So anyway, after that night with the red velvet cupcake, I knew I've found my new favorite. Yesterday, an old schoolmate posted photos of cupcakes she's selling and because she had such good photos, I wanted cupcakes right then and there. Too bad I couldn't order from her since I'm islands away. After work (store check at Market!Market!), my feet took me to Serendra. Bad feet! haha
Look at those beautiful coloring-infused cupcakes. Photo below is courtesy of Our Awesome Planet.
While eating my yummy cupcake, I figured that it should be fairly simple to make. So I grabbed a Red Velevet Cupcake recipe straight out of the Food Network's site. Maybe this time I'll dare to make something that's not cookies or brownies or mango float..okay, the last one's not valid (I tried baking bread once, and it didn't work out well.haha) Don't know when I'll be able to test this out (hopefully when I get home next month, because that's the only place I can use a decent oven). It looks really simple and based on the user comments, it seems okay. Some say that it's a bit oily, some say it's dry, but a lot seem happy with it. So let's see.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
- Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.
Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.
My cupcakes might not turn out to be as good as Sonja's but let's see. They say practice makes perfect.
Can't wait to try it out. :)
