Certain things in life are a necessity. Like these red velvet cupcakes. I mean, I have met two kinds of people in my life 1. People who LOVE Red velvet cupcakes and 2. People who don’t (Honestly that’s because they haven’t had the right one you know… Come on! Who cannot like red velvet?). Before I start blabbering about how this cupcake is life-changing, I’ll just give you guys a little life update.
Things have been tough. I guess I have been saying that a lot lately. But I just… I’ll hopefully be able to share why soon. In other news, it’s been three months now that I have graduated and started blogging full time. Not that this is what I’m gonna do (I am too scared to stop studying and you know take blogging up full time.) Let’s see how things turn out. I have been loving this bit so far. Baking, photographing, editing and planning all the recipes have been very creatively satisfying. Also, I have the time to read as much as I want. I have also been taking classes at Skillshare. It has been wonderful. You guys can also join skillshare and avail 2 months of free premium membership by using this link and my code ” igamb1783 “
This recipe now, I honestly really like the sponge of the red velvet we get at bakeries. It is the frosting that kills it for me if I am being real with you. Like, it is TOO SWEET. That being an understatement. So, I have strived the depths of cookbooks and the internet to find a recipe for cream cheese frosting that is not mind-numbingly sweet. I by no means want to take credit for this method, my friend Samina from thecupcakeconfession has the original recipe, I will link it here. I have changed the proportions of the ingredients however.
Few things to keep in mind while making these cupcakes:
- Cupcakes: Use room temperature ingredients to make the cupcakes.
- Oil: I used sunflower oil because I find it has the most neutral flavour but you can use any oil that you think has neutral to nil flavour.
- Food colour: Use gel food colour, it’s really concentrated so you won’t need to use a whole lot to colour your cupcakes.
- Frosting: Your frosting is as good as the base you make. Please ensure that there are no lumps in your milk mixture or else your frosting will be lumpy.
- Cream cheese: I use cold cream cheese. I add the cold cream cheese to the cold milk mixture. This is what helps keep my frosting stable because where I live, it’s like Hades’ kitchen. Super hot.
- Frosting texture: Be patient with your frosting. Whip it patiently on high speed. Even though it may look like it won’t come together in the beginning, it all turns out fine. Just scrape your bowl at intervals and keep whipping.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 55 ml flavourless vegetable oil (I used sunflower oil)
- 130 g castor sugar
- 120 ml milk (room temperature)
- 1 large egg
- 2-4 drops red food colour (I used gel)
- 125 g All-purpose flour
- 7 g cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tbsp Vinegar
Frosting:
- 120 ml milk
- 25 g All purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 50 g Castor Sugar
- 130 g Cream cheese
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Preheat your oven to 175C.
- In a large bowl add the oil, sugar, vanilla, red food colour and egg. Beat really well, about 1-2 minutes.
- Sift in the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Gently fold it in. Halfway through the mixing, add the milk. Mix gently.
- Now when the batter is almost done mixing. Take a small bowl, add the vinegar and baking soda (it should fizz up) pour this into the batter as it is bubbling. Gently fold it into the batter. Do not overmix.
- Pour this batter into the lined muffin cups. Try to work as quickly as possible. I use an ice cream scoop to portion out the batter. You may also use a spouted jug to pour it.
- Bake for roughly 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Let the cupcakes cool on a wire rack for at least ten minutes inside the pan, then remove and let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting:
- In a heavy bottom saucepan, add the flour, salt, sugar, and milk. Whisk till the mixture is smooth and there are no lumps of flour.
- Place this on medium to low heat while whisking constantly. Within 3 minutes the mixture should thicken up and start bubbling. As soon as a total of 3 minutes are over. Take this off the heat, transfer to a flat dish and put it in the refrigerator to cool down. At least 1 hour. (I like to do this step before baking the cupcakes)
- Once your mixture is cooled down, add the cream cheese (see notes above) and, vanilla. Using a handheld whisk or your stand mixer, whip this mixture for a total of 5-6 minutes or until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl every 1-2 minutes as needed to ensure a smooth frosting.
- Slather this frosting on your cupcakes using a spatula or pipe swirls as per your liking.
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