Peppermint Red Velvet Cupcakes
Tuesday, December 11th, 2007
Growing up I often asked for a Red Velvet cake for my birthday. One year I remember mom making a version with pepperming icing, with a recipe I think came from Southern Living. I decided to try something like that on my birthday this year, but in miniature form. I made these cupcakes for the “Biochemistry Bake-Off” at work. I didn’t win anything, but I still had fun making them and they turned out pretty well — or at least half of them did. I baked half of them in new silicone muffin tins, and those collapsed to about half the size and pulled away from the edges as soon as I took them out of the oven. So I’m not using silicone muffin tins again! The other ones turned out pretty nicely though. I made a peppermint cream cheese frosting and garnished some of them with grated chocolate and crushed candy canes, and the others with a little bit of chopped peppermint bark I still had left from earlier in the week.
Red Velvet Cake:
1 c butter (softened)
2 c sugar
2 eggs (room temperature)
1 T cocoa
1 T vinegar
2 1/2 c cake flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla
1 oz red food coloring
1. Cream butter and sugar.
2. Add eggs and beat until fluffy.
3. Add cocoa to vinegar, and add to creamed mixture.
4. Sift remaining dry ingredients and gradually add to batter.
5. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and food coloring.
6. Bake in cupcake wrappers (makes a little more than 2 dozen) or bake in three greased and floured 9″ round cake pans, either way at 350 F for 25 minutes.
7. Let cool completely before icing.
Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 package of cream cheese (4 oz) (softened)
1/2 cup butter (softened)
1 1-lb. box of powdered sugar
1 t peppermint extract
1. Beat cream cheese and butter.
2. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.
3. Add extract and beat until blended.
Ice cupcakes with the peppermint cream cheese frosting. Garnish with grated chocolate and crushed peppermint candy canes, if desired.
