Red Velvet Cupcakes

I don’t understand the red velvet craze but it seems every time someone mentions red velvet, eyes glaze and ears perk up.

The first time I had red velvet was my first year living in LA and I had a bite of a red velvet cupcake from a popular LA cupcake spot. I was definitely underwhelmed; I didn’t really care for it and didn’t understand what the hype was all about. To be fair, however, I’m actually not a huge cake person. Well, don’t get me wrong, I like cake but I’m more drawn to other desserts.

My sister is in the process of transferring old family videos onto DVDs and there is one video where I am about 5 years old and it’s Halloween and the next day is my brother’s birthday. My brother is halfway asleep on the couch and my sister is in the kitchen and I, in a very sweet but bratty way, with my pumpkin costume and makeup still on, look into the camera and tell my mother that I do not want cake for my brother’s birthday the next day. Instead, I want ice cream. As if it is even my choice what dessert we get on my brother’s birthday and like the mound of candy sitting next to me isn’t enough. The level of sass in that clip is embarrassing and I hope I wasn’t given ice cream the next day because I certainly did not deserve any!

Anyway, the point of the story is to say that I shouldn’t judge the taste of red velvet on that one cupcake . So, I decided to make them myself. I did some internet searching and found a promising recipe on the Brown Eyed Baker. I had to double the recipe because I was making them for my office and, contrary to the photo above, the cupcakes came out more of a muddy brown and not quite “red.” Lesson learned for next time. Other than that, I have to say these cupcakes are pretty tasty! I was told to bring them to work any time, which is how I judge how successful my baking is. Hope you enjoy!

-Kelly

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of  butter
• 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 tsp distilled white vinegar
• 5 tbls cocoa powder
• 6 tbls red food coloring

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray or line muffin tins.
• Cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and mix until incorporated.
• In separate bowl mix together vanilla, cocoa powder and red food coloring (I used food gel so I just squeezed the tube until it looked red. I should have added a smidge more, however.) Add this to the butter mixture until incorporated.
• Reduce speed and alternate adding the flour and buttermilk.
• Add salt, baking soda, and vinegar.
• Divide evenly in pans and bake for about 20 minutes. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Mix together 8oz. of cream cheese (1 package), 1 stick butter, 1 box powdered sugar, and 2 tbls vanilla.
• Generously frost cupcakes. Add sprinkles if desired!