RED VELVET CUPCAKES

My father ends up having a lot of potlucks for lunch at work, which is the perfect opportunity for me to bake without worrying about having excess cake and cookies laying around the house (not that that’s a bad problem to have!). Since the holidays are coming up, I made some red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for him to take, and cut out some trees to adorn the “snowy” tops. Makes them a little more festive, don’t you think?

Red Velvet Cupcakes

From Sprinklebakes

Makes 24 cupcakes

Red Velvet Cake

2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

Pinch of salt

1 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 ¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

1 tablespoon white vinegar

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

2 ¼ tablespoons cocoa powder

2 ¼ tablespoons liquid red food color

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup unsalted butter, softened

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature (I recommend Philadelphia brand)

4 cups confectioners’ sugar (about 1 pound)*

Milk or cream

To make cake: Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin tin with baking cups. In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, mix the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and vinegar. In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Sift the cocoa into a small bowl and add the red food color. Stir until a paste forms (this will take a couple of minutes to incorporate). Add to the creamed butter mixture. Add alternately the dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture to the creamed butter mixture. Make sure you scrape down the bowl when adding the ingredients. For cupcakes, scoop out the batter into lined muffin tins, about 2/3 of the way up, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the cake springs up when touched.

To make frosting: In a large bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar. Beat on high until smooth for about 2 minutes. If the mixture seems too lax (a common problem with cream cheese frosting), add more confectioners’ sugar a little at a time until thickened. If the mixture seems too thick, add milk or cream a little at a time until the desired consistency is achieved. 

To assemble: Spread the frosting onto the cupcakes or transfer it to a piping bag and pipe mounds of frosting onto the cupcakes. Garnish as desired.