I previously attempted to make red velvet cupcakes for the first time here. I wasn't too satisfied with my original attempt. Carol from CAB Cooks gave me lots of tips on her experience making red velvet cake. Armed with her tips, and a recipe I found for Magnolia's red velvet cupcakes which I found through Evan's Kitchen ramblings, I tried to make these cakes again.
Just in time, my Nordic Ware Cast Aluminum Sweetheart Rose Muffin Pan
I actually ran out of red food coloring. I only had half the amount required. I didn't realize I would need so much! But the cakes still came out really red. So I think next time I will reduce the amount of food coloring as well. The cakes were moist, with hints of buttermilk and cocoa. While I enjoyed these more than my last attempt, they still aren't quite there yet for me. I'm going to try out some more recipes.
The rose pan worked well. The cakes came out easily. I don't like how there are so many little holes though. I know part of the problem simply is that the holes are more apparent since the cakes are so small. But I think part of it was the oil spray I used on the pans to grease them. I have a similar problem when I sprayed my madeleine pans and then I ended up not spraying them, and the holes on my madeleines disappeared. I think next time I will try either not spraying, using butter instead or maybe spraying and then flouring.
Yields: 36 cupcakes
Ingredients
3 ⅓ cups cake flour
375g unsalted butter, room temp
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
6 tbsps red food coloring
3 tbsps unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ tsps vanilla extract
1 ½ tsps salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1 ½ tsps cider vinegar
1 ½ tsps baking soda
Directions
1. In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well. (I found it hard to mix this. I'm not sure why the food coloring is added to this mixture and not directly into the liquid batter.)
3. In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.
5. Spoon batter into cupcake liners (or in my case, I used my mini rose muffin bundt pan) until 2/3 full. bake in a preheated oven of 340F for 20 mins or until a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
