Sunday, August 29, 2010

I Must Give a Big, Public Thank You...

...to my absolutely wonderful, perfect husband. Without him, this crazy weekend of baking madness could have never taken place. So, before getting into of the yummy details behind this week's recipe, I would like to first and foremost thank my husband for the massive amount of help and support he gave me this weekend so I could bake 2 cakes, celebrate a plethora of birthdays, and create this round of cupcakes. LOVE YOU!! XOXO!!

Okay, now on to one of my most favorite desserts ever, Red Velvet! This week, I could have taken the easy way out and used the same recipe for all of my baking, but thought I might try my own personal Red Velvet throwdown. I made a cake by Bobby Flay this weekend and loved the flavor of the cake and the icing was not a typical cream cheese icing, but a cream icing. That icing tasted great and was actually textured (probably because I did something wrong), but still tasted fantastic. I highly recommend anyone try it. Here is the recipe. For anyone into decorating, this icing is much easier to work with than any cream cheese icing, so if you've got some crazy decorating job or prefer your cakes to hold up more than 5 minutes outside of the arctic, I say go for this icing.


For these cupcakes, however, I tried Paula Deen. This chick can seriously bake. Anyway, I think I liked the icing from these better than Bobby's, plus that icing was waaaay quicker and easier to make. Perfect for cupcakes. As for decorating, it's a typical cream cheese icing that must be refrigerated as you go because simple hand heat will completely melt this. But, I think the flavor is FANTASTIC!!! The cupcakes require a lot more oil, y'all, than I'm used to, but I figured the closer you are to a heart attack, the better they probably taste. :)






Paula Deen's Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting


Recipe Courtesy Paula Deen, 2007




Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 20 min
Serves: 24 Cupcakes

Ingredients:
2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1.5 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cocoa powder
1.5 cups vegetable oil
1 c. buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp. red food coloring
1 tsp. white distilled vinegar
1 tsp. vanilla extract



For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 lb. cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 c. sifted confectioner's sugar
Chopped pecans & fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish (Note: I omitted this step)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350-degrees F. Line 2 muffin pans with cupcake liners.
In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld elextric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in the oven for about 20-22 minutes, turning the pans once halfway through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.


For the Cream Cheese Icing:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pie it on with a big star tip.


Happy Baking!!
XOXO,
Sugar
The way to a man's heart is undoubtedly through his tastebuds.











1 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yum!!! These look delicious!! I was so looking forward to this week. I *love* red velvet cake and I haven't had the pleasure of eating it for TOO long.

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