Red Velvet Cupcakes!
I can’t exactly remember when my romance with Red Velvet began. The strikingly bright red color enticed me the moment I saw them on Food Network. They looked so good and so yummy that I knew I had to learn the recipe.
Bloody…and yummy!
Thus the search began! Google and Youtube helped me with my search and I realized most recipes are the same. Sugar, flour and cocoa ratios may vary but they basically are all the same. And easy to make!
My first attempt was on my birthday. I used Bobbie Lloyd’s recipe and it turned out well. The thing was I am using 3/4 oz muffin tins. Yes, they are quite small so they yield mini cupcakes. I forgot about that fact when I baked them. What happened was that I baked them for too long. They didn’t burn but they dried out! 25 minutes was just too much!
On top are my first ever red velvet cupcakes. Yes, they taste good but they look sad and dreadful! I know I had to turn the presentation thousands of notches higher!
A few days later I made another batch. This time being careful with time. Baked them for 15 minutes only. They turned out real good. But something was still missing. And I want them really moist. Using Buttercream frosting also did not help coz I knew that Cream cheese frosting is the perfect match for these cupcakes.
That was my problem until a few days ago that I read this article from Yahoo! This article saved me from my red velvet hang up. Now I know what makes an authentic (not to mention yummy) red velvet cake!
The checklist:
1. The cake must have some cocoa, but not too much because it is not a chocolate cake.
2. The cake must have red food coloring; beet juice does not add the right kind of red.
3. The cake must have cream cheese frosting.
4. There should be pecans.
5. You must use high-quality ingredients.
6. Precise measurements and meticulous attention to detail are key for this cake; therefore, it must be made in small, easy-to handle, family-sized batches. (Mass-produced batter just doesn’t cut it. Sorry, large-scale bakeries.)
7. You must use a hand-held electric mixer, not a stand mixer: Larger machines can over-mix the batter, which sometimes prevents the cake from rising properly.
8. Red velvet cake batter needs vegetable oil, not butter or shortening. Oil yields a very moist cake.
In all fairness, I use 6 out of 8! I do not use oil nor I add pecans.
So like what Tyler Florence does in his TV show, I sort of combined the featured Paula Deen recipe and that of Bobbie Lloyd.
The result, My Ultimate Red Velvet Cupcakes!
I just knew from the light batter that this will yield moist cupcakes!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablesppons cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup milk, room temperature
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Salted pecans for garnish
I wouldn’t mind being attacked by this Army of Red delights!
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line muffin tins with cupcake linigs.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, milk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer.
- Slowly add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled.
- Bake in oven for about 12-15 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through.
- Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
Cream cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 8oz cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 stick butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3-4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth.
- Add milk and mix thoroughly.
- Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated.
- Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
- Pipe frosting on top of cooled red velvet cupcakes and garnish with salted pecans.
You can never have too much of these!
The result is a moist cupcake with just the right hint of chocolate! The saltiness of the pecans a nice break to the sweetness of this delightful dessert!
Yield: 5 dozens of mini cupcakes
Yes, the blur is a result of your Red Velvet overload!
Enjoy!
I think there will always be a debate about what makes a truly authentic Red Velvet cake.
In my searchings (as this was a new cake to me and only heard about it a couple years ago) what I’ve found that it is related to the Devil’s Food cake, so should have buttermilk, not milk. As a Southern speciality, it’s actually frosted with roux frosting, cream cheese frosting is a new thing.
The red food colouring is also a new thing, as when it was created at the Waldorf Astoria, they did in fact use beetroot. Although some say that the reddish hue actually came from a reaction between the cocoa and baking soda. So I believe that a dark red is more authentic than the bright red that is it today.
All that aside, food does evolve, and so I quite like the bright red that comes from food colouring and I really do love cream cheese frosting so I’m happy with that change too!
It’s nice being true to the authenticity of a recipe, but there’s also nothing wrong with mixing things up a little bit and adapting it to create something else that is just as delicious
Lovely photos!
Hi Mandy! Thanks! Nice research! It’s fun reading history of your favorite food!
I just followed what the author said in her article. I agree that the oil in the recipe is probably the secret for the moist cake. I do not use buttermilk coz I can’t find some here in the Philippines (or I just do not know where to look). I think it would also be labor intensive if I use beetroot, I don’t know the process of extracting the color. I am also happy with the bright red coz it’s more lovely to look at 
And yes, cream cheese frosting is just divine!
Yeah, it’s always difficult when we try to claim authenticity of recipes. My bad.
I love how food evolves. At least we do not get stuck with the same recipes over and over. The pecans on top of the frosting were surprisingly good, although I think I have to chop them next time
Thanks for the visit!
I found a really interesting article on the history or Devil’s Food & Red Velvet Cake, I could spend hours looking up things like that!
http://www.suite101.com/content/origins-of-red-velvet-cake-a90997
But just to add to the confusion of this mysterious cake, here’s an article from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_velvet_cake
(And a correction to me previous post, I said it was created at the Waldorf Astoria, although they did have their own version which was called a Waldorf Astoria Cake, I’m not sure that it was actually created there)
1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar (white or cider) plus enough milk to make 1 cup (240 ml) (let stand 5-10 minutes) makes a cup of buttermilk.
source: http://www.joyofbaking.com/IngredientSubstitution.html
Cool! Thanks!
I’ll be making some of these tomorrow. But instead of using the red food coloring (cause it’s bad for the health according to research studies), I’ll try using dragon fruit juice. It’s abundant here in Ilocos. I can’t find beet root here.
ooh, I didn’t know that. Thanks for the info, I shall look that up too. I think there are canned/bottled beets in supermarkets, maybe you could use that too. It’s also my first time to hear the use of dragon fruit juice. Tell me how it turns out