Monday, February 11, 2013

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Vinegar and Bicarbonate of Soda.  The perfect combination for cleaning the house and ridding clothes of unwanted marks. But in a cake?  You must be mad!  Actually no, because using these fizzy, foaming ingredients gives my Red Velvet Cupcakes a lovely acidic edge which works beautifully with my sweet Swiss Meringue Buttercream Icing.

These are the perfect sweet treat for your Valentine as they bake in just 15 minutes and the contrast between the cocoa rich red sponge and the delicate vanilla icing is very pretty indeed.  I've already delivered a batch to work, where most of them ended up being a very cheery breakfast because we don't have the willpower to wait until lunch.  Mammy in Law also had no willpower and couldn't wait until her birthday on Valentines Day (yes really, together with my Mum) to eat hers.  Some people have no stamina!

Photo by Kerrie Walsh




Red Velvet Cupcakes

100g Butter, softened
200g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs, separated
1 pinch of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
175ml Buttermilk
1/4 tsp Red gel food colouring
175g Plain Flour
25g Cornflour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tbsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp White Vinegar

Preheat your oven to 180c/Gas Mark 5 and line a 12-hole muffin tin with paper cases


Beat the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract.


Now sift in the flour, cornflour, baking powder & cocoa powder.  Mix the buttermilk with the red gel colour and pour into the mixing bowl.  Mix well until all the ingredients are well combined.

In a spotlessly clean bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt together until firm.  Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites into the cake mixture to loosen it up, and then add the rest in two batches.

Now mix the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar in a little bowl, whisking well and fold into the cake mixture.


Fill each paper case about 2/3 full with the cake mixture and bake for approximately 15 minutes.  Let the cakes cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.



Ice the cupcakes when completely cold.  I made a really delicious Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing which I used to frost mine, but if you prefer a tangy Cream Cheese or regular Buttercream icing, use the one you like the most.

I decorated mine with some pretty red candy hearts and some cupcake toppers I picked up a while ago.  How will you decorate yours?





5 comments:

  1. Hi Aoife,

    These look fabulous. Do you think they would work as well with gluten free flour?

    Thanks
    Ceara

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ceara, I'm not an expert on GF baking but apparently it should work

      Delete
    2. brilliant thanks. I'll give it a go.

      Delete