This red velvet cupcake recipe comes with lemony cream cheese icing providing you with the best red velvet cupcakes you will ever make. use unsalted butter and granulated sugar in this recipe. It’s important to cream together the butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes. This will incorporate more air into your cake batter and create a lighter cupcake.
To start, place butter in a bowl then add sugar and cream and start to whisk for a few minutes then add eggs and continue to whisk as you add vanilla extract until they mix to a golden colour. Add cocoa powder as you continue to whisk, at this point, it will resemble more of a chocolate batter than red velvet.
Now, for the ingredients that make or break the red velvet; food colouring, add two tablespoons of gel paste food colouring, we use this kind because it has a high concentration of colour and you will end up with a nice bright red lot sooner.
Add half a teaspoon of salt, at this point give the batter a thorough mixing because you are going to make for lighter and fluffier cupcakes. To make these cupcakes moist, you’re going to add half a cup of buttermilk but if you do not have that then you can use half a cup of milk mixed with a tablespoon of vinegar.
Once you’ve mixed up the cupcake batter, you’ll divide it evenly between 16 cupcake liners in muffin pans and bake them. Make sure you don’t overfill the cupcake liners, otherwise, the cupcakes will overflow.
Pop the tray into a preheated oven at 350 Fahrenheit or 180 degrees Celcius for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. In the meantime, you can be making the cream cheese icing by combining a quarter cup of soft butter with around 200 grams of cream cheese.
Once baked, remove from the oven and place in a cooling rack using a ziplock bag, place it at the centre of the cupcakes and squeeze out, spreading nicely to create a nice dollop.
Ingredients;
- 2 large eggs, room temperature and separated
- 1 and 1/3 cups (160g) all-purpose flour1
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 teaspoons (6g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- liquid or gel red food coloring2
- 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk, room temperature3
- cream cheese frosting for topping
Instructions;
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat 2 egg whites on high speed in a medium bowl until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes.
- Sift the flour and cornstarch together to make sure it is evenly combined.
- Whisk this, along with baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute.
- Add the sugar and beat on high speed for 2 minutes until creamed together fairly well.
- Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the oil and beat on high for 2 minutes.
- Add 2 egg yolks and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined.
- Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Beat in the vinegar and the food colouring– until you reach your desired colour.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mixing each addition just until incorporated.
- Do not overmix. Fold whipped egg whites into cupcake batter with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon.
- Spoon batter into cupcake liners filling 1/2 – 2/3 of the way full.
- Bake for 20-21 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
