I was browsing through the magazine rack and saw the newest issue of Better Homes and Gardens. Isn't that a magazine for old women, you say? Yeah, I used to think so too, but there were red velvet cupcakes on the front. So I bought it.
Red velvet is an elusive recipe because it seems that today's version is merely a white cake with lots of red food coloring. Not so--there should be cocoa!! I've been looking everywhere for one that is authentic with that distinctive flavor.
This recipe was a learning experience and adventure. It started out with red food coloring all over the place and ended up with one burned thumb.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
I made some substitutions to the recipe:
1. If you don't have buttermilk, don't worry. Just add one teaspoon of vinegar to regular milk.
2. This recipe calls for 2 tsp of cocoa powder, but I doubled it for a more authentic red velvet flavor.
3. The recipe ingredients do not list the 3/4 tsp of salt, but it's in the recipe. Keep an eye out for that!
For the red coloring, I prefer to use Wilton Taste Free Red gel icing. In a recipe like this, the last thing you want is food coloring flavored cake. I didn't use the entire bottle since I was experimenting with a recipe--my cupcake team doesn't care if they're bright red.
Red velvet is an elusive recipe because it seems that today's version is merely a white cake with lots of red food coloring. Not so--there should be cocoa!! I've been looking everywhere for one that is authentic with that distinctive flavor.
This recipe was a learning experience and adventure. It started out with red food coloring all over the place and ended up with one burned thumb.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
I made some substitutions to the recipe:
1. If you don't have buttermilk, don't worry. Just add one teaspoon of vinegar to regular milk.
2. This recipe calls for 2 tsp of cocoa powder, but I doubled it for a more authentic red velvet flavor.
3. The recipe ingredients do not list the 3/4 tsp of salt, but it's in the recipe. Keep an eye out for that!
For the red coloring, I prefer to use Wilton Taste Free Red gel icing. In a recipe like this, the last thing you want is food coloring flavored cake. I didn't use the entire bottle since I was experimenting with a recipe--my cupcake team doesn't care if they're bright red.
This recipe made 30 medium cupcakes, but I would recommend only making 24. The texture was a bit tougher than I cared for, but that could be due to the fact that I overmixed it. Be sure to just fold in the vinegar and baking soda mixture with a spatula.
I learned something important as well. Fat Free Cream Cheese is junk!! Do NOT waste your time trying to make cream cheese icing with it because you will end up with a mixing bowl full of runny goo. Not pretty...
Luckily, I went to the store and got real cream cheese for my icing.
8 oz. cream cheese (full o' fat)
1/2 stick butter at room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
I learned something important as well. Fat Free Cream Cheese is junk!! Do NOT waste your time trying to make cream cheese icing with it because you will end up with a mixing bowl full of runny goo. Not pretty...
Luckily, I went to the store and got real cream cheese for my icing.
8 oz. cream cheese (full o' fat)
1/2 stick butter at room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla
Here's what cream cheese icing should be like:
Typically, red velvet is covered with creamy white icing, but I felt like making mine light pink.
The morale of the story is to use full fat products. Oh, and don't let your hotpad slip off your hand and burn your thumb. Painful stuff, trust me.
Overall, these were good cupcakes, but not the best Red Velvet ever. I'll try them again without overmixing and see how they end up.
No comments:
Post a Comment