Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe~<3
This was the first ever cupcake recipe that I had tried, previously I had stuck to baking muffins, as I hadn't realized the insidious allure of these creamy, sweet confections.
The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook is my favourite baking desserts book of all, with everything I've made from it (red velvet, green tea cupcakes, carrot cake) -> all so good! I'm going to try to go through more. My other favorite cookbook is "Cakes to celebrate love and life" by Callie Maritz and Mari-Louis Guy.
Having made both versions of red velvet cupcakes, the hummingbird's recipe is richer and more flavorful as it uses butter AND double the cocoa of the other recipe, and HH has taste-tested both and proclaimed this version his favorite.^^
I've made it 3x now, and as long as you follow the recipe, the cupcakes have never dissappointed:)
For 12 cupcakes (note that these are 12 large cupcakes -> like Muffins).
Cream cheese frosting says its for 12 cupcakes, but I usually have a lot left over as I don't like mountains of cream cheese frosting (but this stuff is SO yummy) on each cupcake. So I refrigerate the rest and eat it on other food, or use it on the next batch.
Posting the recipe below in response to bittenbefore's recipe for green tea 'rice cooker' cake!^_^
Red Velvet Cupcake
Ingredients
60 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
150 g caster sugar
1 egg
10 g cocoa powder
20 ml red food colouring (preferably Dr. Oetker Red Food Colouring)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
120 ml buttermilk
150 g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1½ teaspoons white wine vinegar
Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.
Put the butter and the sugar in a bowl and beat (using an electric whisk) until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated I used my stand mixer and this worked just fine
In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (remember to scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula).
Turn the mixer down to slow speed and slowly pour in half the buttermilk. Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour, and beat until everything is well incorporated.
Repeat this process until all the buttermilk and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture.
Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.
Spoon the mixture into greased tins and bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold
Beat the icing sugar and butter together with an electric mixer on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed.
Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny. When the cake is completely cold, spoon half the cream cheese frosting between the layers and the rest on top. What I do in the hot Singapore weather is to put the base of the bowl in a larger container filled with ice and cold water, helps the cream cheese not melt quite as quickly.
Happy Baking! <3