Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes. Its about time.

These were some of the cupcakes that I've given away a couple of days ago... I had been collecting numerous recipes, deciding which to bake. I am still unsure whether I liked them. I had high hopes for them, and keep on feeding them to people around me to judge. I think I'll have to tweak the recipe a bit in the future. I found them lacking sweetness. But they were soft and moist, and that is one of the things that are important when finding the perfect recipes for Red Velvet. I am hoping that Ms. Joy enjoyed hers, along with the Chocolate Cupcakes.

It was such a long daaaay, when I met her, I was running on a few hours of sleep because I was baking all night long! I had to make sure that they were fresh, moist and soft when I gave them away.

Am I getting better at taking photos? I hope so. I still have a long way to go in decorating cupcakes though! Its a bit embarrassing. I should really get some piping bags... but I wanted to learn how to make swirls using a simple palette knife.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

from Pinch My Salt

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour*

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.  In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go.  Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda.  Yes, it will fizz!  Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Using an ice cream scoop, fill cupcake cups with cake batter (they should be 2/3 – 3/4 full).  You may not fill all the cups, I ended up with 20 cupcakes.  Place muffin tins on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven.  Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check early and don’t overbake!

5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Red Velvet Brownies & Subic Outing

Two days ago, I tagged along my beau's company outing for his department. We went to Subic, still a part of the Philippines. I had enjoyed the road trip immensely, looking out the window of the car, seeing buildings turn into miles of land and trees. A part of me wish the city had more trees and parks. I want to live somewhere peaceful like that, green bushes stretching on for miles, with countless trees and flowers around. It was still hot there, and I wished I was in a different country entirely. The heat was never something I liked, I love the rain and the coolness it brings along with it.

They had planned to ride an Ultralight a sort of mini plane, giving them a tour around the scenery for either ten or twenty minutes. Many of them proudly stated that they can finally scratch it off their bucket list, not me. I have a great fear of heights. I was happy not to be a part of the team expected to fly in the air in this tiny plane with my hair whipping about like crazy. I was shocked that in the end, I was sitting on this plane of theirs with a FREE ride offered by them. It was only to circle the vicinity, so that I would not leave the place empty. They are good at what they do, because I ended up on the ground in one peace, not having any panic attacks at all. It is quite an experience, so if you would like to give it a try... You can see their webpage here.

I brought Red Velvet Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies to the trip. The brownies were my first try at them, they were yummy but I find them a bit sweet. I ended up adding a tablespoon of cocoa to them for a bit more chocolatey flavor, I was glad I did. They had just a hint of chocolate, just as Red Velvets usually are. Ofcourse you have to lessen the flour a tablespoon if you do this. They were a nice red color as well, despite the fact that I had run out of red food coloring and had only added a tablespoon and less than a half to it. Maybe next time I would just have to lessen the sugar a bit. The white chocolate buttercream, I expected them to be too sweet to be added along with the brownies.. but they went a long great with it. Perhaps next time cream cheese would hit the spot, and would tame the sweetness to it.

Edit: My hubby bought what was left to his office, and it was a hit! They ate it aaaall. 

Red Velvet Brownies

from HowSweetEats

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

2 tablespoons red food coloring

2/3 cups chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter and flour an 8 x 8 cake pan.

In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to create a paste.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in cocoa powder mixture. Beat until batter is completely red. (If at this time your batter is NOT red, you can add a little more food coloring if desired. Color will depend on brand.) Add flour and salt, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread in the 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.

White Chocolate Frosting

1 stick of butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 ounces white chocolate, melted (I used Lindt)

1-2 tablespoons milk (or more if needed)

Cream butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. Add in melted white chocolate and beat until incorporated. To reach desired consistency, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time with mixer on low speed. If frosting becomes too liquidy, simple add additional sugar.

I am looking forward to coming back to Subic, to let my sister try out ultralight flying and have a swim. Here are some pictures from the trip!

Red Velvet Pancakes

Red Velvet... I have been obsessed about everything red velvet since the giveaway (which, I am working still working on getting the funds for it! My lovely winners, expect it soon!) And, finding this recipe from RecipeGirl... Well, you know I had to do it! We had this the morning after Valentines and the day of our something-th Month Anniversary!

The original recipe was, slightly more on the salty side. We found it lacked any chocolatey goodness, and sweetness. And I've changed it to fit our taste buds. I am not saying the original recipe is not any good, we are just so used to having ours sweet! We've been so used to having chocolate pancakes! So, adjusting the cocoa content, adding some more flour (we found it too thin to cook without messing it up taking it out of the pan), and adding more sugar, it finally sung to us. Yum yum, hello there Red Velvety goodness! I warmed up some Nutella, thinned it a bit by adding some milk, and there you go!

Now, I have to work on testing some Red Velvet cupcakes to give away to my Giveaway Royalties.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup granulated white sugar
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or half milk + half evaporated milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon red food coloring
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter, melted


Directions:
1. Pre-heat skillet or griddle over medium heat or 320°

2. Make the pancakes: Mix all of the dry ingredients (flour through salt) together in a large bowl. Whisk thoroughly to combine until all lumps are gone.

3. In a separate bowl, thoroughly mix the buttermilk, eggs, vanilla, vinegar, and food coloring. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until mostly combined. Add in the melted butter and fold gently to mix.

4. Pour batter in 1/4 cup measurements onto skillet and let cook until bubbles form on top, about 2-3 minutes.