BridgetMc's Red Velvet Cupcakes
If you've been dying to try red velvet cupcakes, BridgetMc's blog post comparing four different recipes should be your bible. Here's her top pick.
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting on The Way the Cookie Crumbles
(from Apple a Day, who adapted it from www.saveur.com)
Makes about 24 cupcakes
For the cupcakes:
2½ cups cake flour
1½ cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbl. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbl. (1 oz.) red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar
For the frosting:
12 oz. cream cheese, softened
12 oz. butter, softened
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1½ cups chopped pecans (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
4. Divide batter evenly into prepared muffin cups.
5. Bake cupcakes until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18-24 minutes. Let cupcakes cool 5 minutes, then remove from pan to cool completely before frosting.
6. For the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Add sugar and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes.
7. Frost cupcakes. Chill for 2 hours to set frosting.