Red Velvet Cupcakes

With Valentines Day right on our door step I wanted to make something special to take into work today....

And really, nothing says Valentines Day like Red Velvet...plus I've never actually made had Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting before, I've always gone with the vanilla option....AND double plus, last week I brought some red chocolate melts that I was a little bit excited to try....


Mmmmmm look at how pretty they are!!!

And they are so easy! I got this recipe from a book called Cakes to Celebrate Love and Life but I changed it a little because I realised at the last minute I had no oil so I just replaced it with butter and it seemed to work out fine!

For the cupcakes you will need:
2.5 cups plain flour
1.5 cups caster sugar
1 tspn bicarb soda
1 heaped tablespoon of cocoa
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
200g softened butter
1 tspn white vinegar
25ml red food dye
1 tspn vanilla essence

Pre-heat oven to 180C and grease your tins. From this recipe I got 24 x mini muffins, 6 x jumbo muffins and 8 x normal size muffins.

In the bowl of an electric mixer add the flour, sugar, bicarb, butter, vanilla and cocoa and beat to combine.

Add the buttermilk, eggs, vinegar and dye and beat until smooth. The mixture will be quite thick.

Spoon into muffin tins (roughly 3/4 full) and bake for 10-12 mins (for mini), 15 mins (for normal) and 20-25 mins (for jumbo size)....or you can just test them with a skewer to see if they are done :)

Once they are cool you can spread them with cream cheese frosting and top with a chocolate heart.

For the cream cheese frosting you will need:
250g softened cream cheese
150g softened butter
2 cups icing sugar
1 tspn vanilla essence.

Combine all the ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until smooth.

And for the chocolate hearts simply get about 3/4 cup of red chocolate melts and microwave in 30-40 second bursts, stirring in between until melted and smooth.

Allow to cool for 2-3 mins and spoon into a piping bag (I used a freezer bag and just snipped a tiny hole in the corner). Pipe heart shapes onto a piece of baking paper and place in the fridge for 2-3 mins to set.

This is the yummiest red velvet recipe I have ever tried and the bright red cakes with the white frosting is just such a striking combination, you can't go wrong!


So what have you got planned to spoil your loved one this Valentines Day?? I have a special 3 course dinner planned for Mr B seeing as we are both at work during the day....but more on that later!!

Mrs B xx