For the Love of Red Velvet Cupcakes

So much for trying to give up sugar - I've rediscovered a love for cupcakes. Finding cupcakes. Baking cupcakes. Eating cupcakes!

But not all cupcakes are created equal. There is this recent fantastic white chocolate cake, of course, and then there are these red velvet cupcakes. I did some concentrated research (ie. looked up wikipedia) to find out some more about these red miracles, and found that the reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk is used to reveal the red colour in the cocoa, although red food colouring is also used to intensify the hue. Actually, I used rice wine vinegar because I didn't have any white vinegar, and the colour turned out brilliantly.

In terms of texture, these are not as fine as the white chocolate cupcakes, but the flavour is equally awesome, with a hint of cocoa shining through, and the cakes are super moist and moreish. And, of course, it's the red colour that is the star.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

makes 16

Ingredients
300g (2 cups) plain flour
30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
315g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar
250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
200g unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, lightly whisked
1 tbs white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4-5 tsp liquid red food colouring

Cream cheese frosting
250g cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
300g (2 cups) pure icing (confectioner's) sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Preheat oven to 170°C. Line 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir through the sugar. Whisk the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla in a large jug until combined. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in the food colouring.
3. Divide the mixture among the lined pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. For the frosting: Use an electric mixerto beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Spread over cooled cupcakes.

cupcake recipe from taste.com.au

Some ingredients, including plain flour, cocoa, bicarb soda, eggs and red food colouring

Look at the extreme red of the batter. It loses a little of its glow after baking, but it's still pretty vivid.

The traditional coating for red velvet cake is cream cheese frosting.

Add some sprinkles.

Makes you go "awwwwwww"

And it's deliciously moist as well.