Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

After 3+ years of baking an assortments of delights for my darling, Red Velvet are ever his favorites. They are truly in a league of their own! Classic, elegant, decorative - a perfect offering for a Holiday party, special dinner, or, our personal favorite - FOOTBALL SUNDAYS!!!!!!!!

For Christmas, our friends gave us (read: ME) a Babycakes maker, which is a mini-cupcake-cooker that bakes 8 minis at a time in just 5 minutes! It's the modern-girls answer to Betty Crocker Easy Bake Ovens from the 70's. I ADORE it, although I fear I lost a batch during my initial experimentation.

I also, of course, made a dozen cupcake-sized cupcakes as well for our New Year's Eve feast. We have 5 left. I am not ashamed.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

yield 24, pre-heat oven to 350, bake 20-22 minutes

prep - 2 eggs and 1 cup buttermilk must be room temperature

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda (baking soda is a bride's bff!!!!)

1 teas. salt

1 teas. cocoa powder

sift together and set aside

beat the following wet ingredients -

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (mmmmm, so richly creamy)

2 large cage-free, vegetarian-fed eggs, room temp

2 tablespoons red food coloring (be careful here, it stains and splashes about - I use a very large stainless-steel bowl for mixing and beating)

1 teas. distilled white vinegar

1 teas. vanilla (a bride's second bff - and never use imitation)

After thoroughly beating wet ingredients, add dry slowly and mix completely until smooth. You may now lick the beaters. Learn to embrace paper liners, for they will make clean-up so much more efficient plus they just LOOK SO PRETTY. After 20 minutes, test cupcakes with a toothpick. If you have used paper liners, they can be moved immediately onto a wire rack to cool....If not, let them cool a few minutes in the cupcake tins before removing.

I am not fond of the typically-paired-with-Red-Velvet-cupcakes cream cheese frosting, so I use a deliciously and sickeningly sweet frosting of my mother's -

Momma's Delicious and Sickening Sweet White Frosting

2 tablespoons Crisco shortening

cream together with 1/2 a package of confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon Marshmallow Fluff (yes, folks, I said MARSHMALLOW FLUFF!!!!)

Add splashes of milk (the buttermilk is fine) slowly as you beat all together until it becomes smoothy and creamy - do not get carried away with the milk!!!! - it will become too runny too quickly and you will need to add a million pounds more sugar!!!

I also add a drop or 2 of red food coloring to make the frosting a very pretty PINK. I ADORE PINK!!!!!!!! And I find it to be quite flirty when I am handing a cupcake frosted in pink to my husband with a curtsy ;-)

and YIPPEEEEE - more beaters to lick!!!!!!!!

Top with little sprinkles or lovely flowers if you are creative or leave as is, the red and pink - or white - contrast is just darling!

TA DAAAAA!!!!!!