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| Tagging a long during the photoshoot |
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| Trolling at the photoshoot |
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| The little helper measuring her sugar for the batter, efficient I have to say |
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| First batch of Red velvet cupcakes |
The first batch didn’t go so well, as I was new to the stove at my cousin’s place, which was 25 degrees hotter than it was supposed to be. The cupcakes came out springy and nice and all, but it was a bit dry and chocolatey. Right when I decided to make a new batch, I heard news that we couldn’t do the cupcakes anymore as the groom’s family didn’t want to display cakes at the church where they would do the ceremony. We decided to put off the whole thing. However I was determined to perfect my recipe, so I did it twice when I came back to Toronto. The second batch was not bad at all, but the butter cream was a bit runny and too sweet. The third batch, which was the most current at the time I was writing this post, was almost perfect. The cake came out nice and moist and red, and the butter cream was perfectly shaped!!! I was really happy with the result. I then decided that it was time to share the recipe on my blog, which is why you are reading it now 😀 I did give some away to my friend and she said she would have asked me to take care of her wedding cake with these cupcakes had she not ordered macarons for the reception already. That made me happy 🙂
Below is the recipe I combined from many I researched online. I found it work quite well. If you have any problem or question, don’t hesitate to contact me via email or comment below this post
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| The very failed piping experience lolol – Houston, TX |
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| Product from the third batch of red velvet cupcake. I used Christmas red colour 🙂 |
Servings: 20 – 22 cupcakes
Cooking time: 30 minutes for the cupcakes and 10 minutes for the frosting
Ingredients:
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
– 1 1/2 cup sugar
– 1 cup vegetable oil
– 2 large eggs
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 tsp red gel colouring
– 2 1/2 cake flour
– A pinch of salt
– 1 tbsp dutch-processed cocoa powder
– 1 cup buttermilk
– 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
– 1 tsp baking soda
- Cream Cheese Butter cream
– 2 sticks of butter (1 cup), soften at room temperature
– 1 block of cream cheese, soften at room temperature
– 250g powdered sugar
– 1 tbsp heavy/whipping cream
Process:
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
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| My first batch of batter, in Houston, TX |
– Preheat oven to 350F or 175 C. Line the cupcake molds with the paper cups
– In a mixing bowl, beat together sugar and oil until well blended
– Add in 2 eggs and vanilla extract. Beat until well blended at a slow speed to prevent air to come in the batter. Once the mixture seems incorporated, blend in the red colouring
– Mix together in a separate bowl the flour, a pinch of salt, and cocoa powder. Sieve t
hrough to make sure there’s no lump. Mix in a third of the flour to the egg mixture. Once combined, add half of the buttermilk. Mix well. Continue with 1/3 of the flour and the rest of the buttermilk. Finally mix in the rest of the flour
– In a separate small bowl, quickly mix baking soda and cider vinegar to form the foam, and immediately add in the batter, mix well
– Pour the batter evenly in each of the lined paper cups and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool to prepare for butter cream piping
- Cream cheese butter cream
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| Butter cream in the process of beating |
– In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until pale and fluffy. This process takes about 3 minutes
– Continue beating, gradually add in the powdered sugar until completed incorporated. Continue beating the cream for another 3 minutes
– Add in the heavy cream and beat for another 3 minutes
– Prepare a piping bag with desired tip (I used 2D from Wilton – a large and floral tip) and pipe on to the cooled cupcakes. Keep refrigerated and serve cold.
Notes and Tips:
– At the first stage of the batter making process, make sure you have the oil and sugar well blended together, so that there won’t be funny texture in the cake later
– If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use the same amount of whole milk and add 1 tbsp of white vinegar. Stir and leave for about 5 minutes and you’ll have buttermilk
– During the mixing process, make sure you mix with very slow but fast enough speed just so that the ingredients will mix together, but there is no air incorporated in the batter. This way the cake will come out moist and soft
– When adding vinegar and soda mixture, make sure you mix them well and it is still foaming up when you add it to the batter. You need to be fast and bake the cake as soon as possible. As far as I know, there is a certain chemical reaction involved that helps keep the cupcake moist and soft, and rise up. Vinegar and baking soda mixture is used to substitute beaten egg whites in raising the cake while leaving it light and fluffy. The egg white contains a lot of protein that might harden the cake after baking, which is not very ideal for cupcakes
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| This is the smooth butter cream but not beaten enough, hence the runny shape |
– For frosting, make sure you beat the butter and cream cheese long enough to incorporate the air into the cream and lighten it up. The long beating time allows the butter cream to be smooth and easy to apply, and evaporates any moisture from the butter, making it easier to form shape during piping. The powdered sugar will absorb the rest of the moisture in the cream. During the process, it will start to become creamy and going towards the finish, the cream will start to look less creamy and stiffer. That’s when you can start piping your cupcakes
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| Green tea version of the butter cream!!! |
