10.30.2013

agree to disagree about red velvet cake.


i don't know about you but i am a theme girl.
love to embrace the theme.
parties. holidays.
all about the theme.

almost by accident {and by almost i mean totally on purpose} it seems that i have shared a halloween dessert here every year and even though our new diet low calorie/low cholesterol way of life has no room for sweets, there are one or two exceptions to be made.

when up late brainstorming a wicked cool idea to share with you for this year {man i have to get a life! ha!} i thought of what i had done in years past - i have done pumpkin, then chocolate & pumpkin and chocolate - and decided it was time for something totally different. time to shake things up.
almost immediately i went to red velvet cake.
halloween. blood. guts. you get the idea.
one problem though - i had fallen out of love with my recipe. i made it last christmas and found it too dense and dry. very blah.

back to the drawing board.
cake testing time.
yes i could have scoured the web and found one that would do the trick but where is the fun in that?
woah is me, eh? life really does suck around here sometimes.
;)
thankfully not TOO far into the process we struck gold.
moist. springy. beautifully RED!!
right after getting this down on paper and patting myself heartily on the back, a few request for halloween style cupcakes for this week popped up - perfect timing!

hopefully they are a hit.
what kid doesn't want to bite into something that looks like it may squirt blood back?
well i know mine would! ha!

happy halloween!!!

ps : this is not a decorating post...i stink at decorating! awful. horrible. these were actually just regular cupcakes and i attempted to change them up - make them more halloweeny. just look at that eyeball!!! yes, that is supposed to be a monsters eyeball up there with the mummy and vampire bite......i tried.
{head in hands, ashamed.}
#theytastesogoodhopefullynoonewillnotice



re-thought red velvet cupcakes
for the icing i used my classic buttercream icing.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour....you could also use cake flour is you want.
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp water
one good squeeze of red colour - paste form. if using liquid then a tbsp - you can always add more!!!
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
place liners in your trays and set aside {will make approx. 24 regular cupcakes or approx. 36 mini's} or butter and flour two 9-inch pans.

in your mixer beat together sugar, eggs and oil. add vanilla. while this is mixing mix together cocoa, water and colour in a small bowl till you form a paste. add to egg mix and beat until incorporated.

in a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.

add you flour mix, alternating with the buttermilk, to your wet ingredients - starting a stopping with the flour mix. once this is fully incorporated add your boiling water. mix together.
now comes to fancy part - in a small bowl mix together the baking soda and vinegar. now fold that into the mix gently. this makes your cupcakes rise nice and high.

now carefully fill your cupcakes liners 3/4 full - mixture is really runny - tap your pans on the counter to release some of the air and place them in the oven. 12 - 14 minutes for mini cupcakes, 20 to 22 minute for larger ones and about 30 - 35 mins for cake rounds. cupcakes are ready when they spring back when touched on the top. let cool 10 mins in pans on rack, then remove from pans and let cool completely before attempting to decorate.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sympathize with your decorating woes. My cakes look awful and taste great! Your red velvet recipe is very different from mine, which for one thing calls for two ounces of food coloring!

Jen said...

i have seen them asking for 2 ounces and when i looked at my old recipe that's what it said too. this time i tried to lower it cause who really wants all that in there? but be warned - i use the paste squeezable kind, not the grocery store liquid kind. as i said before if it's not looking red enough - add more!! thanks!