Thursday 14 February 2008

Red Velvet Valentine's Cupcakes




Red Velvet Valentine’s Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing


Ingredients:


2 1/2 cups self raising flour
1 ½ cup caster (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons red food colouring
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar



Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.


Grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper liners.


Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl mix the milk and one tbl balsamic vinegar. *

In a large bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla and food colouring and blend well. One at a time, add the following ingredients: the milk and balsamic vinegar mix, and slowly add in the dry mixture. Pour the batter into the cupcake cups.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched.
Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

ingredients:


1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 to 1 teaspoon red food colouring.


Place the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and food coloring in a bowl and slowly add in the powdered sugar as you mix. Blend until smooth and ice the cupcakes. As its Valentine's day I added some heart shaped chocolates.



*Why is there vinegar in the cupcake batter? Baking soda, the ingredient that makes these cupcakes rise, starts to work only when it comes in contact with an acidic ingredient. Some common types used in baking are lemon juice, buttermilk and vinegar. Balsamic vinegar, which has a sweet flavor that goes well with the rich flavor of cocoa. It gives these cupcakes a deep, full flavor. They wont taste anything like vinegar after the batter is baked.


cook's notes: The cupcakes turned out great.. the first time I have used a recipe for cakes that needed vinegar of any kind, I adapted the recipe from several variations found on the vast cookbook that is recipezaar, I may even add my version some day. H thought it was fantastic that the cake batter was a rich deep red-brown colour.


We aren't big heart's and flowers type people but I made cupcakes and M bought me this




my own domain name meridianariel.com ... isn't that sweet

1 comment:

Frizbe said...

So you're a dot com now :-) that's fab, world domination is nigh!
Am going to have my cupcake for lunch today, SS loved his and dd2's she only wanted the choc heart?! he says the icing is the best, ever!