Recipe Guide1: Velvet cupcakes

 Hello Bakers!, Hope you are having a sweet Day! Today, we are here to spill some of our best tips and tricks to make our all-time speciality, Velvet cupcakes. And here's my verdict, I have had a great love for cupcakes since childhood because my mom used to make them so fluffy and moist plus the cheese frosting on the top was just chef's Kiss! 

So, let's start with Our Recipe for the day!

Here’s what you need for the Red Velvet Cupcakes. You might be wondering – vinegar? Why oil AND butter? And is cake flour really necessary? Read on to find out the answers!

How to make velvet cupcakes:

The making part is really no different to typical butter based cakes.

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl so they’re lump free. I don’t like sifting, but in this situation, it’s necessary because cocoa powder has a tendency to get lumps in it.

2. Cream butter, then sugar – Cream the softened butter and beat with an electric beater or a stand mixer for 1 minute until it’s smooth. THEN add the sugar and beat for a further 2 minutes until it’s fluffy and the butter has changed from yellow to very pale yellow, almost white.

3. Eggs – Add eggs one by one, beating in between until incorporated.

4. Oil, buttermilk, vinegar and vanilla – Then beat in remaining wet ingredients until incorporated.

5. Add Dry Ingredients – Lastly, add the Dry ingredients and mix for just 30 seconds until incorporated and you no longer see streaks of flour. There may be some small lumps still, and that’s ok. It’s better than over mixing which is a common mistake with cupcakes. This causes the batter to be over worked which makes the cupcake less tender.

   Important – Once the dry ingredients are mixed with the wet ingredients, do not stop. Fill the muffin tin and get it in the oven quick smart. The reason is because once the wet ingredients are combined with the dry, the baking powder is activated. If you leave it sitting around, the baking powder will be bubbling away in the raw batter and by the time it’s baked, it won’t rise as well. This rule applies to all baking recipes!

6. Fill muffin tin with the batter. It makes 12 perfect cupcakes, so divide all the batter between the 12 holes. If you use a standard muffin tin with cupcake liners the size I use, then it should fill the paper liners 3/4 of the way up to produce perfectly domed cupcakes!

7. Bake for just 20 minutes in a 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) oven, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle cupcake comes out clean.

8. The surface of some of the cupcakes will be a little cracked. But that is absolutely no issue. Because in what world do people send out unfrosted cupcakes?? 

   Cool completely before frosting. Warm cupcakes with butter based frosting = disaster! (In the form of melted frosting!)

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Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting for Red Velvet:

Cream Cheese is the most common frosting you see these days for Red Velvet Cake and Cupcakes, and that’s what I’m sharing today. The creamy, fluffy sweet frosting with the tang from cream cheese is a perfect match with the cupcakes!

How to make Cream Cheese Frosting:

The trick to making a lovely fluffy, creamy cream cheese frosting is to beat, beat, beat. Oh – and to beat the butter first before adding the cream cheese, and to add the icing sugar in parts so you don’t get a dust storm in your face!

1. Cream butter: Beat the butter first for 1 minute until it’s smooth and starts to become paler in colour – speed 6 on stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or speed 9 for electric beater. I do this because the butter needs to be creamed longer than cream cheese. It also helps to make the frosting more white – butter changes from yellow to almost white the longer you beat it.

2. Cream cream cheese: Add cream cheese then beat for a further 1 minute on the same speed until smooth.

3. Add icing sugar: Add icing sugar in 4 batches, beating in between until incorporated, starting on speed 1 so you don’t get a dust storm in your face! If you do have dust storm problems, just place a clean tea towel over the bowl as you beat.

4. Beat until fluffy: Add vanilla and salt, then beat for 2 minutes until fluffy – speed 6 with stand mixer, speed 9 with electric beater. It should be creamy but still hold its shape in a peak (see video). If it’s too sloppy, place in fridge for 30 minutes, then beat again.

5. Piping bag: Transfer into piping bag with desired piping tip.

6. Pipe onto cupcake, swirling it up nice and high! This recipe makes enough to generously frost 12 cupcakes as pictured in post.

Don't forget to add your personnel touches to the cupcakes!, Happy baking!