Sunday, January 31, 2010

Red Velvet Cupcakes



One of my friends is a transplant from Dallas who constantly harps upon the good life down there. The perpetual sunshine, the great neighborhoods, great shopping, entertainment and good food - in particular, the numerous places for dessert. She still has a home there and therefore makes regular trips back. On her last trip, she brought me two cupcakes from Sprinkles - her favorite dessert shop. One red velvet, one chocolate. I guess she assumed I was going to give one to my husband. Under normal circumstances, I would have but after one bite into the red velvet, he didn't stand a chance. Extremely moist and very addictive. (Surprisingly they were smaller than expected; guess not everything is bigger in Texas.) Before I knew it, I was looking at an empty cupcake wrapper with the chocolate one meeting the same fate. (Sorry Hun.) He stood a better chance this weekend though with this fresh batch of red velvet cupcakes. This recipe makes one dozen but can be easily doubled.


Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes 12

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp dark cocoa powder
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp red food coloring
1/2 cup fat free milk
1 tsp white distilled vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)

1. Set oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit. Line standard muffin tins with cupcake liners.
2. Combine flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Whisk in the egg followed by the water, vanilla extract and food coloring.
4. Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk until fully incorporated.
5. Add the baking soda to the vinegar in a separate container, then pour into the batter. Fold in to incorporate but do not over mix.
6. Fill each cupcake cup two thirds full and bake at 350 degrees F for ten minutes. Rotate and bake another 15 minutes until a tooth pick inserted in the middle of each comes out clean. Cool for at least an hour before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz low fat cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup confectioner's sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract

Whisk all ingredients until light and fluffy.

11 comments:

Cajun Chef Ryan said...

Love red velvet cake, and these cup cakes look great too!

Marina7 said...

i know what u want you to make me in April!!

Michele P. said...

now these look delicious! I have been looking for a red velvet recipe since I tried a piece of red velvet cake from the bakery recently during a co-workers bday. great pic, makes me want to take a bite out of the screen lol!

Gera@SweetsFoodsBlog said...

Oh this looks phenomenal! Lovely velvet cake :)

Have a great week!

Gera

Shannon said...

This is one of my favorite things ever! I love Red Velvet cupcakes and I'll have to try this recipe out...thanks for sharing.

Great picture too, I just want to eat it now!

Natasha said...

I see we all have at least one thing in common: we like red velvet cake! And who wouldn't? It is usually so moist, and airy and scrumptious.

Maria said...

The cupcakes look delish!

Natasha said...

Thanks for visiting Maria!

Anonymous said...

omg. bravo. i just inished making these and THEY ARE DELICIOUS. i am not a baker and they were super easy - a lot simpler than most red velvet recipes i came across - and i have to say, i can't imagine any way they could be more tasty! thanks!

Natasha said...

Kristen,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and leaving your feedback.
I'm thrilled that it, first of all, was easy to follow and, secondly (and most importantly,) was delicious!
Happy Thanksgiving!

Nicola said...

I'm going to make these on valentines day. Bit worried about the vinegar though. Does it have to be white vinegar? Think i have every other type but that!