Red Velvet Cupcakes

One of my favorite cupcakes flavors has always been red velvet.  I can't even begin to describe the flavor of the deep red cake, but pretty much anything paired with cream cheese frosting is a winner.  I've always been a fan, yet until recently, I never really knew what ingredients were in red velvet cake to give it that unique flavor.

About a month ago, a friend from work asked me to make some cupcakes for his father-in-law's birthday.  I'm always glad to have a reason to bake in my kitchen, so of course, I obliged.  Red velvet was one of the cupcake flavors he requested, so I immediately went to the blog with the most trusted cupcake recipes (in my opinion, at least):  Annie's Eats.  Also, since his father-in-law likes to fish, he requested some sort of decoration to relate to this hobby.  We ended up making red fish decorations out of red candy melts, which you can see in the photo above.

It was surprising to see that red velvet cake actually has some unusual ingredients, such as vinegar!  However, it is such a small amount, it really helps give the cake it's unique flavor without being recognizable.  This, in combination with cocoa powder, buttermilk, and red food coloring create the undeniable red velvet flavor.

The end result was an incredibly yummy, moist cupcake.  The flavors of the cupcake worked perfectly with the smooth, sweet flavor of the cream cheese frosting.  Luckily, I just made one extra cupcake to try before I delivered these to the birthday party.  If these cupcakes weren't for the party guests, I probably would've eaten the whole batch!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
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Recipe from Annie's Eats
Yield:  about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar

For the frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cupcake pans with paper liners.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.  Beat on medium speed until well blended.  Reduce speed to low, then mix in the dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between prepared liners.  Bake for about 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the confectioners' sugar until incorporated, then increase speed and beat until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.