Red Velvet Cupcakes: following the craze…

The food world have been crazy about cupcakes for the last few years. There are just so many cupcakes around these days, my eyes hurt. In fact, I’ve been bombarded by cupcake pictures and recipes to such a degree, that I’ve decided to steer clear of it and rather make something else, like a big cake. Or scones. Or any other baked stuff that doesn’t include dainty frilly pearly adorned little round cupcakes. They just seem so girly, and that is one quality that I am not.

That was untill my good friend Suné Rupping brought me a box full of her own red velvet cupcakes. They were freshly baked and perfect. I tried one, and proceeded to finish the whole box that night. Needless to say, I was hooked.

I found a fantastic red velvet cupcake recipe in the Sarie Kos magazine (Spring Edition 2010). All I can tell you is that you’ll be addicted within your first bite. So moist, so light, so delicious. I’ve added my own butter frosting recipe instead of their cream cheese frosting.

Trust me, this one is a must.

Ingredients: (for 18-20 cupcakes)

• 115 g (125 ml) butter at room temperature
• 320 g (380 ml) caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 bottle red food colouring
• 30 ml cocoa powder
• 250 ml buttermilk
• 325 g (580 ml) cake flour
• 2 ml salt
• 7 ml baking soda
• 15 ml vinegar

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius
2. With electric beaters/whisk, cream butter and sugar untill light and creamy
3. Add eggs and whisk untill creamy
4. Add colouring, cocoa powder, and buttermilk and mix well.
5. Sift dry ingredients together, and fold into mixture.
6. Add vinegar last, and stir through.
7. Arrange cupcake paper molds inside cupcake tin, and fill molds about two-thirds.
8. Bake for 20 minutes untill an inserted skewer comes out clean.
9. Cool, then ice with buttercream icing.

Featherlight buttercream frosting:

• 250 g soft butter (very soft, but not melted)
• 500 g icing sugar, sifted (powdered confectioner’s sugar)
• 2-3 tablespoons milk

Whisk/beat butter untill very light in colour and fluffy, for around 3 minutes.  Add icing sugar and beat/whisk at low-speed untill it starts to come together, then on high-speed untill light and creamy. Add milk one tablespoon at a time, then whisk until you get a very light, whipped buttercream. Put in piping bag and pipe onto cupcakes.