Red Velvet Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Welcome to Sara’s Sweet Addiction.  I’m a home baker who enjoys making and decorating sweets and desserts.  I have decided to chronicle my baking/decorating experiences in text on this blog and in videos on YouTube.  I would like to thank my family and friends for their support with starting this adventure.  Your help and support has been invaluable and I am very grateful for everything you have done.  I hope everyone who reads this blog will enjoy the recipes and decorations that I post and I especially hope that they inspire you to create your own sweets.  Without any further ado, my first post…

My boyfriend went on a retreat with his coworkers to a local zoo.  He asked me to make some cupcakes so he could bring them with him to the zoo.  I figured this would be the perfect time to try a couple recipes from two cookbooks that I had recently acquired. 

The red velvet cupcakes were easy to make and turned out to be very moist and delicious.  The white chocolate cream cheese frosting was sweet with a little tang from the cream cheese, but my favorite part of the frosting was the almond flavoring. 

Check out my YouTube video to see how to make the cupcakes and frosting.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Adapted from “Red Velvet Cake” in the Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

  

Ingredients:

-3⅓ cups (410 grams) cake flour (not self-rising)

-¾ cup (1½ sticks, 165 grams) softened, unsalted butter

-2¼ cups (440 grams) sugar

-3 large eggs, at room temperature

-4 tablespoons (55 grams) red food coloring

-1½ teaspoons (6 grams) vanilla extract

-1½ teaspoons (9 grams) salt

-1½ cups (320 grams) buttermilk

-1½ teaspoons (12 grams) apple cider vinegar

-1½ teaspoons (7 grams) baking soda

Yield: 24 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prep cupcake pans by placing cupcake liners in each cup.

Begin by sifting the cake flour into a small bowl and set aside.

Next, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl for 2-3 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix well after each addition until the eggs are fully incorporated.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract.  Then add it to the batter and mix thoroughly.

Add salt to the measuring cup with buttermilk and stir to combine.

Add cake flour and buttermilk to the batter in three additions, mixing after each addition until just combined.  Do not overbeat the batter.

Stir apple cider vinegar into the baking soda and then add it to the batter and mix well.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake pans and bake for approximately 22 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcake comes out clean).  Let the cupcakes cool in the cupcake pans for 10 minutes and then remove the cupcakes from the pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cooled, cover the cupcakes in frosting.  I highly suggest using White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (see the recipe below).

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Adapted from “Dreamy Creamy White Chocolate Frosting” in Rose’s Heavenly Cakes

 Ingredients:

-6 ounces (170 grams) white chocolate containing cocoa butter

-8 ounces (226 grams) cream cheese

-4 tablespoons (56 grams) softened, unsalted butter

-1 tablespoons (14 grams) sour cream

-¼ teaspoon almond extract

Yield: Approximately 2 cups

Melting the Chocolate:

Cut white chocolate into small pieces (this helps to melt the chocolate more quickly) and place in a double boiler on the stove. 

Melt the chocolate over low heat making sure that the water in the double boiler is not touching the bottom of the bowl.  Using a silicone spatula, stir the chocolate often (e.g., approximately every 15 seconds) until the chocolate is almost completely melted.  

Remove the chocolate from the heat and continue stirring until all pieces of the chocolate have melted and then let the white chocolate cool slightly.  When cooled, the white chocolate should still be fluid and “pourable” but not hot.   

Making the Icing:

Place cream cheese, butter, and sour cream in a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cooled white chocolate to the mixture, and then pulse until fully incorporated.  Lastly, add the almond extract and pulse to combine.