no stories about cupcakes
So, I have this problem. Well, I have many problems. But I’m talking about one in particular today. If I sit down and write a blog post and hit send, that’s all well and good. If I write 90% of a blog post and then get interrupted at some point, or save it to finish later, no one is ever going to see it again. Which is why these pictures of cupcakes have been up on flickr for almost 3 weeks now and you still don’t have a recipe.
So I thought maybe I’ll just post the damn recipe and tell you stories about cupcakes later.
These are red velvet cupcakes minus the red food coloring. The acidic buttermilk reacts with the cocoa to create a reddish tint, which is how the original cupcakes got their name. The actual un-dyed color is really more of a ginger shade.
Red-Headed Stepchild Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
10 oz All Purpose flour
5 tablespoons cornstarch
Alternately, use 12.5 oz cake flour instead of the AP flour and cornstarch
1½ cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1½ cups vegetable oil (I use olive oil for this so it’s healthier)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
Preheat oven to 350°F. Sift together dry ingredients. Beat together wet ingredients until smooth. Mix wet and dry ingredients and beat until uniform, about 2 minutes. Pour into muffin tins lined with cupcake liners, bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes 12 jumbo cupcakes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
You’ve probably noticed by now that I make a lot of cream cheese frosting with slightly varying proportions of butter, cream cheese, and sugar depending on the specific dessert. For this one, I used
8 oz cream cheese
8 oz butter, softened
~1 tsp vanilla (does anyone actually measure vanilla? I always just eyeball it)
About 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
Full feed
These look good! I never thought of NOT adding the red food colouring!!
I LOVE red velvet but hate the artificial food coloring! I have been thinking of creating this very cupcake for a while now. Thanks for beating me to it so I know that it still tastes just as good! I might have to try some substitutions for all that oil though – some applesauce or yogurt maybe. Thanks!
Yeah, I’m not a fan of artifical coloring either. Your cupcakes look delightful, but if you want a deeper red color w/o food coloring, you can use some beet juice (and reduce the sugar. Beet juice is sweet). Also, Danielle, I haven’t tried this, but you could substitute pureed beets for some of the oil – I bet it would only enhance the color. Might change the flavor a little though.
I get a little weirded out by how much oil cake recipes call for too. That and the sugar. I’m actually not a big cupcake person, these were for The Boyfriend. I prefer muffins, which are easier to adapt to be healthier. I used olive oil for this recipe so it was lighter and not so bad for you. Let me know how the substitution works out for you!
I love you for posting this recipe. And I am so similar to you in the fact that my posts are drowning in the back of my head somewhere, waiting to come out. But! Luckily for us, you decided to just go ahead and post, quick and easy-like. I have been searching high and low for a red velvet cake recipe with no artificial food coloring. So, in addition to your great food-coloring-free recipe, I’ve had the pleasure of reading your commenters’ suggestion for dealing with that issue, too. I’m off to buy beets. Or at the very least, their juice.
Anyway, I found you through FoodGawker and am writing to say that if you have any photos that aren’t accepted there, I’d love to publish them. Visit my new site (below), it’s a lot of fun! I hope you will consider it.
Best,
Casey
Editor
http://www.tastestopping.wordpress.com
I love that you’re avoiding the food colouring here, and the cucpakes still look absolutely gorgeous
Love it! Hate food coloring- makes my kids sick. This baby is going to the top of the ‘to-make’ pile, thankyouverymuchyum!
I love red velvet and these look beautiful, but I really dislike the name.