And Last But Not Least -- Red Velvet Cupcakes

Dear Readers, I know I promised you the recipes for all three of the cupcakes from the wedding, so I owe you Red Velvets.  I happen to love making these, because they are so delightfully simple to do, and yield such a gratifying result.  You sift together all the stuff that feels dry, whisk together all the stuff that feels wet, and add the dry to the wet gradually, mixing constantly until all the ingredients are blended together.   Easy-peasy!

Also, you may have noticed that all three of these cupcake recipes use vegetable oil as the shortening.   Ordinarily, I would use butter in cake batter, but I have found that when baking cupcakes, oil works better:  the crumb is finer, and they dome up nicely. 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

For the cupcakes:

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/4 teaspoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting:

2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups (@ 1 lb) sifted confectioners' sugar (plus additional if frosting seems runny)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.  Place the butter and cream cheese for the frosting in a bowl to soften. 

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a pastry bag or Ziploc with a corner cut off.  Garnish with chopped pecans if desired.