Red Velvet

Hello, my lovelies. It's been a while, has it not? I've missed you. I have some good new for you. I finally have time to make things!

Mmmm.. Things..

So I had my last university exam a few days ago and boy, does it feel great! The only downside to having 3 exams on the first two days of exam period (other than having no time to study) is that, by the time you've finished, none of your friends can come out to play because they were blessed with nice exam timetables!

On the other hand, though, I do love being free. Free to bake. Free to do whatever I want while Jason has to study.

Making Buttermilk (see recipe)

Although there is a huge backlog of things I've been meaning to share with you all, I've decided to save them for another day and treat myself to a day of baking as a "well-done" for completing 4 years of engineering.

Deliciously Red

I've always been fascinated with Red Velvet Cupcakes because, technically, the only thing that makes them different is the colour. You can't taste red so, why then, does it taste so much fluffier? Perhaps it's the cream cheese icing that goes so well or perhaps it's the presence of buttermilk. Perhaps it's the combination of the two? We will never know..

Red and fluffy!

..If you do know why that is, however, please comment and help me solve this mystery..

These are some I made for KELLY MOEN's birthday =)

I've yet to have a proper night's sleep so I'm keeping this post short. But be assured that I'll be keeping you updated more frequently from now on!

 Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing (makes 32 cupcakes or 2 cakes)

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

200g butter at room temperature

5 large eggs

1 cup buttermilk (or see P.P.S)

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 Tablespoon red food colouring

For the best frosting, see P.S. below

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 180°C

2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl and sift together 3 times. Trust me -they come out extra fluffy!

3. Cream butter and sugar until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Add 1/3 of your dry ingredients alternatively with 1/3 of buttermilk until you have a smooth batter.

5. Mix in vanilla and food colouring. Feel free to play around with the colour =).

6a. Line your cupcake pan and fill to halfway. Unless you have a 32 cupcake pan, you'll probably have to repeat this steps a couple of times..
6b. If you are making a cake, use half the mixture.

7a. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
7b. If you are making a cake, bake for about 25 minutes.

8. Cool cupcakes in pans for 5 to 10 minutes then remove from pans.  Cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Here it is in cake form

P.S. To get the recipe for the Red Velvet Cupcake's best friend (cream cheese frosting), see here.

P.P.S. If you don't have buttermilk on hand, try this for a cheap and easy substitute: place 1 Tbs of lemon juice OR white vinegar in a one cup measuring cup and fill to the top with milk. Wait 5 minutes and voila! Buttermilk =)