Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Last night I said that I'd post the recipe for the red velvet cupcakes I made.  Let me just tell you, they're to die for.  Mind you, anything with cream cheese icing is to die for, you don't have to agree, but I guarantee, most of you do.

I'll keep this short and sweet.

The Recipe...

The batter

3 1/2 cups           flour (not self-rising)

3/4 cup               unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups           sugar

3                         large eggs (at room temperature)

6+ tablespoons    red food colouring

3-6 tablespoons   unsweetened cocoa

1 1/2 teaspoons   vanilla extract (a wee bit more if you're not using the pure stuff)

1 1/2 teaspoons   salt

1 1/2 cups            buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons    cider vinegar

1 1/2 teaspoons    baking soda

Preheat oven to 350° degrees.  

In a small bowl, sift the flour and put it aside.  

In a large bowl, on medium speed,, cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy - this should take approximately five minutes.  Next, add the eggs, one by one, beating thoroughly after each addition.  

In a small bowl, add together the cocoa, red food colouring, and vanilla.  Mix well!  Then add this to the batter and mix well, again! 

Next, measure the buttermilk and stir the salt into it.  Add this to the batter, then add the flour.  Do this three times, alternating buttermilk with flour.  Mix thoroughly:).

Now, in a small bowl again, stir together the baking soda and cider vinegar, add to the batter - MIX WELL.

Add the paper liners to the cupcake pan, add the batter to the paper liners.  Almost done.

Last step, bake for twenty+ minutes, mine were perfect at exactly twenty...but each oven is different.  

Now for the icing.  I made a pretty generic cream cheese icing, which honestly made the cupcakes THAT much better.

The cream cheese icing

250g (1 package)          cream cheese

8 tablespoons                butter

4 cups                           confectioner's sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons             vanilla extract (again, add a little more if you're using imitation)

Throw all the ingredients into a bowl, actually that's a lie, if you don't want a big puff of sugar all over add the sugar in slowly.  Mix on medium to high until the icing is lump free.  Done!

                                     

There ya have it.  Fairly simple hey?  My pictures didn't turn out all that great, they look more chocolaty than they do red velvety.  But I swear, they were red velvet cupcakes ;).

-D