Saturday treat: Moist red velvet cupcakes

Ask anybody, the key to making a great cupcake isn’t just the icing, as the cupcake itself has to be moist. Red velvet cupcakes are simple and easy to make and the secret to making them moist is the in the dairy element.

This red velvet cupcake recipe uses buttermilk at room temperature, however, you can substitute it with amasi or maas.

How to make moist red velvet cupcakes

For the cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (141 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
• 1 ½ tablespoon (8 g) cocoa powder, Dutch process
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoon (70 g) unsalted butter, softened
• ¾ cup (150 g) granulated white sugar
• 1 egg, at room temperature
• 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 ½ teaspoon red gel food colouring

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• ½ cup (112 g) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 oz. (114 g) cream cheese, cold
• 2 cups (260 g) powdered sugar
• sprinkles for decorating (optional)

ALSO TRY: Recipe of the day: Make cream cheese using amasi

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners and set aside.
2. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. Then set aside.
4. To a large bowl add the softened, unsalted butter and granulated sugar. Cream together with an electric mixer until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
5. Then add in the egg, egg yolk and vanilla. Mix until pale in colour and smooth, 1-2 minutes.
6. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the eggs/butter/sugar mixture until all is just combined and the batter is smooth. (Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.)
7. Lastly, fold in the red gel food colouring just until combined.
8. Divide the batter among the liners. Each will be about ¾ of the way full. Bake the cupcakes for 18-21 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the centre.
9. When the cupcakes are done baking let them cool in the pan for a 10 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to completely cool.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Add the softened, unsalted butter to a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale in colour and fluffy, 5-10 minutes.
2. Then add in the cold cream cheese and mix until combined.
3. Sift in the powdered sugar a cup at a time and mix until the frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Assembling the Cupcakes:

1. When the cupcakes are cooled, transfer the cream cheese frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative tip.
2. Pipe a generous amount of frosting onto each cupcake.
3. Sprinkle with sprinkles and serve!

Notes

Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to three days.

This recipe was found on inbloombakery.com