The Nerd’s birthday is Thursday, so I decided to whip up his favorite cake in honor of his 26th year.
This time, though, I did it in cupcake form.
I like this icing — it’s not too cream-cheesy. Because Lord knows I hate cream cheese. Yuck.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Source: Best Cupcake Recipes
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 c buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
In a smaller bowl, combine the cocoa and red food coloring to make a sort of paste.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in the eggs one at a time and mix after each addition.
Add in the vanilla and mix well.
Mix in the cocoa paste and 1/3 of the flour mixture.
Pour in half the buttermilk and mix well.
Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture…
then the rest of the buttermilk…
and the last of the flour mixture.
In a small bowl, mix together the vinegar and baking soda.
Add it to the batter and mix well, scraping down the sides with a spatula to ensure complete mixing.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans, filling the cupcake liners about half full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes at 350 degrees, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes come out clean.
Let cool and begin to make icing.
Cream Cheese Icing
Source: Simply Recipes
Ingredients:
1/2 c butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2-3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Cream together the butter and cream cheese.
Add in vanilla.
Mix in sugar to taste.
Pipe the icing on cupcakes as desired.
Enjoy!
The Nerd loves these red velvet cupcakes — they’re moist and creamy and delicious!