I’m always a bit skeptical when people claim a recipe to be ‘the best’, but as this is my blog, and these are all my opinions anyway, I claim these red velvet cupcakes to be the best I have ever tasted.
I started the first online cupcake business in Cape Town called ‘The Cupcake Kitchen‘ in early 2008 and back when these small sweet treats were rising to iconic status.
A few words and pics from ‘The Cupcake Kitchen’:
This is what I said about them before (and you can see a few pictures of the cupcakes I made):
‘Few food items can elicit such delight and happiness as the cupcake can. It’s an emotional and visual thing, as well as the fact that they are small and designed for pure and individual indulgence.
Without a doubt the highlight of my business was the sheer sense of joy that these little cakes seemed to bring to people.
The Cupcake Kitchen has been laid to rest. I have moved onto other things, but my time spent, and lessons learnt from this endeavour, will forever remain very close to my heart.’
I tested dozens of recipes at the time and the Magnolia Bakery in NYC recipe for red velvet cake is the best that I came across.
Attempting the tricky:
I am yet to make the ‘creamy vanilla frosting’ that they pair with their red velvet cake. It’s a complicated recipe that involves flour which I just can’t get my head around.
I have been assured by a friend that it is indeed incredible, so its on my to-do list for the future.
I like pairing this silky cupcake with a slightly tart cream cheese frosting.
That colour!
When it comes to food colouring, I go straight for the real deal. A couple of tablespoons spread over 30 cupcakes is not going to have a negative impact, if it would at all.
I have seen and tasted versions using beetroot as a colouring agent, but the taste of the beetroot comes through too strongly for me and really makes it less desirable.
I use only 2 tablespoons of Moirs Crimson Red liquid food colouring vs the 6 tablespoons the original recipe calls for. It is more than enough to deliver a deep red colour.
Let’s get baking: (Recipe to make 30 cupcakes | 1 large cake)
3 1/3 cups cake flour
175g | 3/4 cup | 1 1/2 sticks of butter (I use salted – but you could use unsalted if you prefer)
2 1/4 cups of sugar
3 large eggs at room temp
3T cocoa powder
3T food colouring
1 1/2 t vanilla extract
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 t apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 t baking soda bicarbonate of soda
Pre heat the oven to 180ºC | 350ºF.
Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Using an electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add each egg one at a time ensuring that it is well mixed before adding the next one.
Add the cocoa, vanilla and food colouring. Mix.
In a separate bowl sift the flour.
Mix the salt with the buttermilk (I just add it directly into the measuring cup).
Add the sifted flour and the buttermilk to the batter in 3 parts, allowing it to incorporate before adding the next part. Do not over beat.
In a small bowl mix the apple cider vinegar with the baking soda. This will fizz up.
Add this right at the end to the batter and mix briefly.
Scrape down the bowl by hand using a spatula and ensure that everything is mixed in.
Using an ice-cream scoop to ensure consistency, scoop out dollops of dough to about 3/4 of the way up the cupcake case.
Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until well risen and springy to the touch.
Cream cheese icing:
150g butter (room temperature)
190g cream cheese
4 1/2 cups of icing sugar
2 – 3 tsp lemon juice
Beat all of the above ingredients together using an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
Add the lemon juice at the end teaspoon at a time until it is the right consistency.
Decorate your cooled cupcakes with a swirl of frosting and a pretty decoration of your choice.
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