Softest Red Velvet Cupcakes

These moist cupcakes are bursting with flavour and topped with the most incredible cream cheese frosting. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius and prepare a cupcake pan by lining it with cupcake liners. Set that aside and move on to the cupcakes. Sift together your dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

One and a quarter cups of all-purpose flour, one and a half tablespoons of cornflour/ cornstarch, one and a half tablespoons of cocoa powder, a quarter teaspoon of baking soda, half a teaspoon of baking powder and a quarter teaspoon of salt. Use a whisk to combine the dry ingredients and set it aside for later. Add three tablespoons of unsalted butter in another bowl, a third of a cup of unflavoured vegetable oil and one cup of white granulated sugar.

Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the mixture on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until it’s light and creamy. Add two eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition to ensure the egg is well incorporated. Next, add half a tablespoon of vanilla extract, three-quarters of a teaspoon of white vinegar, and one and three-quarters of a tablespoon of red liquid food colouring.

Mix it all together until well combined. The next step is folding the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add half of the dry ingredients to the batter and gently fold in with a spatula until it’s almost combined. Once that is in, add a third of a cup of buttermilk and fold it until just combined. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and fold them through until just combined.

Distribute the batter evenly into the cupcake liners about halfway up, then bake in the preheated oven for 18 minutes. Once baked, remove the cupcakes from the pan and place them onto a wire rack to completely cool. For the frosting, add half a cup of butter to a mixing bowl and cream it until very smooth and light. This should take about 4 minutes.

Add two and a quarter cups of icing sugar in three batches. Add a third first and mix, then add your subsequent third and mix until it’s combined, then add the rest. Lastly, add three-quarters of a cup of cold cream cheese, three-quarters of a tablespoon of vanilla, and three-quarters of a cup of fresh lemon juice, and just mix that until it’s nice and smooth.

Add the cream buttercream to a piping bag, then make holes at the centre of each cupcake and fill them with the cream. These cupcakes come out soft and delicious, and the cream cheese frosting goes perfectly well with the red velvet.