Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

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 hand-held 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.

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.

Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip. 
( If you don't like cream cheese frosting, you can use your favorite buttercream frosting.)

White Christmas Cupcakes

I am a baker and cook a little bit on the side, but I love to bake.  I am sorry to those like to edit because I am not a writer.  If I have any spelling mistakes, then look past them and read on. Since I am a baker and not a writer, I would love to share what I bake.  My most recent recipe I have tried are a white cupcake with a white chocolate cream cheese frosting, in which cupcakes are one of my favorites to experiment with right now.  This recipe is a keeper and suggest you try making them or have someone else make them for you.

White Christmas Cupcakes

1 ¼ c. cake flour

¾ tsp. baking powder

1/8 tsp. salt

¾ c. whole milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¼ tsp. pure almond extract

6 T. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 c. sugar

3 large egg whites at room temperature

Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Make The Cupcakes.  Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  In a small bowl, stir the milk, vanilla, and almond extract together.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and lightened in color, about 3 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  On low speed and in 3 additions (3 flour, 2 milk), add the flour mixture and milk mixture alternately, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Mix just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.  Set aside.

In a clean large bowl and with clean beaters on medium speed, beat the egg whites until foamy, about 30 seconds.  Increase speed to high and continue beating until the egg whites look shiny and smooth and the movement of the beaters forms lines in the mixture; if you stop the mixer and lift up the beaters, the whites should cling to them.  Stir about one-third of the beaten egg whites into the reserved batter.  Use a rubber spatula to fold in the remaining egg whites just to blend them into the batter.

Fill each paper liner with a scant 1/3 c. of batter, to about ¼ inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.  Remove the cupcakes from the pan onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

White Chocolate Frosting

3 ounces white chocolate, chopped

¼ c. ( ½ stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

4 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ c. powdered sugar

Make The Frosting.  Put the white chocolate in a heatproof container or the top of a double boiler, and place it over, but not touching, a saucepan of barely simmering water (or the bottom of the double boiler).  Stir until the white chocolate is melted and smooth.  Transfer to a large bowl.  Add the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla, and using an electric mixer on low speed, beat until smooth, about 1 minute.  Add the powdered sugar, mixing until the frosting is smooth, about 1 minute.  Use a small spatula to spread about 2 T. of frosting over top of each cupcake, mounding it slightly in the center.

(Optional) Put curled or shredded white chocolate on top of cupcakes.

They look a little intimidating at first, but they are so worth it to try making them. I hope you enjoy them as much as my family and friends did.

Quote for the day:

"A lot of movies are about life, mine are like a slice of cake. "- Alfred Hitchcock