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!

You could use the filling in this recipe with or without the chocolate chips. Whether it can be frozen I don't know: KILLER CUPCAKES (makes 20-22) Cupcakes: 4 squares (4 oz) semisweet chocolate 1 tsp vanilla 2 sticks butter 4 eggs 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 cup flour Preheat oven to 350°. Line standard muffin tins w/paper cupcake liners. In the top part of a double boiler over simmering water, melt the chocolate w/the vanilla & butter. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until thick & add the sugar. Beat in the flour. Fold in the butter-chocolate mixture. Spoon into the prepared tins, filling the cups 2/3 full. Filling: 8 oz cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg, beaten Dash of salt 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips Mix the cream cheese, sugar, egg & salt until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips. Drop a rounded teaspoon of filling onto the top of each cupcake. Bake 30 minutes.~~

Cakes (or cupcakes) that use oil instead of butter always have more sugar, to compensate for the less-good taste of the oil. You can often reduce the amount a little. As to baking powder and baking soda, there are many, many poorly balanced recipes out there. The buttermilk vs. plain milk has to do with the difference in these leaveners. If the cake is leavened with soda, there must be an acidic ingredient to react with it, or there will be no reaction that produces carbon dioxide and leavens the bread. Buttermilk is a common acidic ingredient that accomplishes this. One quarter-teaspoon of baking soda is enough to raise one cup of flour. Many recipes have far too much. You can reduce it. Baking powder already contains both the alkaline and the acidic components, so plain milk is fine. About 1 1/4 tsp of baking powder is needed for each cup of flour.

This sounds like a good recipe. Thanks for sharing. (I even have all the ingredients!) ;-)