2 Years, Gratitude, and Red Velvet Cupcakes

September 23, 2009

in Events,cakes,cupcakes and muffins

Red Velvet Cupcake

It’s hard to believe that 2 years have gone by since the time I started this blog. Sometimes it feels like I’ve been blogging forever and other times I feel like a newbie. Irrespective, I’ve had an awesome time here; learning new things and meeting new people has been very enriching (at the risk of sounding overtly formal).

Just to track progress, some changes that I’ve noticed…

  1. Starting from a blue Thisaway theme (should have captured a screenshot, for keepsake) theme to this customised blog design, I love tweaking the blog layout.
  2. My cookbook collection that has grown from 2-3 books to 50 odd (and still counting).
  3. I find myself moving away from cooking and falling more and more in love with baking with each passing post.
  4. Better photographs!
  5. And pretty much everything from my 1st blog anniversary post still stands.

Whether you’ve read the blog since the time I started, or hopped on this delicious journey a few months ago, or have just been around for the last 30 seconds – thank you! Thank you for reading. Thank you for your comments. Thank you for your e-mails. Thank you for your tweets. It really means the world to me.

The cupcakes are just wonderful – red (of course!) and soft and moist. And the cream cheese icing is to die for! I couldn’t stop licking it as I waited for the cupcakes to cool. I was reminded of the first time I tried a very Ameircan red velvet cupcake at Magnolia bakery. I’m sure they originated in some fairytale. The recipe is from the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, so I think I can’t stop extolling the recipe right about now.

Red Velvet Cupcake - WIP
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Adapted from: The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook
Yield: 12 cupcakes. Double the recipe for 2 9 inch layer cakes.

Reference: There is a really helpful red velvet cupcake comparison on The Way The Cookie Crumbles. Also, please make sure you either use the cup measurement or the metric measurement. Don’t swing in between! Like most red velvet cucpakes, this recipe calls for vinegar, but I didn’t use it. Instead, i doubled the amount of baking soda required.


4 Tablespoons / 60g. butter, at room temperature
¾ cup / 150g. sugar
1 egg
2 1/2 / 10g. Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp / 20ml. red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup / 120ml. buttermilk or well beaten yoghurt
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt (if you’re using unsalted butter)
1 tsp teaspoon baking soda

Method:

  1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/350°F.
  2. In a bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda.
  3. In another bowl, beat butter and the sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy and well mixed.
  4. Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add the egg and beat until everything is well incorporated.
  5. In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract to make a very thick, dark paste. 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).
  6. Turn the mixer up to slow speed, add a third of the flour mixture, then half the buttermilk, a third of the flour, half the buttermilk, and ending with the rest of the flour. You can fold in the last third of flour by hand.
  7. Spoon mixture into cupcake mould line with paper or into silicone moulds.
  8. Bake for about 20-25 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
  9. Let cool completely before frosting the cakes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

( double recipe to frost a 2 layer 9-inch cake)

2 1/3 cups / 300 g. icing sugar, sifted
3 Tablespoons butter / 50g. room temperature
4 ounces / 125g. cream cheese, cold

Method:

  1. Beat the powdered sugar and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fit with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed. Mine kinda looked crumbly.
  2. Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium to medium-high until incorporated.
  3. Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting becomes light and fluffy. Be careful not to over beat or the icing might get runny.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing
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  2. A year of blogging and Nutella cupcakes!
  3. Lemon Poppy Seed Cupcakes

{ 62 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Jeannette September 30, 2009 at 2:06 am

i can't wait to look back at my first few posts in a year or so. congrats!! :)

yummy cupcakes!!

Reply

2 Ju (The Little Teochew) September 30, 2009 at 2:27 pm

Congratulations and keep on blogging! Those cupcakes are just perfect for the occasion. So pretty!

Reply

3 Maria December 31, 2009 at 2:08 am

Hi Shaheen

First of all belated birthday wishes to your blog :) .

I was searching for red velvet cupcake recipes and landed here. Made it for Xmas party & it was great. Thanks a lot for sharing the recipe.

You've a very beautiful blog :) I will be a regular visitor here.

Cheers
Maria

Reply

4 rushali January 22, 2010 at 4:29 pm

hi can we make these without the egg ?

Reply

5 The Purple Foodie January 22, 2010 at 11:12 pm

hey rushali, im sorry i don't have an eggless version of this recipe. or for that any other recipe on my blog. you must try out the dulce de leche and vanilla bean cake though! it's eggless.

Reply

6 Rushali January 23, 2010 at 1:13 am

i already tried making these and they turned out amazing :) and i wanted to make them for a friend who doesnt eat eggs but none the less thanks!!! these were amazingg!

Reply

7 Kanika Sharma March 2, 2010 at 5:59 pm

Hi! Ok so I've had the red velvet cupcakes in Magnolia and have been craving them ever since! Although the recipe seems great, I'm not much of a cook. Do you know where I could get them in Bombay? Or, better still, do you take orders? :)

Reply

8 Smita June 6, 2010 at 1:36 pm

Congratulations on your blogoversary Shaheen!! May there be many more…

Reply

9 Saak June 9, 2010 at 11:21 pm

Do we have any substitute for eggs?????

I am a Vegetarian.

Reply

10 bake lover July 1, 2010 at 9:20 am

Shaheen,
I liked ur cupcake moulds.You have used them elsewhere too.Do you get these in Mumbai? and if yes where?

Reply

11 The Purple Foodie July 1, 2010 at 11:03 am

I’m afraid you don’t get them here. I got them from the US. For more on what’s available here, please check Baking in Bombay.

Reply

12 Shilpa August 12, 2010 at 12:56 pm

Hi Shaheen! I have tried making Red Velvet Cake twice before, and once with the HUmmingbird Recipe that you used (except I did use the vinegar). The texture was really lovely, yet I couldnt help but be quite afraid of the amount of red food colouring used. The first time I used liquid red colour from the bottle and I swear I could taste the colouring (a chemical kind of taste) – For 2 9-inch layer cakes, thats significantly more than a whole bottle of colour! The second time I used wilton paste colour and it came out better. I’m curious to know which you used?

Reply

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