Red velvet cupcakes

Hello! As I write, it's 8 p.m. and the laundry's in the dryer, the baby's asleep, her lunch for tomorrow is packed, and Mark is on the sofa reading the Sunday Times. Really, it just doesn't get any better than this. Sigh...

We're just back from a weekend in Chicago, where my sweet, lovely, wonderful friend (more like a sister, really) Heather celebrated her marriage to Tim, who we love.

So it was a glorious weekend full of love and great times. Their party was on the rooftop of a great sports bar in Wrigleyville, and after days of uncertain weather predictions, it couldn't have been a more perfect night -- warm and breezy, with a perfect sunset followed by a fairy-tale crescent moon. We all chowed on Chicago hot dogs, fried chicken and tater tots, rocked out to Tim's excellent handpicked song list and toasted and drank up a storm... and for dessert, indulged in fabulous cupcakes made by Heather herself! It was so much fun. 

Here is the gorgeous bride and her fantastic groom (donning the tux T-shirt):

I was sad that I couldn't be there to bake with her (the one down side to summer Fridays is that you have to claim them early or you're out of luck! I actually couldn't get Friday off), but I got to help her frost and decorate them. Of course, Heather being her fabulous self, she didn't make just 1 kind of cupcake. You had your choice of -- yep, count 'em -- 4 different kinds: chocolate, carrot (both made from recipes in my cookbook!), vanilla or red velvet. The vanilla and chocolate had vanilla buttercream and the carrot and red velvet had cream cheese frosting. All were so delicious -- everyone gobbled them up!

So even though I couldn't be there to bake with her, I wanted to help out. Heather came to NYC a few weeks ago, so I tested out a red velvet recipe for her. When she came to dinner, that's what we had for dessert. She liked them, and that's the recipe she ultimately went with (yay!).

I have to admit, red velvet is not my personal favorite. But if you do like that flavor, this is a great recipe, courtesy of Martha Stewart (you may recall I had similar great results with her one-bowl chocolate cupcakes not long ago). It's very simple to do, and the cupcakes come out beautiful -- plus, they freeze very well. And the recipe makes 24 cupcakes, so if you're feeding a crowd, as Heather was, that helps a lot.

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cupcakes
(recipe by Martha Stewart)
Yield: 24 cupcakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I used canola)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. red gel-paste food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. distilled white vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa and salt.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar and oil until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in food coloring and vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat again. Reduce speed to low. Bean in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of buttermilk. Beat just until incorporated. Stir together baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to batter and beat for 10 seconds.

3. Divide batter evenly among baking cups, filling three-quarters full. Beat, rotating pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature (wrapped well) or frozen up to 2 months (in a ziplock freezer bag).

Hint: Gel-paste food coloring is much more concentrated than the liquid supermarket variety. If you need to swap in the liquid kind, you may need to use the entire 1.5-oz. bottle to get the desired shade.

Cream Cheese Frosting
(recipe adapted from Bon Appetit)
Makes 4 1/2 cups

2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Using an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and butter until light and well mixed. Beat in sugar gradually. Beat in vanilla and salt. Cover and chill until spreading consistency, about 30 minutes.

Comments

[LisaD]

I look forward to trying this recipe! Hubby loves red velvet, and I've been lazy and going with the boxed variety which for some reason is darn near impossible to find here in my neck of the woods!

[Jessica @ How Sweet]

I love, love, love red velvet! One of my favorite kinds of cupcake!

[Maria]

Glad you had fun! Love the cupcakes!

[megan @ whatmegansmaking]

the cupcakes look delicious! :)

[ChiCurlyGirl]

By the way, I actually used the cream cheese frosting recipe from YMTD - and everyone was RAVING about it! :) So glad you and Mark were there - we love you!

[Mags]

What a special wedding!

I love red velvet cupcakes but have never tried Martha's recipe. Going to have to give them a try!

[eatme_delicious]

How awesome that she made her cupcakes for the wedding! I'm debating making my wedding cake but not sure it'd be such a good idea since we're getting married one week after Christmas! Anyway these cupcakes look delicious. I looove cream cheese icing.

[Eliana]

These little beauties look perfect Beth :)

[Aviva Goldfarb]

Those sound like my ideal cupcakes! I'd probably skip the red gel (to avoid dyes) but would gobble one up right now if I could. I guess they would just be velvet cupcakes, which doesn't sound too bad.

[jodye @ 'scend food]

These cupcakes look great, the sprinkles are so cute! I have Martha Stewart's cupcake book and haven't been able to choose a first recipe to try, but maybe the red velvet cupcakes will be the lucky ones!

[marla {family fresh cooking}]

Sounds like a fun weekend with your special friend. You must have had so much fun finding the perfect red velvet cupcake for her. They look delish! xo

[Jamie]

I adore red velvet cake, these look delish!

[We Are Not Martha]

Red velvet isn't my favorite either (I don't get all the hype!), but I do feel like I should make them at some point! This recipe looks great and the cupcakes are so pretty :)

Sues

[Avanika [YumsiliciousBakes]]

Ahh those cupcakes looks fantastic, Beth!

[sensiblecooking]

My first red velvet experience was when I decided to make these cuties for my mom. I didn't know I could make it and the surprise on mom's face was amazing. So red velvet cake has special emotional connection for me I can't wait to try this recipe.

[Megan]

My hubby LOVES red velvet cake but I have never made one. Until I started blogging, I thought it was just a Christmas cake. Silly me! I'll have to try this recipe when I do make one. Ovens broke, so who knows when!

[The Short (dis)Order Cook]

That is some awesome wedding food!

How wonderful that your cupcake recipe was featured in the wedding, even if you didn't bake them yourself (I guess frosting them does count though). Such a great tribte to you and they look great. I think red velvet is a bit overrated, but I'll still gladly eat them!

[Katrina]

I can't believe I've never made red velvet cake. Actually just a week or so ago, I bought a big thing of red food coloring because I've been wanting to try it. I must!

Fun weekend!

[cookies and cups]

I will definitely have to try this recipe..I have been looking for a good red velvet for a while now, but since it's not my favorite I'm not about the taste testing with it.

[nhnoblitt]

You should check out the beautiful cupcake liners from Sutton Gourmet Paper. They would be perfect for this kind of occasion. www.suttongourmetpaper.com

[Heather]

Have I mentioned how much I love that our picture made the CookiePie blog! :) XOXOXO