These cupcakes were a special request from my co-worker on her birthday (oh, hey Angelica!) – and believe it or not I had never even tasted red velvet before (I also ate my first mussel last night, but that’s neither here nor there.) Anyhoo, whipped up this pretty quick and easy recipe and they ended up being a hit – and they’re so damn pretty!
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs cocoa powder
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
3 tbs red food coloring
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through.
Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for done-ness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry, which I didn’t do, but of course you absolutely should!
