Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
13 Feb
(Above photo credit belongs to Albert @ www.uvhaze.com. Be sure to check out his blog, as he has some amazing photos! -Ambitious)
A couple of years ago, I made a red velvet cake from scratch to take to C’s Christmas party (remember that, ladies?). The cake being hard as brick, not to mention the underwhelming color – I hadn’t used nearly enough food coloring. It was eligible to be featured on Cake Wrecks!
According to Wikipedia, “Common ingredients include buttermilk, butter, flour, cocoa powder, and often either beets, or red food coloring. It is most popular in the Southern United States, though known in other regions.”
The difference between red velvet cake and a regular chocolate cake is the subtle acidic element that contrasts the sweetness of the cake. This particular recipe uses vinegar but I substituted vinegar for sour cream.
The cupcake came out fluffy and light, just the way I like it. Next time, I would use less cocoa powder. As for the frosting, I used less sugar. Be sure to avoid store brand cream cheese and use Philadephia brand instead. It’s totally worth it.
Adapted from Vanilla Garlic
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups of cake flour
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of buttermilk*
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons of red food coloring
1 1/2 tablespoons of Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar (I used 6 oz. of sour cream instead)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
*You can make your own buttermilk by adding a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar or lemon juice to whole milk and letting it stand for about 5 minutes.
Procedure:
1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring.
4. Add a fourth of the dry ingredients and mix, then add a third of the wet. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.
5. Scoop into cupcake papers, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Rotate the pan after the first 15 minutes of baking to ensure even baking.
6. Allow to cool for one minute in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz of Philly cream cheese (1 package), room temperature
1 cup of powdered sugar (more if you want)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Procedure:
1. Cream the butter and cream cheese together, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
2. Add the vanilla extract and mix.
3. Add the powdered sugar, continually taste to get to desired sweetness. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
