The Classic Red Velvet Recipe

Recipe? Yes! Since I'm stepping further to the cooking thing, I started digging my mom's recipes and found this classic red velvet cupcake recipe. My boyfriend and I are a big fan of red velvet, so why not try & share it in the blog? :D

What I love about red velvet cupcake is the unique flavor of sweet & sourness of the buttermilk, chocolate and vanilla combination. Also the bright red color (some people use too much food coloring and make the cupcake tastes bitter, but I prefer to use less food coloring so it'll still tasted wonderful) is actually comes from the chemical reaction between cocoa and buttermilk.

What you will need:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk (If you don't have buttermilk, simply substitute it with milk + 1 teaspoon lemon juice)
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar

How:

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat the butter until soft. Add sugar and beat until light & fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add vanilla extract and beat again until combined.

In measuring cup, whisk the buttermilk with red coloring. With low-speed mixer, add flour mixture & buttermilk to the butter mixture (in 3 additions, beginning & ending with flour). In a small cup, combine the vinegar & baking soda. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter & stir well. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until it's 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes in 190-200 degrees celcius.

Almost done...

Get it out from the oven and set aside 10 minutes for cooling down so the frosting won't melt on your cupcakes.

cream cheese frosting:
- 227 gram cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 115 gram powdered sugar
- 360ml heavy cream

Beat creamcheese until smooth, add vanilla & sugar and beat until smooth. Gradually add whipping cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add sprinkles!

Bon Appetit! :)