ve already done.

Don’t worry about how the ends of your lines look because they will be completely covered up by the Mock Pie Crust you’ll do next. Just make sure each end of every line touches the cupcake paper, but doesn’t droop or flop out beyond it.

If you do have some frosting that accidentally drips down the cupcake paper, use a lightly damp paper towel to wipe it off. No harm, no foul. It will dry in seconds and no one will ever know.

Your Hatch Top is done as simple as that!

You’ll be so proud of yourself at this point, and you should be… You’re almost done!

Using the same piping bag and tip, create your Pie Crust by working in sections. Don’t try to pipe all the way around the cupcake without taking a break.

Using an up and down folding pattern, pipe the area directly in front of you. Stop piping, rotate the cupcake, and pick up where you left off using the same up and down folding motion. Each cupcake will be divided into about six small sections like this.

I highly recommend taking the time after you finish decorating each cupcake, to immediately place it on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator in order to help the shape of the Buttercream on top of the fruit and glaze to set in it’s place. Leaving the cupcake out while you decorate all of the others, may cause some the frosting to begin drooping and coming apart.

And please don’t give up if your first try at this is a mess. Mine was. Just pick out a couple of cupcakes that didn’t turn out so well in the baking process and without even bothering to put any fruit on them, use them to practice the piping techniques. Or, if you can’t waste any of the 24 cupcakes you baked, practice the piping technique on the dome of an orange or a rubber ball. (Better buy an extra tub of Buttercream for this just in case) When you’ve got it down, move on to your lovely Fruit Topped Cupcakes and turn those little tarts into Pies!!!

Like I said, your guests will adore these. They are so pretty, so clever, and they taste sooooooo good!!!

Happy 4th of July…

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This post linked to: Metamporphosis Monday, Just Something I Whipped UP Monday, It’s So Very Creative, Market Yourself Monday, DIY Project Parade, Motivate Me Monday, Cupcake Tuesday, Anti-procrastination Tuesday, Blue Cricket Designs, Boardwalk Bragfest, Penny Pinching Party, Show Us What You’re Workin With, Works for Me Wednesday, It’s So Very Cheri, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Thrifty Thursday, Strut Your Stuff Thursday, Under $100 Linky Party, Diaper Diaries, Get your Craft on Thursdays, I’m Lovin’ It Friday, Tatertots and Jello, Check Me Out Saturday, Funky Junk, Craft Schooling Sunday, Sunday Favorites

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