Red Velvet Cupcakes ~ My2Bites

Valentines day is upon us and what better sweet treat to make than Red Velvet cupcakes. There like miniature cakes but red. I wonder who came up with the idea to add a whole 2 ounces of red food coloring to a cake to make it red. It also seems as if the cake would be a vanilla flavor but its actually chocolate. There are alot of weird things going on in this cupcake. You practically make an exploding volcano while making it. (You'll see why in the instructions). If this red, chocolate, exploding cupcake doest call for Love i don't know what does.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

First start off by adding 2 1/2 cups of flour to a bowl.

Add 1 tsp. of baking powder and 1 tsp. of salt. I prefer popcorn salt because its alot finer grain.

Now move to a different bowl and add 2 heaping tablespoons YES HEAPING!! of unsweetend Cocoa Powder

Now this is where the red comes in play. Add 2 ounces of red food coloring. Yes 2 full bottles of red food coloring. Want to know a little secret. I only used 1 hehe, and they still turned out bright red. So you don't have to use 2 if you don't have 2 or don't feel like buying 2.(I used "don't" 3 times in that sentance) Completely up to you!

Whisk together and remove any clumps to make a red chocolatey silky smooth thin sauce. I guess that's what it looks like?? :O

Now in a different bowl add 1 1/2 cups of sugar.

Now add 1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter. Your going to want the butter soft. I do something i like to think of as the 6 fives method. I put the butter stick on a plate. Put it in the microwave for 5 seconds. Let it rest for 5. Put it back for 5. Let it rest for 5 and then again put it in for 5. Then you'll have a soft solidified butter stick.

Beat together the mixture of butter and sugar until you create a clumpy but smooth texture. I'm not sure if that's possible but if you look whats around the egg above that what i mean. Now add 1 egg at a time and beat them into the mixture. until it looks like the picture below

This is what the sugar, butter and egg mixture should look like after its been mixed for about 3 minutes.

Now add 1 teaspoon (i like to add a so called heaping teaspoon by adding a bit more) of good vanilla extract.

Remember that red cocoa mixture we made earlier. Well now were going to add that to the mixture as well.

Mix the mixture until it looks something like this. As you can see we have a bright red color by only using 1 ounce of red dye.

Now add a third of the flour, baking powder and salt mixture to the butter mixture.

Add a 1/2 cup of buttermilk to the mixture and mix together. Continue adding a third of the mixture and a 1/2 cup of buttermilk until you've used all your flour mixture and a full cup of buttermilk.

This is what you mixture should look like after all the flour and buttermilk is Incorporated.

In a small bowl add a teaspoon of baking soda to the bowl. Now this is where the volcano takes place. Add a teaspoon of vinegar (make sure not to use the same spoon as you used for the baking soda or it will start erupting in the spoon) The combination for both teaspoons of the baking soda and white vinegar will start to fizz and bubble. Don't use a tiny dish for this or it will be a tiny little volcano erupting on your counter.

Add the vinegar and baking soda mixture to the mix and stir with a spoon.

This is what your finished bright red mixture should look like. It looks orange in this picture but trust me its RED!!

Line each open slot in your muffin tin with a baking cup of choice. Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distibute mixture into cups. You want about 2/3 of the way full.

This is what the muffin tin should look like. Put them in the oven for 20 minuted or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.

Now for the Fluffy Creamcheese frosting.

Add 1 stick of sofented butter to a bowl.

Use a full 8oz package of Philly Cream Cheese and cream together.

This is what the butter and cream cheese recipe looks like.

Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the mixture. You can use clear vanilla if availible to you

Slowly start to add 2-3 cups of powdered sugar to the butter mixture. I add about a cup and mix then another and mix. Then if it needs more i add it.

This is what your mixture should look like. As you can probably see its like a creamy yellow color. We want it SNOW WHITE. So to get it white add about 2 tablespoons of Karo corn syprup. That's what you see in the top left corner of the photo

Mix together the karo and cream cheese mixture for about 3 mintues or until white and fluffy.

VIOLA!! We have some delicious red velvet cupcakes. I added the frosting and garnished with some orange peel. The orange peel adds a great touch of citrus and its really refreshing on the cupcake.