red velvet cupcakes & more

i made my 2008 to do list about 2.5 months ago & i am off to a good start; i like lists, i like making them & crossing things off of them. so far i've attacked cleaning out my walk-in closet, going somewhere warm for my birthday (leaving for the baja on monday) & here is my experience with making red velvet cake.

my first shot was about a month ago. the cupcakes & frosting turned out yummy - but it made a ton. the red velvet was very moist & flavorful & the frosting was super rich (i ate many spoonfuls).

recipe found on the food network:

cupcakes
15.5 ounces all-purpose flour
1.25 teaspoons baking soda
1.25 teaspoons salt
1.25 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 cups vegetable oil
13 ounces granulated sugar
1.25 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
4 tablespoons red food coloring
1.25 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider)
1.25 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 cup water

mix flour, baking soda, salt & cocoa in bowl & set aside. in a mixer add the oil, sugar & buttermilk, mix until combined. next add the eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla & water, mix well. slowly add dry ingredients to the mixer, just until combined; do not over mix. bake the cupcakes for 20 - 30 minutes at 350 F.

cream cheese frosting
1.5 pounds cream cheese, room temp
1 pound butter, room temp
2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

mix cream cheese & butter until creamed. gradually add the powdered sugar & finish with adding the vanilla after all combined. this makes a lot of frosting; i recommend cutting the recipe in half or being prepared to freeze it.

here is another red velvet recipe that i used for the most recent batch. i liked these just as well & they are a lot simpler to make. i found this recipe on the recipe slanger.

cupcakes
1 box white cake mix
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1.5 cups water, room temp
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 tablespoon red food coloring

start by mixing the cake mix & cocoa, set aside. blend water, vegetable oil, eggs & food coloring in mixer. add the dry ingredients & mix on a medium speed for 2 minutes. bake for 22 - 25 minutes at 350 F.

i used the same cream cheese recipe from before, this one simply used a little bit of milk in addition to the other ingredients.

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in addition to red velvet cupcakes i made a couple other items last weekend: chocolate covered red vines & buttermilk cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting.

i wasn't a fan of the buttermilk cupcakes, but the frosting was to die for. i used the basic cream cheese frosting recipe, but added 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice & 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. it was a perfect pucker. mmmmmmm.

for the red vines i began by melting white chocolate morsels over boiling water, stirring often. once it was completely melted i dipped in red vines to cover about 4 inches of them. i placed them on wax paper covered cookie sheets, poured on the sprinkles & popped them in the freezer for 15 minutes. they are a sugar overload & i might add a little milk to thin out the chocolate the next time.