Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Now that I have shared my Red Velvet Graduation cupcakes here , I should share the recipe for these gorgeous beauties, all high and mighty and RED and oh so yummy! :-)

I have to admit that I must have gone through atleast a dozen different red velvet cake/cupcake recipes before finalizing on the one I used for mine. There were a few factors which was my highest priority:
a). It should be moist even a day or two after baking them
b). I wanted a flavorful cupcake, such that it tasted good with or without frosting
c). The cupcakes shouldn't be very oily such that the cupcake liner is drenched with oil ( though oil helps in retaining moisture)
I was finally able to bake the best Red velvet cupcakes ever! They had a smooth velvety crumb , a slight hint of cocoa and was very moist without your hands smeared with oil :-) My recipe is highly adapted from here, but I'm so glad I tweaked the recipe.

I baked an extra batch a few days before the graduation party (with recipe below) and took them to my office and my colleagues really loved them. They all said it had a professional touch and that it tasted very yummy ;-)
The friend for whom I was making the graduation cupcakes is Vegan, but instead of making them wholly Vegan , she suggested I use Soy products instead and eggs for from a trusted farmer she knew. So from the recipe below, I substituted these ingredients to make her cupcakes:
a. Soy buttermilk ( 1tblsp Lemon juice mixed with 1 cup Soy milk)
b. Soy cream cheese
c. Margarine instead of butter ( but she gave me margarine spread which was salty, so I used regular unsalted butter)
You'll never know the difference, both recipes resulted in beautiful cupcakes and a sweet, creamy and cheesy cream cheese frosting.

The recipe for the red velvet cupcake is really simple, dry ingredients in one bowl, wet ingredients in another and combine the two, really simple. I have provided detail pics below, taken the night I made these cupcakes and frosted them. Enjoy! :-)

May16: Update -  this recipe provides 24 standard sized cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
You'll need
For the cake:
Cake Flour - 2½ cups
Sugar - 1½ cups
Baking soda - 1 tsp
Cocoa powder - 3 tblsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Large eggs - 2
Vegetable oil  -1½ cups
Buttermilk - 1 cup
Liquid red food coloring - 2 tblsp (1 oz.)
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Distilled white vinegar - 1 tsp

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
Cream Cheese - 8 oz. ( 1 pack)
Unsalted Butter, at room temperature - 5 tbsp
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Confectioners’ Sugar, sifted - 2½ cups

For Frosting the cupcakes:
Piping bag or large Ziploc bag - 1
Piping tip (optional) - I used Wilton 1M

Directions 
For the cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F and  line cupcake pans with paper liners.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend.
3. Using a electric hand mixer , combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.  Beat on medium speed until well blended.
4. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners, almost 2/3 full.

6. Bake for about 18 minutes, rotating the pans halfway (at around 9  minutes) through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
7. Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. ( If left within the pan for too long the cupcake will continue to cook with the heat of the pan and may become less moist)

 

 

Directions for the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Combine the cream cheese (best if cold and straight out of the fridge) and butter using a hand mixer or in the bowl of an electric mixer.  

2. Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth  (about 2-3 minutes).  

3. Mix in the vanilla extract.  

4. Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth. 

Frosting the Cupcakes:  

1. Cut off the ends of your piping bag or a large Ziploc bag just enough to squeeze through your piping tip. The tip should be tightly secured inside this hole. ( I used a large Ziploc bag)
2. Put the piping bag into a large tumbler (this will help to add in the frosting easily).

 3. Scoop the entire prepared frosting into the piping bag using a spatula or spoon and gently press the frosting down into the bag and once you can see the frosting at the tip , twist the bag at the topmost end such that no frosting comes out from the other open end. You may tie that end with a rubber band and squeeze the rubber band down as you frost or simply keep twisting the bag.

 4. Place your arm on the sides on the table (sit down if that's preferable) and with a steady hand , place your left hand near to the tip of the bag and with right hand on the twisted top end and gently squeeze the frosting from the top end of the bag releasing it out from the tip.

5. Keep rotating in concentric circles until you reach the centre, and pull out.

   6. There you go, beautifully frosted cupcake in a nice swirl design.

7. Repeat for each cupcake . Yummy and pretty cupcakes are ready to eat  :-)
Suggestion: If you do not have a piping tip, you can simply place about 2 tblsp of frosting on the cupcake and smooth it around the cupcake using a butter knife or a small spatula.

 Give them a try. You'll love them and its a definite crowd pleaser , beautiful to look at and really good to taste! 

Linking this post to:
1. I Love Baking#4

2. Lets Party- Desserts

3. Lets Bake Cupcakes and Muffins

-Manju