Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes 22-24 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cake:
2 ½ cups All-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
½ cup unsalted butter- softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
¼ water
1 oz liquid food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
Icing:
2 8oz packages of cream cheese - softened
2 sticks of unsalted butter- softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Optional: a few drops of red food coloring
Directions
Cake-
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and prep cupcake tins with liners.
Step 2: In a mixer, cream together the butter and the sugar until it is nice and fluffy- almost like kinetic sand.
Step 3: Add the eggs and continue to mix until completely blended.
Step 4: In a small bowl, combine the cocoa powder and red food coloring to make a paste of the two, add this to the mixture until combined.
Step 5: Sift the flour and salt into the mixture- mix until combined, batter will become very thick.
Step 6: Add buttermilk slowly into the mixture, then add vanilla.
Step 7: Batter will be much looser by now, add the water slowly until combined.
Step 8: In a small bowl, mix together the baking soda and white vinegar, add this to the mixture and with a spatula fold in gently by hand until just combined.
Step 9: Fill cupcake liners and bake for 17-20 min (you will know the cupcakes are done if you can gently press the top and it bounces back up at you).
Step 10: Remove cupcakes from trays and let cool completely while you make the icing
Icing-
Step 1: In a mixer combine the cream cheese and unsalted butter until combined and smooth- usually around 2 min on a medium speed will do the trick(the softer your cream cheese and butter are, the smoother the icing will be)
Step 2: Add the vanilla into this mixture, mix until combined.
Step 3: Slowly add the powdered sugar, a little bit at a time until it is all combined and then mix for about another 2 min on medium until the icing is smooth and fluffy.
Step 4: If you wish to make some of your frosting pink for decorating, remove half the white from the bowl and add just a few drops of red food coloring until it becomes you desired color.
Step 5: Frost and decorate your cupcakes however you would like! Enjoy!
