Red Velvet Cupcakes

Mother Goose asked me if I could share this recipe and I was excited and flattered to do it, especially since it's about cupcakes- one of my favorite desserts.

Cupcakes are fun to eat and especially fun to make. They just look so darn scrumptious! Whenever there is a holiday or special event, I'm always thinking "what kind of cupcake can I make to fit this occasion?"

Since it was Valentine's Day, I knew that the perfect cupcake to make for V-day were Red Velvet cupcakes. I found an easy recipe from Paula Deen that did not take long to make. Here's the recipe:
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (1 cup is fine too)
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring (I used only 1 tbs, but for a deeper red use 2tbs)
  
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Cook's Note: I filled the frosting into a sandwich size zip lock bag and snipped a small hole in the bottom corner of the bag. Squeeze the frosting from out of the hole and you can create big swirls of frosting on the cupcake or you can just use a butter knife. Garnish cupcakes with any type of toppings.

Enjoy!

H.K.