Monday, May 24, 2010

Red Velvet Cupcakes






















One of my favourite treats at Starbucks is their Red Velvet Cupcake, which unfortunately seems to be a seasonal item that is brought in for Valentine's Day. It is because of this cupcake that I have become obsessed with Red Velvet, which I will always choose when given the choice of cupcakes. And when I say obsessed, I mean that I have made a ridiculous number of cupcakes with the intent of perfecting the recipe. I'm not completely sure that my final recipe is perfect but it's pretty close. Let me know what you think!

2 1/2 c cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp instant coffee
2 oz red food colouring
1/4 tsp red icing colour
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift cake flour, baking powder and salt.
3. In a small bowl, mix cocoa powder, instant coffee, red food colouring and red icing colour together into a smooth, thin paste.
4. In a large bowl, beat butter for a few seconds then add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in eggs, on at a time then add vanilla and the red cocoa mixture. Mix until well incorporated and remember to scrape down the bowl.
6. Mix in one third of the flour mixture then add half of the buttermilk. Make sure each addition is well mixed before adding the next. Add the second half of the flour mixture, mix, then add the rest of the buttermilk and mix. Finally, add the last third of the flour mixture and mix. Make sure to scrape down the bowl.
7. In a small bowl, mix baking soda and vinegar which will fizz, and quickly add it to the batter. Mix well to combine.
8. Portion the batter into the cupcake liners using an ice cream scoop. This recipe can make 22-24 cupcakes.
9. Bake for 15 minutes then check to see if an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Make sure you don't overbake!
10. Cool cupcakes completely before icing and decorating.

To decorate these cupcakes I used a Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 c (12 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 c unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 c icing sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. Beat cream cheese and butter until well mixed and softened.
2. Add 2 cups of icing sugar, one cup at a time and mix thoroughly.
3. Start adding icing sugar half a cup at a time until you get the consistency and flavour that you want. You don't want the frosting to taste like cream cheese and I personally do not like my icing too sweet. Make sure you taste the frosting after each addition. Towards the end you should be adding less and less each time.
4. Add vanilla and mix until smooth.