Red Velvet Adventures

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Red Velvet Cake. In fact, I love it so much that I had it for my wedding cake. I wanted to make some Red Velvet cupcakes to take into work cos everyone goes crazy for them!

The biggest issue I have with making Red Velvet cakes is the colour. I like mine super bright red, but you have to be careful which food colouring you use. Colouring that says "natural" on the bottle does NOT make your cakes red. However, that is all that's available in a lot of supermarkets right now, so if you want the good stuff you have to go to specialist stores or look online. I like using paste colours because they give a really vibrant colour but don't affect the consistency of your batter (but if you use these remember to add a little more liquid ingredients to your mix, as the recipe will be expecting a LOT of liquid colour!)

I love these paste colours: http://www.cakecraftworld.co.uk/products.asp?cc=64&scc=218

Today I had to make do with natural red colouring, and the cupcakes came out dark brown, no red at all. At least they still taste good though! Tomorrow I'm going to cover them with Cream Cheese Frosting, ready to take in to work on Monday.

Recipe, Red Velvet Cupcakes (makes 20)


250g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
50ml red food colouring (if using a paste colour add 50ml of buttermilk instead)
110g butter (I actually use Stork margarine, it makes cakes and cupcakes very light and fluffy)
290g caster sugar
2 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract
240ml buttermilk
1tsp white vinegar
1tsp bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4, 175 Celsius, 350 Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pans with cases.

Sift together flour and baking powder, and set aside for later.

In a separate bowl, mix food colouring and cocoa together (with 50ml of buttermilk if using a paste colour) to form a thick liquid, without any lumps.

Using hand mixer or standing mixer beat butter and sugar together, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla.

Beat in the cocoa powder mix, remembering to scrape the side of the bowl with a spatula to ensure even distribution of colour.

Add one third of the flour mixture, then half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of the flour, followed by the rest of the buttermilk. Add the last of the flour and mix well.  Finally, add the vinegar and bicarbonate of soda.

Fill the cupcake cases 3/4 full with the mixture then back for 20 minutes, turning halfway.

Once out of the oven, leave to cool inside the baking tray for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Wait until completely cool before covering with cream cheese frosting, and decorate with red candy hearts.