Red Velvet Cupcakes

I actually don't really know what to say about this recipe. It's cupcakes. They're red. And velvety.

I've made this recipe several times now, including a few times last year, before I got adventurous with my baking. Come to think of it, this recipe actually says a lot about the way my baking has....evolved(?). The first time I attempted these, they came out absolutely terrible. They refused to bake properly and were sticky and mushy. This was due to the fact I didn't have baking soda at home, and thinking it would be okay, substituted it with baking powder; it wasn't.

The next time I tried them, I again forgot that I would need baking soda. Instead, I did some reading on the internet and decided to try substituting it with baking powder, and also switching the buttermilk to normal milk; this worked wonderfully.

Granted, the last batch I made wasn't my favourite (I ran out of caster sugar so it was a liiitle under in terms of flavour), but the fact this is now something I can make easily, to me, is something I can compare to the first time I made these and be proud.

My favourite part of these is the frosting, cream cheese is absolute boss. The cake is also moist but not heavy on sweetness or a strong flavour, so the pair work really well together. Below, I've included the original recipe (no baking powder/soda switchover). I've been told by some of my friends that they prefer these to the ones you can buy at popular cupcake stores; if that's not inflation for my baking ego, I don't know what is.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (Adapted from taste)

For the cupcakes:

• 300g (2 cups) plain flour
• 30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 315g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar
• 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
• 200g unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 tbs white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tbs liquid red food colouring

 For the frosting:

• 250g pkt cream cheese, at room temperature
• 300g (approx 2 cups) icing sugar
• 60g butter, at room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and line two 12 hole muffin trays with patty cases.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda into a large bowl. Whisk in the sugar.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vanilla and vinegar until combined.
4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the wet mixture, stirring to combine.
5. Stir in the food colouring, making sure the batter is a deep, rich red. Use more than the specified amount if required.
6. Bake cupcakes in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cupcakes comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool in muffin pan for five minutes, before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. When cupcakes are completely cool, prepare the frosting; place the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla into a bowl, beating with an electic mixer until light and fluffy.
9. Pipe or spread onto cupcakes.

 

Sugar Cookies

Last Valentine's Day, I thought I'd try my hand at some sugar cookies. Armed with a seemingly easy recipe from rasperri cupcakes (all it contained was butter, flour and sugar!), this ended up taking me a ridiculous amount of time, with my only solace coming from my mother, whose experience with various amounts of dough (because making roti every morning is the same as working with cookie dough, right?) allowed her to help me combat the sticky butter-laden dough. The cookies came out okay in the end, but the recipe was resigned to the deep-dark graveyard of recipes to never again be revisited.

While trawling through Joy of Baking one day, I came across a new sugar cookie recipe, which despite requiring more ingredients than the previous one, seemed much more reliable. I've used this recipe a few times now, and the results are always amazing. The cookies are light and crispy and the dough yields heaaaps of cookies (I'm talking 80+ using a regular sized cookie cutter). I never make the cookies all in one batch, I generally use half - two thirds of the dough in one go, and refrigerate the rest to use a few days later. If you don't need that large of a batch I suggest halving the recipe when making it so as not to waste much. 

As for the topping, I find just dusting them with icing sugar works well, but I experiemented with some royal icing on the second batch and this was also quite excellent... even if I do say so myself. Which I do.

Sugar Cookies (Adapted from Joy of Baking)

• 3 cups plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla essence

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy (approx. 2-4 minutes).
3. Add the eggs and vanilla essence, beating to combine.
4. Add in the flour mixture and beat mixture on low speed until mixture begins to combine.
5. Turn out contents of bowl onto the counter-top and knead until a soft, pliable dough is formed.
6.  Divide the dough in half, covering each half in cling wrap before placing in the fridge.
7. After chilling for at least an hour (can be left for a few days if you don't wish to bake the cookies on the same day), roll dough out onto a lightly floured surface into a thickness of approx.1cm (I usually do mine a little thinner as this produces a crispier cookie).
8.  Use a cookie cutter to press dough into shapes, placing cut-out cookies on a greased and lined baking tray as you go.
9. Place baking tray in the fridge for ten minutes (this prevents the cookies from losing their shape while baking) and preheat oven to 180 degrees.
10. Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes (be mindful of the thinner cookies as they will brown easily).
11. Allow cookies to cool on baking trays for five minutes before moving onto wire racks to cool completely

** If desired, dust the cookies with icing sugar once out of the oven. Royal icing can be added once the cookies are completely cool.