Red Velvet Cupcakes

My dad got me to try red velvet cake one time, and ever since then, I was hooked. Seriously, this cannot be made without cream cheese icing, but even without it, red velvet cupcakes are beautiful and absolutely delicious.


Ingredients


Red Velvet Cupcakes
cake flour, sifted, 2 1/2 cups
baking powder, 1 teaspoon
salt, 1 teaspoon
red food coloring, 2 ounces [This was two small bottles for me.]
cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons
unsalted butter, softened, 1/2 cup [1 stick]
 sugar, 1 1/2 cups
eggs, room temperature, 2
vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
buttermilk, room temperature, 1 cup
white vinegar, 1 teaspoon
baking soda, 1 teaspoon

Icing
cream cheese, softened, 16 ounces [two packages for me]
unsalted butter, softened,  1/2 cup [1 stick]
vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
powdered sugar 2 1/4 cups
salt, a pinch

  Other things you might need
1 medium bowl
2 small bowls
1 large bowl
sifter
electric mixer
spatula
baking spray [I don't use cupcake papers because they take away from the cupcake and are inconvenient. Use the spray thoroughly, and you shouldn't have any trouble]
spoon for scooping
mini cupcake tray [I use this, the mini one. It makes a bunch of just-the-right-size cupcakes. I've never tried making them with a normally sized cupcake tray, but it should work just the same.] 
wire rack [not necessary, but helpful]

Directions

Cupcakes

1
Pre-heat oven to 350.


2
Cake flour, baking powder, and salt- sift together in a medium bowl and set aside.

3
Cocoa powder and red food coloring-  in a small separate bowl mix together until there are no lumps and set aside.

4
Butter and sugar- in a large separate bowl using an electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy.

5
Beat in eggs one at a time.

6
Vanilla and red food coloring paste- beat in, scraping the bowl with a spatula every now and then.

7
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, beating well, and then 1/2 of the buttermilk, alternating until thoroughly combined, scraping with a spatula again.

8
Vinegar and baking soda- in a small separate bowl mix together. It will fizz! Add to the cake batter and stir in well with your spatula.

9
Ok, now with a relatively large spoon, scoop out some batter and pour into your very-well-greased mini cupcake pan. You do not have to be overly cautious about overfilling them. I generally do them up to the top since they are so small anyway. When they are all filled, stick in the oven and bake for 9-14 minutes approximately, or when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool before icing.

Icing

10
Speaking of icing, I make that while the cupcakes are cooking. First, take your cream cheese and unsalted butter [if they are not soft enough, microwave them for a few seconds] and blend with an electric mixer until smooth.


11
Blend in the rest of the ingredients, vanilla, powdered sugar, and salt, until very well combined.

12
Now, I have a useful trick for you if you don't have a professional icing bag. Grab a sandwich Ziplock bag and carefully turn the top of it inside out, so that it is sitting on your table open. This is to keep icing from getting all over the place and making it hard to seal or making a mess. Now fill it with icing and zip it shut. With a pair of scissors, snip a very small corner off, and you are ready to ice! :-}

13
As always, enjoy :-D