Friday, April 3, 2015

 Red Velvet Cupcakes for Easter!
 










 
 
These are definitely my all time favorite red velvet cupcakes. Funny fact, I bought the decoration at a Home Goods around February and I couldn't wait to use them so I made these cupcakes for Chinese New Year. What can I say I'm impatient and the decoration looked too cute for me to wait. Haha.
I really do love these cupacakes, though. I've worked on this recipe over the years and adapted them the way I felt necessary. They're super moist, fluffy, and not too sweet.
 
Ingredients :
2 1/2 cups All Purpose or Cake Flour (I prefer Cake*)
1 1/2 cup Sugar
1tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Salt
1 1/4 cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs (room temperature)
1 Tsp Vanilla
3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Distilled Vinegar
1 Tbsp red dye
 
Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounce of Cream Cheese (1 block)
6 Tbsp Butter
Confectioners Sugar (to taste*)
1 Tsp Vanilla
2-4 tsp of milk  
Whipped Cream*  
 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line your cupcake tin and set aside.
Measure and combine all the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
In a even smaller bowl combine the red dye, vinegar, and cocoa powder to make a brownish reddish paste.
Then measure out and combine the rest of the wet ingredients in a larger bowl. Finally mix your dry mixture into your wet one and add the paste you made earlier.
Scoop the batter evenly into your prepared cupcake liners. I usually go about 2/3 of the way, since these cupcakes do rise.
Bake for 22 minutes.
 
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
 Add the Cream Cheese and mix until smooth. Then throw in the butter and mix into the cream cheese. I do this just to make sure there is no lumps in the cream cheese. Then throw in the sugar and vanilla. Only add the milk to get the right consistency but if you think it's nice and creamy, then don't add any milk in. Whip until fluffy or 5-7 minutes. Then fold in the whipped cream. I usually set it in the fridge for a bit but you can use it right away.
 
 
*I only prefer cake flour for cupcakes or cakes is because it gives a softer and tender crumb.  
* I start with 1 cup and gradually go up by about 1/2 cup of confectioners sugar. I usually use about 2 1/4 cups total but sometime I use less. Just keep tasting it to your preferred sweetness.
* Whipped cream is optional but I really like soft cupcakes with beyond fluffy almost cloud like frosting. I also add it because I don't like a strong cream cheese taste and the whipped cream helps to soften that strong flavor. So I add about 1/2 cup of whipped cream and it does the trick. Once the whipped cream is in, don't over whip. You'll start to make butter and buttermilk. (The whipped cream doesn't have to be exactly 1/2, its just to add more air into the frosting.)
 

No comments:

Post a Comment