Red Velvet Cupcakes

Another thing on the list of foods I had never tried was red velvet cake. (Well I had some once and didn’t like it at all, but I figured the reason I didn’t like it was because it was from the grocery store, so I never really counted that as trying it.) So while my friend was over, we decided we’d make some red velvet cupcakes. I received The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook as a gift for my birthday in November, and had used it a few times before this (the best and only actually noteworthy I’ve made from it was Apple Pecan Quick Bread) and it had a recipe for red velvet cake, so I figured I’d try it out.
This was sadly one of the worst cakes I’ve ever made, due to it being too dry. All of the cake recipes I’ve made from this cookbook have been really dry. I think they purposely leave out ingredients in their cake recipes or something since that’s what the bakery is known for. I’m still not counting this as having tried red velvet cake, because I doubt this is what it was supposed to taste like. So here’s the recipe anyway, but if you want to make red velvet cake, I wouldn’t make this particular recipe:

Christmas Red Velvet Cupcakes (from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)
Red Velvet Cake

• 3 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 tbsp red food coloring*
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pan with papers. In a small bowl sift the flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs beating well after each addition. In another small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring cocoa, and vanilla. (Basically just try to make a very red paste mixture. If your batter looks more pink than red after you add the cocoa-food coloring mixture to the rest of the wet ingredients, just keep adding more food coloring until it looks as red as you want it to be.) Add to the batter and beat very well, remembering to scrape down the sides of the bowl. In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overmix. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter into the bowl making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Spoon the batter into the cupcake papers, about 3/4 full. Bake about 20 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean. Let cool and then frost cupcakes with cream cheese icing. Makes just over 2 dozen cupcakes.

Whipped Cream Cheese Icing

• 1lb (2 8oz packages) cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the powdered sugar, alternating with the heavy cream. Then beat well for about 4-5 minutes until icing has a “whipped” texture and everything is incorporated. If need be, thicken in fridge for a couple hours, but no longer, before using.