Red Velvet Cupcakes

This is the dessert that reminds me most of V and her mom… they're both amazing bakers and this is one of their signature desserts! Of course the version that I ended up making is nowhere close to theirs, but I think it was a decent imitation… =)  It was fun to bake… I just love the bright redness of the cake and I thought it would be good as a 'Halloween' type dessert (bloody cake?  Heehee…)

I recently had this red velvet cupcake from 'Sift Patisserie' and found that their frosting was too too sweet.  So I made sure to cut down on the icing sugar for the cream cheese frosting recipe that I used.  And you know what? The frosting ended up tasting better than the cupcake (which was quite bland and tasteless) that I refused to let anyone eat the cupcake on its own.  =P

Here's the recipe that I used for the red velvet cupcakes and for the cream cheese frosting… I halved all the ingredients since I didn't want to make so many cupcakes (24?! I don't have *that* many guinea pigs)… ;-P  Even with the ingredients halved, I had a lot of frosting leftover… it was also that I broke my plastic piping tool (I absolutely have NO luck with piping tools) and wasn't able to decorate the cupcakes properly in nice swirly frosting (instead it was slathered on and looked very unappetizing).

I am really considering in investing in a stand alone mixer… it's really hard to use the hand mixer without the ingredients going everywhere… hmm… now to find out where to put it...

Cupcakes:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 oz. red food coloring
55g unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cups sugar (or less)
1 egg, at room temperature
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1/2 tsp baking soda

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line two 6-cup muffin tins or silicone pans with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside.
3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in the egg, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Be careful as it will fizz so don't do it in a shallow bowl. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a little under 3/4 full. Place muffin tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20, rotating pans halfway through. The cupcakes are done when you are able to pat the tops and the cake springs back up. If it sinks down they are not yet complete. Or you can insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake in the center of the tin and if it comes out clean they are done!
5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Ingredients:
113 unsalted butter, softened
170g cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Make sure all of your ingredients are room temperature. In a mixing bowl, mix butter on medium speed until light and creamy.
2. Add cream cheese and mix until fluffy. 
3. Slowly add the sugar, a bit at a time. Continue to mix. 
4. Finally, add the vanilla extract to the mixture and mix until it has a creamy consistency. 
5. You can store this frosting for up to three days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. When you are ready to use it simply mix it with an electric mixer until it becomes smooth.