Red Velvet Cupcakes

Last week was pretty crazy and I was just too busy to post this after my baking marathon on Thursday. But I have to admit that I was pretty pleased with how the cupcakes came out :) 

Since the cupcakes were due to be delivered by Friday (seeing as Nic and I were going away for the weekend for another friend's wedding), I planned to bake them all on Thursday. I started sometime in the evening and baked two batches of my usual recipe so that I had enough cupcakes and a few extra for us to eat. 

I should go back for a moment here and say that I'd only heard of red velvet cake for the first time around a year and a half ago when my friend Priya told me that she'd baked a red velvet cake and had saved a portion of it for us. It took my taste buds a moment to understand that cream cheese makes a wonderful frosting and from that point on, I was hooked! Priya graciously shared with me that the recipe she followed was from her friend's website and I went home and tried it straightaway. 

The recipe was for a full cake and I have to admit that my first attempt (for Nic's birthday cake no less) was an epic fail. I like to think that it was because my oven was new and I wasn't used tot its settings but really, I think it took me a few attempts to get it right. Essentially though, my cake took too long to bake through, resulting in it getting horribly burned around the sides and bottom. 

After the cake failed, I decided to try again, but as cupcakes this time. I figured cupcakes took less time to bake and true enough, my second attempt turned out much better than my first. The only downside, I felt, to baking them as regular sized cupcakes was that there just wasn't enough of the beautiful cream cheese frosting to go with the amount of cake. Thus, my mini cuppycakes were born. Just a bite size of cake with a lush amount of cream cheese to go with it - perfect in my book. 

I've made the mini red velvet cakes a number of times since then and they've always disappeared really quick with family and colleagues. I've stuck with Honey and Soy's recipe but I've amended it slightly after finding that there were a few instances when the chocolate paste (as in the original recipe) didn't incorporate properly into the batter, leaving pockets of chocolate paste that was undissolved. I eventually found another recipe that suggested a different way of mixing the ingredients so I've started using that method but with the quantities and ingredients of the original recipe. 

So anyways, back to the cupcakes that were ordered by Nic's colleague. I was quite pleased with how well they turned out and hopefully the bride liked them too! I made simple decorations out of my homemade fondant and used this gorgeous red sugar to coat half of the cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

(Adapted from the recipe by Honey and Soy) 

2 ½  cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder (unsweetened)

2 Tablespoons of red food coloring 

115g unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½  cups sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature (I always use a substitute: 1 tsp white vinegar to 1 cup milk, let stand for 5 min)

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Have cupcake tray lined with paper cups.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder into a medium bowl; set aside.  Add the red colouring to the buttermilk and stir well so that the colour is mixed.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go.  Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula as you go along.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda.  Yes, it will fizz!  Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine.  Working quickly, scoop the batter into the cupcake cups, filling about two-thirds of the cup and place them in a preheated oven. If you are making regular sized cupcakes, bake for about 15 - 20 mins. If you are making mini cupcakes, bake for 7 - 10 mins. Check early, cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This recipe yields about 24 regular sized cupcakes or 108 mini cupcakes. 

5. Cool the cupcakes on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. Frost with buttercream or cream cheese icing (recipe below).

Recipe Notes: * Wear an apron and be careful with the red food coloring to avoid staining something!  As you’re mixing the cake batter, use a spatula to scrape down the bowl frequently throughout the entire process.

Cream Cheese Frosting

500g cream cheese (2 packages), softened
115g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
pinch of salt

With an electric mixer, blend together cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Turn mixer to low speed and blend in powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract.  Turn mixer on high and beat until light and fluffy. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use.  If refrigerated, the frosting will need to be brought to room temperature before using (after frosting softens up, beat with mixer until smooth).

Recipe Notes: If you prefer a sweeter and/or stiffer frosting, more powdered sugar can be added (up to four cups). But remember, the more sugar you add, the less you’ll be able to taste the tangy cream cheese!