Red Velvet
October 30, 2007 | Filed under: "The Pot Licker", The object of my obsession
“Chocolate remedies adversity.” ~Jareb Teague
I hate linguini and spaghetti, but love fettucini and penne. There is something about the size and shape of the noodle, that keeps me from slurping up a bowl of spaghetti and marinara with fervor, but point me in the direction of farfalle with vodka sauce and I’m rolling around a carbohydrate filled bliss. Only recently have I noticed that shape and size dictate what I will and will not eat. I won’t eat sliced up carrot but will eat the stick version. I don’t like mashed potatoes but love mashed cauliflower yet will roll around in a vat of French fries and will vomit at the sight of raw cauliflower.
It didn’t reach real concern until recently when I wouldn’t eat cake and looked at a three layer chocolate cake with complete disgust. I suppose the size of most cakes seems unmanageable so I tend to be turned off by all of the layers and the frosting. Despite this anyone who has been reading this site for seven minutes will notice that I have a thing for cupcakes. Not just a minor little crush on cupcakes but an OMFG I’ll stop everything I’m doing to run out and get one…or four. I love cupcakes, because they’re small and bite sized and never imposing or constantly threatening to turn my butt into a pile of cellulite. I love that I can buy just one and be OK with what I have, which is a stark contrast to everything else in my life. Cupcakes make me happy.
Given how strong my love is for these sweet little treasures, I tend to leave the baking aspect to the pros or at least to someone who doesn’t feel like the need to inquire about adult supervision while baking. Because it was my birthday, I decided to test out baking much to the dubious laughter of my mother who kept repeating ‘from scratch?’ over and over again. I can understand her concern though given that the last time I used an electric mixer she was at the helm while I stood by her side waiting to consume what was left of the batter. My mother never has time to actually bake but when she does she makes chocolate melt in your mouth. I’m pretty sure that I did not inherit that gene and it’s the fear of being forced to consume something that tastes like paint chips and goat cheese is what precludes me from ever baking something I really like. It could either go really well and I could fondle my mixer or it could go really poorly and I could end up abhorring my beloved red velvet cupcakes.
I ended up with 36 – oh my God, no one ever needs 36 cupcakes. I brought them in for work and I don’t even know 36 people and yet they went rather quickly – perfectly made red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Given my own misgivings about my baking and that I only had two (one to taste test and one the next day. I’m actually sick right now) I wouldn’t really say they were the best ever or that I didn’t get to work and shove one in my mother’s face and demand that she TASTE IT NOW before I ended up giving my coworkers salmonella. But word on the street is that they were excellent and here I was holding out hope that I didn’t end up with Cajun style cupcakes.
The recipe is from Smitten and was used to make a three-layer cake so I just went with it and like I said, got 36 cupcakes. I’m only one person and my roommate is training for a marathon so her diet has been consisting of fruit and vegetables, not chocolate dyed red.
Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting (anything in bold is my two cents)
Time: 90 minutes, plus cooling
Yield: 3 cake layers (32-36 cupcakes)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3½ cups cake flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups canola oil
2¼ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring or 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring dissolved in 6 tablespoons of water
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2½ teaspoons white vinegar.
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place teaspoon of butter in each of 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and place pans in oven for a few minutes until butter melts. Remove pans from oven, brush interior bottom and sides of each with butter and line bottoms with parchment.
2. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
3. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) (All over your counter and diswasher and cabinets) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.
4. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar (it’s like a science experiment!) and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.
5. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from several sources
Makes 6 cups
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter room temperature
3 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Place cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl. With a handheld electric mixer, beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and vanilla. Beat, on low speed to combine. If too soft, chill until slightly stiff, about 10 minutes, before using.
Isabel Kallman says:
these look so yummy. and, probably are too.
Dagny says:
Woohoo! More food. And the cupcakes look wonderful.
Lemmonex says:
These look fantastic…I want one.
merrymishaps says:
They look fantastic. Yum!
And, when I was training for a marathon, I ate EVERYTHING!
Jennie says:
I have a MAJOR thing for cupcakes too. We didn’t have a wedding cake at our wedding, but had cupcakes instead (perfect size for smashing in each other’s face, ha!). And if Sprinkles isn’t ON MY WAY HOME. Damn them.
Also, my MIL makes THE best cupcakes, just plain old yellow cake and chocolate icing. But I must try this recipe. Maybe for Christmas presents. I like to bake my presents.
I hope you had a great birthday!
Nilsa S. says:
So, my finace and I agreed we need to eat better. But, this is the third time I’ve seen this recipe and I think I’m going to have to make it. For dinner.
Angella says:
Mmmmmm…I want one!
Think I would make it safely in the mail?
nabbalicious says:
Mmmm, next time you come out here, bring those with.
Mrs. Chicky says:
Under normal circumstances I love cupcakes. Those look particularly yummy.
RiceWenchie says:
Red Velvet cake is my son’s favorite…he requests for every birthday. Of course, (RiceWenchie beams with pride) it must be my homemade red velvet recipe..
Your cupcakes look yummy…
paisley says:
Mmmm….I’m drooling now. Those look so good. I’ve never had red velvet cake. Now I want to try to make it! Thanks for the idea!
kerrianne says:
Oh, sweet cupcakes. I am so making these.
Katie says:
it just occured to me that I need 36 cupcakes.
BOSSY says:
Weerre youuuuuou sayyyyyyying soemethinnnngth? It’s very hard to type through drool.
deb says:
I’m so glad it worked out! Plus, it has that blood-red batter, perfect for Halloween.
You take great pictures!
slynnro says:
I used to not like cake all that much. Until recently. One day I had some cake, and now I am obsessed with cake. And cupcakes. Thanks for feeding my addiction.
And I’m all about food textures. Half of the things I refuse to eat have nothing to do with taste and are strictly about texture. And get this- I will only eat corn on the cob. Off the cobb? GRODY. That makes no sense whatsoever, as the texture of corn both on and off the cobb is the same. I think I’m just really a big fan of those things you stick in the end of corn cobs when you eat them?
metalia says:
Can I come over? I’ll leave you a few, I swear.
SilkOne says:
My daughter requested cupcakes for her birthday this year…these may save me weeks of slogging through recipe books to find an interesting recipe!
Thanks — they look yummy!
Her Bad Mother says:
Oh, my freaking god, why can I not eat chocolate right now? WHY WHY WHY???
Am dying.
Joelle says:
YUM. I love cupcakes, too. Recently, I’ve developed a thing for mini cupcakes. Perfect! Bite sized, you can eat 3 and not feel like total heifer. Just like… half a heifer.
Red Velvet is one of my faves. I’ll have to give these a try. Thanks for the recipe!
Zandria says:
I’m impressed with your recent cooking experiments. These look most delicious!
kellyinarlington says:
you don’t know me, but i make cupcakes from scratch for my birthday, too. started with my 29th and soon i’ll do it for my 31st. each year i try a different receipe, but my red velvet love (what i affectionately call mine) are my favorite… a recipe i make most often. you can find it on this page: http://kellyinarlington.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html
gorillabuns says:
yea, sure, when my oven is FINALLY fixed, i’ll make these.
who am i fooling?
Keep Up With Me » Pre-Thanksgiving Randomness says:
[...] of Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting (I’m still using Heather’s recipe!). Those things are to die for. I made them last [...]