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About the Recipe
Red Velvet Cupcakes hold a special place in our hearts, as they are one of the earliest cakes that Hannah and I remember baking together back when we were kids. Hannah had a copy of the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, which was regularly splattered with flour, cookie dough, and cake batter thanks to how often we used it!
For more on our origin story, check out Episode 1: Red Velvet Slippers.
On to the recipe!
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
120g soft unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
2 large eggs
20g cocoa powder
1 tube red food-colouring
1 tsp vanilla extract
240ml buttermilk
300g plain flour
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tsp white vinegar
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
100g soft unsalted butter
300g icing sugar
250g full-fat soft cheese, chilled
(Note: we guarantee you'll make more frosting than necessary, this is using half the icing sugar than the original recipe and it still made too much!)
Preparation
Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan 160°C / gas 4), and line two 12-hole cupcake trays with cases.
Put the soft butter and caster sugar into a free-standing electric mixer with a paddle attachment, or use a handheld electric whisk, and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Turn the mixer up to high speed, slowly add in the eggs and beat until well-incorporated.
In a separate bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, food colouring paste, 3 tablespoons water, and vanilla extract to make a thick, dark paste. Add the colour mix to the butter mixture and whizz until evenly combined, scraping any unmixed ingredients from the side of the bowl with a spatula.
Turn the mixer to low speed, and slowly pour in half the buttermilk, and beat until well mixed. Add half the flour, and beat until well-incorporated. Then repeat until all the buttermilk and flour have been added, scraping down the bowl again. Turn the mixture up to high speed and beat until you have a smooth, even mixture.
Turn the mixture back down to low and add the salt, bicarbonate of soda, and vinegar, then beat until well mixed, turn up and beat again for a couple more minutes.
Divide the mixture between your cupcake cases, and bake in your preheated oven for 20 - 25 minutes. When they're done, a toothpick or skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean. Leave the cupcakes to cool in the trays before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the frosting. Beat the butter, icing sugar and cream cheese together in a stand mixer or electric whisk - to avoid icing sugar flying everywhere, cover the bowl with a clean tea towel (make sure it doesn't fall into the mix!). Beat on medium until fully incorporated, then turn up to medium high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy - but do not overbeat as this will make the frosting runny.
When the cupcakes are cold, spoon the frosting onto each one - be as generous as you like! - and for added cuteness, scatter over some pink heart-shaped sprinkles.
These will keep for 3 days in an airtight container, and can also be frozen. When you inevitably make too much frosting - as we both did in Episode 1: Red Velvet Slippers - you can scoop this into a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Drop us a comment if you bake these, and don't forget to check out all our episodes on RSS or Spotify. Happy Baking!