Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cake.

    • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour or cake flour

    • 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar

    • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

    • 1 teaspoon salt

    • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

    • 4 eggs

    • 1 cup vegetable oil

    • 1 2/3 cups buttermilk

    • 1 tablespoon white vinegar

    • 1 teaspoon vanilla

    • red gel food coloring

Buttercream.

    • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature

    • 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature

    • 4 1/2 - 5 cups powdered sugar

    • 1 tablespoon meringue powder

    • 2 teaspoons vanilla

    • milk or cream, if needed

Baker's Note: This recipe makes a generous amount of cake batter, enough for a tall 3-layer 8-inch cake, or about 30 standard cupcakes. I made 1 dozen standard cupcakes plus 1 dozen mini cupcakes, and baked the rest of the batter in several 6-inch pans to freeze and save for later.

Cake.

Preheat the oven to 350 and line a muffin pan with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and whisk until well combined. Use about 1/4 cup batter for each standard-sized cupcake, and 1 tablespoon for mini cupcakes. Bake just until the centers are done, about 15-18 minutes for standard cupcakes. Cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Gradually add the powdered sugar, meringue powder and vanilla, and whip on medium high for about 4-5 minutes, until very light and fluffy. Only add a little milk if the frosting is too stiff, but it should be stiff enough to hold its shape when piped onto the cupcakes.

Recipe from Curly Girl Kitchen