Red Velvet, for some reason, eludes me. I've tried just about every recipe under the sun and have gotten everything from watery, blood-red, vaguely chocolate-y pudding to unleavened vaguely chocolate bricks hard enough to serve as ammunition when hunting small animals. Unfortunately, it's also my Dad's favorite, and most of his past few years of birthday cakes have been virtually inedible. (But at least the frosting is delicious, right?) When I was doing small test batches of these beauties, I encountered more of the same issues. Beautifully red cakes would be rock-hard, dense chocolate biscuits. Cakes that were airy and light when coming out of the oven would collapse under their own weight, leaving me absolutely cresfallen and feeling like an absolute failure of a baker.
After so much consternation (and after a slight feeling of panic), I decided to make my standard, go-to recipe but substitute in red velvety goodness. I added a touch of chocolate, buttermilk and vinegar and hoped for the best, and after four failed batches, was finally rewarded.
Red Velor Cupcakes
Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
Mix together buttermilk and vinegar. Set aside.
Cream together room temperature butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well.
Add 1/3 of wet mixture and 1/3 of dry mixture at a time, beating well after each incorporation.
Pour into prepared cupcake cups (1.75 oz's for nice, rounded cupcakes; 2 oz's for fuller cupcakes like pictured).
Bake for 18-23 minutes until the centers are finished.
Enjoy.
And the best part of red velvet is, of course, the cream cheese frosting, which is also quite possibly the best-est, easiest, tastiest frosting ever, and doesn't even require a recipe. Mix together a half-brick (4 oz) of cream cheese, 2 TBSP (1 oz) butter and thicken it out with confectioner's sugar, et voila, magic!
Top with red sprinkles for awesome Valentine's Day love, or eat with a spoon...either way is delicious.
After so much consternation (and after a slight feeling of panic), I decided to make my standard, go-to recipe but substitute in red velvety goodness. I added a touch of chocolate, buttermilk and vinegar and hoped for the best, and after four failed batches, was finally rewarded.
Red Velor Cupcakes
| Ingredient | 2 Cupcakes | 4 cupcakes | 6 cupcakes | 12 cupcakes | 24 cupcakes |
| Unsalted Butter | 1 T | 2 T | 3 T | 6 T | 12 T |
| Sugar | 1 oz | 2 oz | 3 oz | 6 oz | 12 oz |
| Beaten egg | 1 TBSP | 2 TBSP | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Flour | 1.33 oz | 2 3/4 oz | 4.25 oz | 8.5 oz | 17 oz |
| Baking powder | pinch | 1/8 t | 2/3 tsp | 1 t | 2 t |
| Baking soda | pinch | 1/8 tsp | 2/3 tsp | 1 t | 2 t |
| Vinegar |
| 1/8 tsp | 2/3 tsp | 1 tsp | 2 tsp |
| Salt | Pinch | Pinch | 1/8 | 1/4 t | 1/2 t |
| Buttermilk | 1 oz | 2 oz | 3 oz | 6 oz | 12 oz |
| Cocoa Powder | 2 tsp | 4 tsp | 6 tsp | 12 tsp | 24 tsp |
Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
Mix together buttermilk and vinegar. Set aside.
Cream together room temperature butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well.
Add 1/3 of wet mixture and 1/3 of dry mixture at a time, beating well after each incorporation.
Pour into prepared cupcake cups (1.75 oz's for nice, rounded cupcakes; 2 oz's for fuller cupcakes like pictured).
Bake for 18-23 minutes until the centers are finished.
Enjoy.
And the best part of red velvet is, of course, the cream cheese frosting, which is also quite possibly the best-est, easiest, tastiest frosting ever, and doesn't even require a recipe. Mix together a half-brick (4 oz) of cream cheese, 2 TBSP (1 oz) butter and thicken it out with confectioner's sugar, et voila, magic!
Top with red sprinkles for awesome Valentine's Day love, or eat with a spoon...either way is delicious.
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