I love Red Velvet cupcakes. The only time I have made them in the past was through a box mix so I was excited to try making them from scratch. This recipe was delicious and light (in taste not calories). Using an ice cream scoop helps tremendously in getting them into liners neatly and uniformly.
Since I was making these for a family Christmas celebration, I added peppermint extract instead of vanilla extract in the icing to give it a little hint of peppermint flavor. The icing was easy to tint. I used a disposable icing bag and painted a couple of lines of red color tint directly on the bag then added the icing and voila a tinted candy cane looking frosting. I then topped with crushed peppermint to give it a little added decoration.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1/2 c (1 stick) of butter, room temperature
2 eggs, room temperature
2 1/3 c of cake flour
2 Tbsp cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c buttermilk
Red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp of distilled white vinegar
Frosting ingredients:
1/2 cup of butter (1 stick), room temperature
8 oz of Philadelphia cream cheese, room temperature
2 – 3 c of powdered sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Using a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar together using an electric mixer. Beat for 3 minutes on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after adding each one until each is fully incorporated.
In a large bowl, sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl whisk together buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and enough red food coloring to get your desired color.
Add a fourth of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix. Add a third of the wet ingredients and mix together. Continue adding in a dry, wet, dry pattern, ending with the dry ingredients.
Using a cookie scoop, place mixture into cupcake liners, about 1/2 of the way full. Bake for 18-22 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean, rotating halfway through.
Allow to cool for one minute in the pan then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes.
Frosting:
In a clean mixing bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese for about 3 minutes. Add the extract and mix to combine. Add the powdered sugar and mix, continually taste to get to desired sweetness. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes.
