An all time favourite for kiddies parties are cupcakes, simply because the decorative options are endless and can be adapted to any theme.
I’ve made A LOT of cupcakes in my lifetime and this has by far been the best recipe! Quick and easy to make and just the perfect crumb texture and moistness – nothing worse than a dense and heavy cupcake!
Oh how I love these little rosy-red cupcakes of love. When I first heard about Red Velvet Cupcakes and Cakes, I was completely sold by the concept. Firstly, red is my favourite colour and who could resist any cake which has a velvet texture?? The first RVC I ever had, was one from my very own homemade batch. It was at that very moment that I decided to hunt down a shop-made version to compare and really get to grips with what it should taste and look like. After testing quite a few recipes and sampling about a dozen of different versions, I finally found a recipe which I personally love, although I think the best part of any Red Velvet Cupcake is the delectable cream cheese frosting. Honestly, that must be the epitome of a “match made in heaven”. The cream cheese frosting brings the perfect tangy balance to the rich cupcake.
To all those fabulous ladies who ever asked me for the recipe, here you go lovelies!
Ingredients:
– 485g flour
– 1 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
– 1 1/4 tsp salt
– 1 1/4 tsp cocoa
– 1 1/2 cups oil
– 1 2/3 cups sugar
– 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
– 3 eggs
– 40g red food colouring
– 1 1/4 tsp vinegar
– 1 1/4 tsp vanilla essence
– 1/8 cup water
Method:
– Preheat oven to 175 degrees
– Sift flour, bicarb, salt and cocoa – set aside
– Using a cake mixer, combine oil, sugar and buttermilk. Add eggs, food colouring, vinegar, vanilla essence and water.
– Add dry ingredients to mixture, a little at a time, mixing on low and scraping down the side of the bowl to ensure that the mixture is well combined.
– Spoon the mixture into cupcake holders within a cupcake tray and bake for 20-30 minutes.
NB: Allow the cupcakes to cool before frosting them 🙂
Just playing around with the camera setting…
Happy belated Women’s Day to all you fabulous ladies out there!
I spent my Women’s Day the stereotypical way…in the kitchen 🙂 On Wednesday I bought a few piping nozzles, eager to try them out I decided to whip up a batch of cupcakes.
I’m sure, like me, you’ve all seen and tried your fair share of cupcake recipes. In the quest to make the perfect cupcakes, I browsed the web and found some useful tips to do so:
1. The weight of the sugar must be equal to or less than the flour
2. The liquids (eggs and milk) must equal the flour
3. The butter must equal the eggs
4. Add 1 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flour – South African baking powder is quite strong so I’d recommend using a bit less
5. It’s best if all ingredients are room temperature (butter, eggs, milk)
With that in mind, I gave the recipe below a try…
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
240g butter
3/4 cup milk
4 extra-large eggs
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
Method:
Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees. Prepare muffin tins with cupcake liners (makes about 40 cupcakes).
In a relatively large mixing bowl, cream the butter until it’s smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until the mixture is fluffy.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each one.
Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk.
Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners (Using a disposable piping bag, I opted to pipe the batter – much neater and safer, spooning can get quite messy). Each one should be about 3/4 full.
Bake for 20 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out clean)
See my next post for the White Chocolate Buttercream frosting…
Working mom of two little girls with a deep love for baking and all things delicious. Join her as she shares, recipes, tips and all-things-foodie related reviews!
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