Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have always wanted to make red velvet cupcakes, but never came around to do it. This weekend however I made some for friends at work, and they came out cute and delicious (the cupcakes, not my friends...). I thought that they were very moist as well, which is always good. As you could have guessed, this wonderful recipe comes from my book Cupcakes (Collection Cuistot). I think next time I will add more cocoa powder to enhance the chocolate favour, but they were good nonetheless.

Ingredients for cupcakes:

80 g unsalted butter, RT

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder

1/3 buttermilk*

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

red food coloring*

Ingredients for cream cheese frosting:

80 g cream cheese, RT

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup icing sugar

* If you do not have buttermilk, you can substitute it using the following recipe: for each cup of milk, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice. Let sit for 10 minutes prior to using.

* For the food coloring, you could use the liquid type, but I prefer to use the gel food coloring (e.g. Wilton has many colors) because only a small quantity is required for an intense color.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Place muffin liners in cupcake pan.

2. Lightly beat the egg, and add in the butter and sugar. Mix until mixture is light and fluffy.

3. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and cocoa powder. Whisk ingredients to combine.

4. Add this mixture to the butter preparation. Mix thoroughly.

5. Add the buttermilk, red food coloring, white vinegar and vanilla extract. Mix until preparation is creamy.

6. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full and bake for 10-15 minutes for miniature cupcakes. For large cupcakes, bake for 15-18 minutes.

7. For the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and vanilla extract until mixture is unctuous. Gradually add in the icing sugar. Wait until the cupcakes have cooled down completely, and spread the frosting on each cupcake. Enjoy!

Yield: 24 small cupcakes (or 8 large cupcakes)