A Red Velvet Cake is very dramatic looking with its bright red color that is offset by a creamy white frosting.
If we look beyond the striking appearance of this Red Velvet Cake, we will find that it has a mild chocolate flavor with a moist and tender crumb. The mild chocolate flavor comes from adding a small amount of cocoa powder to the batter and buttermilk gives it a moist and tender crumb. If you are not familiar with buttermilk it has a nice thick creamy texture with a rich tangy buttery taste that makes baked goods tender. You can make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of white distilled vinegar, cider vinegar, or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Let this mixture stand 5 to 10 minutes before using.
If you follow this recipe you will never go wrong. You can make as cupcakes or cake. Traditionally cream cheese frosting only sued for this red velvet cakes. Whoever do not like the cream cheese frosting can make whatever the frosting you prefer or can simply drizzle some icing sugar on top. The below recipe will make about 12 regular cupcakes or 24 mini cupcakes.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients for the cupcakes:
- 55g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 150g granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 tbsp or 10 g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp gel paste food coloring (add more if necessary)
- 1/2 cup (120 mL) buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk + 1 tsp vinegar mixed together and set aside for a bit)
- 150 g all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tbsp vinegar
For the frosting:
- 225g cream cheese at room temperature
- 55g cup unsalted butter, soft at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 115g confectioners’ sugar
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F or 180 C and line a cupcake tray with cupcake cases
- In a bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the egg and vanilla and beat well until pale light and fluffy.
- Add in the cocoa and salt, and mix well. The batter may resemble chocolate cake batter especially if you are using dark cocoa, but fear not because the food coloring will transform the batter into a deep shade of red.
- Stir in the food coloring, adding in more if you need to, until you get your desired shade of red.
- Now, pour in the buttermilk, alternating with the flour in three intervals, starting with the buttermilk and ending with the flour. Mix just until combined, as over mixing after the flour is added will result in a tough, dry cupcake
- Finally In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter
- Scoop the batter into the cupcake liners, about 2/3- 3/4 of the way full. You should end up with exactly 12 cupcakes
- Bake for 20-25 min or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean and cool completely before frosting
To make the frosting:
- Blend the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth
- Add the confectioner’s sugar gradually until you get soft peaks- at that stage stop.
- Finally, squeeze in the lemon juice
- Pour the mixture into a piping/ziplock bag, snip off the end and pipe dollops of the frosting atop the cooled cupcakes. You can also just smear the frosting using a butter knife.
- Serve topped with colored sugar or crumbled up cupcake.
I personally do not prefer cream cheese frosting. so i tried some mini cupcakes with whipped chocolate ganache & it tasted awesome.
