Back to Basics: Red Velvet
Long time since I posted a recipe or a blog post. I really love blogging but at the end of the day I it is last on my to-do list. I am trying to get better and write posts when I am free.
My favorite all time cupcake has to be Red Velvet. Even though I am from the Northeast and it is a classic southern food I can always find room for a red velvet cupcake. It is my way of telling bakeries apart. A great bakery will have a most and chocolatey cupcake with a cream cheese frosting. Any other type of frosting would mean it is not true red velvet.
I don’t have many tips or tricks for this recipe. Just like the vanilla cupcakes I make my own buttermilk by using milk and vinegar. I always use the best quality coco powder to get a rich chocolatey color.
To get a nice red color I like using gel food coloring. I dislike liquid because it throws of the dry to wet ratio and you need a lot more liquid food coloring compared to gel.
The part that makes this cupcake is the cream cheese frosting, I add vanilla extract to my frosting. When I just started baking I used to make these cupcakes for my friends for their birthday. We were in 7th grade and I didn’t think people would like it if they knew it was a cream cheese frosting. So I would just add a lot of vanilla extract to over power the cream cheese flavor. I have never told them the truth and I don’t think they would remember.
For these cupcakes I like to had frost them for a homemade feel but you can also pipe them.
Hope you have an amazing week!
Love
Katie ❤
Recipes from Martha Stewart Cupcakes Cookbook
Red Velvet Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self rising), sifted
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
- With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
- Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
- Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
- To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 pound (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
- Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.
COOK’S NOTES
Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.
thekatiekakes.com 
Looks great. I’m sure it’s delicious!
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Thanks! They are my favorite.
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They look delicious! I am also a huge fan of red velvet cake! How did you make your own buttermilk?
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I used a tablespoon of vinegar to a cup of milk and let it sit for 10 mins. It makes the milk curdle. It is not exactly like buttermilk but it is a great substitute when in a pinch. I always forget to buy it so most times I just use the homemade kind.
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