Red Velvet Cupcakes

I love red velvet cake. I first fell in love because it is a far superior vehicle for cream cheese frosting than carrot cake. Cream cheese frosting makes everything better. I had a block of cream cheese in the fridge just begging to be turned into frosting. Miss F was a huge helper with these cupcakes, much more than her usual prepping the muffin tins with paper liners. The only issue with her helping in the kitchen is that she stands on one of our kitchen chairs, which makes getting around the kitchen a bit tricky.  She is still working on learning the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon, but she is really getting to enjoy cooking and baking.  Be mindful of the cook time on these and be sure to check on them right at 20 minutes, which was just perfect.  Thanks to Tide and Thyme for the perfect recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 ½ cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons red gel food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, cocoa and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. Add the gel food coloring, a drop or two at a time, until a deep red color is reached.

In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Add the vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake cups with cake batter. Bake the muffin tins on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for approximately 20 to 22 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese
4 ounces butter
3 ¾ cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

Cream the butter, cheese and salt in a stand mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar until incorporated, then add the vanilla and salt.

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