red {hot pink!} velvet cupcakes

now let me start off by saying that i am not intentionally jumping on the valentine’s day bandwagon with this recipe.  the lusher household doesn’t get all over hyped about valentine’s day because a) love for one another should be expressed everyday &  b) champagne & other sparkling tastes just as amazing on any other day of the year as it does on february 14th.  same thing goes with chocolate & red velvet cupcakes.  they shouldn’t be for special occasions only, or you’re seriously missing out.

this actually happened to be the next photo & recipe in the “you better blog it before you forget how the hell you made it” file.{isn’t that butcher block awesome?  my father in law made it.}

red velvet is a favorite of mine, my husband, my mom & the south, although i’m not crazy about the color red* like so many people are.  so, when i ran out of red food gel before these cupcakes reached a distinctive deep red color, i shrugged my shoulders & said, “well, hot pink is more my style anyway.”  they’re every bit as moist & delicious, with just a hint of cocoa & topped with a generous swirl of the only thing that’s acceptable…cream cheese frosting.

makes 24 cupcakes

FOR THE CUPCAKES
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 oz red food coloring
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

FOR THE FROSTING
8oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
6 cups powdered sugar

1.  preheat oven to 350°.  line two cupcake pans with liners.  in the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, lightly beat the eggs, or do it by hand.  add the oil, buttermilk, vinegar & food coloring.  whisk until combined.

2.  in a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.  remove the whisk attachment & attach the paddle. turn the mixer on to medium high & gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet.  mix until well combined, about a minute.

3.  fill prepared cupcake pans with batter, about 3/4 the way full.  drop the pans on the counter a few times to get rid of excessive air bubbles.  bake for 16-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  let cool completely.

4.  while the cupcakes are baking, beat the cream cheese & butter on high until creamy.  beat in vanilla.

5.  turn the mixer speed down to medium & add the sugar gradually, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary, until fully combined.  transfer to a piping bag & frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

very slightly adapted from bakerella

*in fact, being a carolina graduate, i don’t really care for the color red.  plus, it clashes with just about everything i own.  however, it’s not nearly as disgusting as dook blue.  yeah.  i went there today.  bring it, krzyzewski.

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4 Responses to red {hot pink!} velvet cupcakes

  1. Allison says:

    Great post, they sound delicious! Let’s go Tar Heels 🙂

  2. Elaine says:

    But how does Mr. Lusher feel about the color red? 😉 Looks delicious! I’ll have to try them with all of my new found free time!

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