Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

(makes 12)

Recipe from The Brown Eyed Baker

Upon thinking that it would be rather impossible to produce a Croquemboche as a birthday cake for my friend Diana at our day hike, i opted to take up the challenge of making her 2nd favourite cake, a red velvet with cream cheese frosting.
This was my first time playing around with cupcakes, piping and got a little carried away with 'Fairy Sprinkles' that i bought too lol.. need to work on presentation i think but not too bad for a 1st attempt!

Prep time (and decorating time): 30-40 min

Cooking time: 20 min

Ingredients:

120g butter, at room temperature

3/4 C caster sugar

1 egg

2 1/2 T unsweetened cocoa powder

3 T red food colouring (the whole bottle!)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 C buttermilk (can substitute with 1/2 C milk and 1/2 T white vinegar)

1 C + 2 T plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp bicarb soda

1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting

100-120g cream cheese, room temperature

100-120g butter, room temperature

2 1/2 C icing sugar

1 T vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

2. On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the edges of the bowl with a spatula.

3. In a separate small bow, mix together the sifted cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food colouring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until well-combined. 

4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half the buttermilk. Sift in half the flour and mix in with the spatula. Repeat with the rest of the butter milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.

5. Mix in the salt, baking soda and vinegar, then beat on high for another couple of minutes until completely combined and smooth. 

6. Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 

7. Cool for 10 minutes and then remove cupcakes from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting. 

To make the frosting:

8. Whip the butter and cream cheese on high speed for 3-5 minutes until well-combined. Reduce the speed to low and slowly sift in the icing sugar 1/4 C at a time until all combined. Add the vanilla extra and mix to combine.

9. Increase the speed to medium-high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy.

10. Put a few tablespoons of mixture into a piping bag at a time and decorate as you like!

Usually, a red velvet cake has 3-4 layers, with cream cheese frosting in between, a bit too rich for me but I guess that's the way it is supposed to be enjoyed? It was a bit too time-consuming to make a full-sized cake this time, but i thought i'd make a ramekin-sized version as a birthday cake!

Triple-layered Red Velvet Cake

Happy Birthday Di!