red velvet...

We had an impromptu little dinner party last night and whilst there was no strawberry shortcake on the menu, I did bake my first ever batch of red velvet cupcakes.   I love red velvet cupcakes but surprisingly have never made them before.  I always thought they were going to be a little bit tricky... but not at all. Cath and Han passed on a recipe they have used recently and I was so happy with the results!  Definitely a crowd pleaser and there is just something about cream cheese icing that makes everything taste better!

Red Velvet Cupcakes (makes 12) 
60 g Unsalted Butter, room temp
150 g Caster Sugar
1 large Egg, lightly beaten
10 g Cocoa Powder
20 ml Red Food colouring
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
120 ml Buttermilk (I used normal milk and it worked out fine too)
150 g Plain flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Bicarb Soda
1 1/2 teaspoon White wine Vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting
300 g Icing sugar, sifted
50 g Unsalted butter, room temp
125 g Cream Cheese, slightly softened

DIRECTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 170c. Line a 12-hole cupcake tin with patty cases.
• Place butter and sugar in a medium bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well mixed.
• In a small bowl, mix the food colouring, cocoa powder and vanilla extract until it makes a thick paste.
• Add the paste to the butter mixture and beat thoroughly until the colour is mixed evenly through the batter. Be sure to scrape down any stray batter from the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. The mix should be a deep rose pink/red.
• On slow speed, slowly add half the buttermilk until well mixed then add half the flour until well mixed. Repeat for the remaining milk and flour, beating until the mixture is smooth.
• Add the salt, bicarb and vinegar, turning up the speed and beating for a couple more minutes.
• Spoon a heaped tablespoon of mixture into each paper cases until no more than two-thirds full.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the top of a cupcake bounces back when lightly touched. (A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean).
• Once the cupcakes have cooled slightly in the tray, remove them and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the cream cheese frosting.
• Beat the icing sugar and butter until well mixed.
• Add cream cheese to the mix, beating until completely combined.
• On medium-high speed, continue beating the frosting until it becomes light and fluffy. This takes around five minutes.
• When the cupcakes are cold, ice.

I think the next experiment may need to be these red velvet whoopie pies!

Source: flickr.com via Phuong on Pinterest