So I know it's been almost a month since Valentine's Day, but I finally got around to posting these cupcakes that I made. Red velvet cupcakes, in my opinion, are amazing and can be enjoyed anytime of year, but are perfect for Valentine's Day! I even decorated them using pink liners that had red and white little hearts on them, red edible glitter and gold dragees.
I used to make these with a vanilla buttercream, but recently switched to cream cheese frosting because it's not as sweet and balances out the flavors of the red velvet cake better.
Ingredients:
Cake:
2 1/4 c. Flour
2 tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 c. Buttermilk
1 tbsp. Red Food Coloring
1 tsp. Distilled White Vinegar
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 c. Granulated Sugar
1/2 c. Unsalted Butter
2 Eggs
Icing:
2 8oz. Packages of Cream Cheese
1/2 c. Unsalted Butter
1 tbsp. Vanilla
2 1/2 c. Powdered Sugar
Directions:
Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
2. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Whisk buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in a small bowl just to blend together. Set aside.
4. Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
5. Beat in dry ingredients and the buttermilk mixture, alternating back and forth using small amounts of each.
6. Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 of the way. Bake for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in one cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then they can be removed.
Icing:
1. Beat cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth.
2. Beat in Vanilla, then add powdered sugar in 3 additions. Beat until smooth. If you want the icing thicker than it is, add a bit more powdered sugar.
3. Wait until cupcakes have completely cooled down to room temperature before icing so the icing does not melt.