I have a little bakery out of my home, and this is my favorite Red Velvet recipe. Many have commented it's the best one they ever had. I bake them at a lower heat and for less time than the recipe calls for as the flavor and texture is noticeably affected if they bake even a minute or two too long.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (Annie's Eats)
Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar. Beat on medium speed until well blended. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes. Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the frosting according to directions. Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.

Cupcake Basics: Cream Cheese Frosting (Annie's Eats)
Yield: frosts at least 2 dozen cupcakes
Ingredients

10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
6 1/2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 1/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
4 tsp. clear vanilla extract
Directions

Combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the confectioners sugar and mix on low speed just until incorporated. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat 2-3 minutes more. Blend in the vanilla. Frost cakes, cupcakes, and more to your heart's content!

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Velvet Cupcakes

I'm not a Red Velvet fan, but, I am a fan of Linda and her blog How To Cook A Wolf. I trust all of her recipes so I'm sure that this recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing will be wonderful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Chi83, "---I have a little bakery out of my home, and this is my favorite Red Velvet recipe. ----"

WOW! tell us more about your bakery and please post some pictures of your work. Please start a new thread.

I am impressed by all the hidden talents that members have on the CF.

dcarch

Well what else can I say, other than a great big Thank You for the Red Velvet Cupcake recipes. I so appreciate that Chi83 (Annie's Eats) took the time to give a favorite recipe from her files. I guarantee Rhana will love them. Thank you also to Ann for the other recipe.

I sent both to my daughter, Cheryl. Both Cheryl and Robert, her husband, take 48 hour shifts at the ICU to constantly be at Rhana's side.

So thank you both for taking the time out of your busy days to help a little girl who loves Red Velvet Cupcakes. Mary

Chi83 - you say that you bake them at a lower temperature and for a shorter time than the recipe. Is this a secret, or can you post your temps and time?

Thanks,
Cheryl

And now comes the real question, chi. Are you another Annie? (we have LOTS of them, it seems, and all my life I never knew another Annie except my great grandmother!)

Mary, I can't help on the recipe, I don't care for red velvet cake, I've always just considered it a chocolate cake wannabe, LOL, but I've been thinking about Rhana and praying for her, I've sent a couple of messages. What a strong little girl she is.

Annie

Oh, I am not Annie! I just wanted to give her credit for the recipe. I love her blog. My name is much closer to Rhana's actually!

Cheryl, I like red velvet at 325 and the time is usually about 15-16 minutes but that depends on the oven. A couple of minutes before they are ideal, there will be a damp spot in the center of the top of the cupcake that looks like it isn't done yet. I usually let it go another minute or two until that just firms up and then I take them out as they will continue to bake a little bit in the pan. In my experience with red velvet, by the time the toothpick comes out clean, it is overbaked so I go by the tops, which is why I like 325 because it gives the middle more time to bake before the outsides get overdone. I find really good red velvet cake is a little temperamental to hit the sweet spot (and mediocre when you don't) but so worth it when you do!

I hope Rhana likes them!

chi83 - thank you! I've never made or eaten red velvet cake but I'm always open to temptation.

Cheryl

I've read that the red coloring used to make red velvet cake red traditionally has been Cochineal extract, which is the ground-up exoskeletons of a certain kind of beetle. Mmmmm, exoskeletons.

Yeah it's kind of gross to think about but I figure every day we probably eat bug parts of some kind. Anything that goes through some kind of processing (canned food, dairy products, peanut butter, etc) likely has some "natural contaminant" that is allowed under the FDA if it is under a certain PPM. Yummy.

So, is there anything special about "red Velvet Cake" aside from the red food coloring and the cream cheese frosting? I ask because I am allergic to red food coloring and avoid it, but what makes the recipe special other than the coloring?

Just curious.

I personally like the rich texture and the slight tang it has from the buttermilk and vinegar along with just a hint of chocolate. But, as I've said above, I find that red velvet, more than other flavors I do, can be totally mediocre if it's not baked correctly.

I've had several from the fancy cupcake shops and they aren't very good.