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Hello new and returning readers. You’re probably been waiting in anticipation for way too long now for the final post of Evan’s birthday dinner. I could give you a list of excuses of why it’s taken me so long which would make you all roll your eyes at me…or I could just write the damn thing.
The grand finale: Red Velvet Cupcakes.
Evan had been requesting red velvet cupcakes all year. I asked him if that was his favourite flavor of cupcakes and he said, “I don’t know, I’ve never had them. I just want to try them!” How could I not make them for his birthday? I started looking up recipes for them online to get an idea of what I was getting myself in to. I was really surprised when that most of the recipes had a ton of oil in them. Cupcakes are already a treat but I don’t think that you necessarily need that much oil on top of all that goodness. I decided to come up with my own recipe sans oil.
Makes 12 cupcakes with a lot of icing.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons coco powder
2 tablespoons red food colouring (or 1 small bottle food colouring)
Icing
2 x 8oz packages light cream cheese
¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
3-4 cups icing powder
2/3 cup raspberries
Directions
Preheat your oven to 375F. Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla, sour cream and red food colouring. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid. Mix lightly (the batter should be lumpy) and then pour evenly into a lined cupcake tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes and check the center with a tooth pick. If it comes out clean it’s done, if it has batter on it then your cupcakes need a little longer. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and let them cool on a wire rack.
While they are cooling you can make your icing. Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add the vanilla at the end. Slowly add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Use your judgement and preference for how much icing sugar you’ll need.
Make sure your cupcakes are completely cooled before icing them. I used a piping bag to ice my cupcakes but you can always just use a butter knife for a rustic look or if you want a more polished look you can use a large freezer zip bag. Fill it 2/3 the way with icing and then cut the corner off. You’ll be able to use it to make toppings for your cupcakes, plus it’s easy clean up.
The cupcakes turned out really good. They were moist and a beautiful shade of dark red, a keeper recipe for sure. I just asked Evan if that is his favourite flavour and he just replied with, “Those are pretty god damned good.” I’m pretty sure that means he liked them.
Thanks for your patience every one. I have a week-long staycation coming up this month so I’m hoping to get lots of different projects done and lots of posts too. Have a great Sunday everyone!
Cheers!