Red White and Blue...Velvet!

While Red Velvet has recently been quite the craze, I was never lured in. I figured it was just chocolate with red food coloring, and to be quite honest, I didn't get it. So until now I've passed. Until now. Then came the Fourth of July, a perfect excuse to not only bake, but to bake something, well...red. Let me say, I'm glad I did. I don't think there is a better way to celebrate the country that gave us corndogs and turducken than making something 233 times more appetizing. I now understand the fuss over this red velvet thing. I don't know how to explain it, or why it tastes different than an ordinary chocolate cupcake, but it's very different, and very mmm...

Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  
• 1/2 teaspoon red gel paste food color
  
• 1 cup buttermilk (or my milk + lemon trick)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

If you can't find gel paste you can use the normal supermarket liquid variety, but you'll have to use a lot more. I bought a one ounce bottle of red liquid food coloring and used about 3/4, you can use as much as you want to achieve your desired red.


Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 12 oz cream cheese
• 1 lb (4 cups) confectioners sugar
  
• 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Since I clearly didn't know the first thing about red velvet, I got the recipe from Martha Stewart's new cupcake book which is just glorious, thanks Marthy!

1. Preheat your oven to 350
2. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt
3. In a separate bowl, whisk oil and sugar together until combined
4. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, whisking after each.
5. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each.
6. Mix in food color and vanilla
7. Stir together baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl, it will foam (apparently this does something with the cocoa to bring out the red?)
8. Add mixture to batter and stir for 10 seconds
9. Put in your baking cups and cook for 20 minutes, rotating the trays once half way through.

While those are baking is a good time to make your frosting:

1. Beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy
   
2. Add confectioners sugar 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition
   
3. Add vanilla, and whisk some more until smooth and combined.

Once they are cooled you can frost them. I went a little crazy and got some blue cake dust and white sugar pearls to decorate them with. Then they were sent on their way to a 4th of July party (a few staying home with me, naturally). Everybody loved the cupcakes, turning me from a red velvet skeptic into a red velvet enthusiast, who knew? Happy Birthday America!


Eat two and call me in the morning.
-your pre-med chef