Sexy Red Velvet Cupcakes - National Cupcake Week

These have been on my 'to bake list' for quite a while, they've always looked utterly gorgeous but have always been something I've put off a bit as I wanted to do them right. So as it is National Cupcake Week I thought why not try these bad boys out now? So I did.

I got the Recipe from The Humming Bird Bakery cook (which I copied from Good To Know), as I thought if I was going to use anyone's recipe, it should be there's. I don't have the book myself as I'm always too poor to buy it, so I've had to rely on recipes put up on the internet like this. Thankfully people are happy to share them or god knows what sort of recipe I would attempt to create myself. Right, let's get to it.

I'd actually never made cream cheese icing before and I have to say, I'm in love! Mine could have done with a couple more minutes in the oven as I put so much icing on it looks a but squished! But fails are important too, so next time I'll fight against my urge for moisture and remember how heavy cream cheese is.


For the red velvet cupcakes:

• 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 150g caster sugar
• 1 egg
• 10g cocoa powder
• 20ml red food colouring, I used Christmas Red Sugarflair paste, about half a teaspoon worth
• ½tsp vanilla extract
• 120ml buttermilk, I couldn't get any so used Gold Top, worked great
• 150g plain flour
• ½tsp salt
• ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1½tsp white wine vinegar

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 300g icing sugar, sifted
• 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 125g cream cheese, cold, try to use full fat, if you're going to have a cupcake, then have one porperly!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/gas mark 3.
2. Put the butter and the sugar in a bowl and using an electric mixer beat on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well combined
3. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste, (as I didn't use liquid colouring I just added all of mine straight to the mix and coloured to the desired strength). Add to the butter mixture and mix thoroughly until evenly combined and coloured (scrape any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula). Turn the mixer down to slow speed and slowly pour in half the buttermilk/Gold Top :). Beat until well mixed, then add half the flour, and beat until everything is well incorporated. Repeat this process until all the buttermilk/Gold Top and flour have been added. Scrape down the side of the bowl again. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture. Turn the mixer down to low speed and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until well mixed, then turn up the speed again and beat for a couple more minutes.
4. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases until two-thirds full and bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 mins, or until the sponge bounces back when touched. A skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool slightly in the tray before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
5. Meanwhile for the cream cheese frosting: Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer, you can do it by hand but it will turn your arm to wibble wobble, on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 mins. Do not overbeat, as it can quickly become runny.
6. When the cupcakes are cold, spoon over the cream cheese frosting on top and try to make it look art farty in a messy kind of way like they do in the book!
7. Eat, Nom!

The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, Recipe text ©Tarek Malouf & The Hummingbird Bakers, Photography Peter Cassidy © Ryland Peters & Small. Pin It Now!