Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups cake flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

2 large eggs, room temperature (very important – let the eggs sit out overnight or 4 hours before you make the batter)

1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color or 1 Tbsp of regular red food coloring

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

1 Tbsp. distilled white vinegar

Cream Cheese Frosting: Mix on medium high: 8 oz of softened cream cheese, 4 Tbsp of softened butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, 2-3 tsp of milk, 1 tsp vanilla.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed using the whisk attachment, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Add vinegar, mix on high speed for 5 seconds.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
5. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Yield: 24 standard cupcakes, 12 jumbo cupcakes, 2 8 or 9 in round cakes.

If making a cake, grease and flour 2 round cake pans. Increase baking time to 30 minutes.

Submitted by Naomi Skye

Recipe adapted from Saveur and Martha Stewart

Buttery Cupcakes with Twinkie Filling

Buttery Cake Cupcakes

1 ¼ cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup unsalted butter at room temp (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 to 15 muffin cups with liners.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes. On low speed add 1/3 of the flour, then ½ of the milk, 1/3 of the flour, the remaining milk and finally the last flour mixture. Mix until just incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

Fill the liners with about ¼ cup of batter. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 22 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes in pan and then remove them to cool completely.

Fill and frost as desired.


Twinkie Filling
Ingredients
1 cup milk
5 tablespoons flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 cup butter , softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions
1 Mix flour with milk and boil until thick.
2 (It will be very thick) Cool.
3 Add remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy.
Use a pastry bag to fill cupcakes or use as filling between a layer cake.

This makes enough filling for about 2 1/2 dozen cupcakes so you can either half the recipe or double the cupcake recipe. This filling is also good in chocolate cupcakes.
Also, you can replace the vanilla for a flavoring like raspberry and tint it pink. I did that for Ava's birthday cake one year and it was yummy!

Posted by: Joanna Falk