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Sunday, February 6, 2011

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Have you ever visited Ming's website called Ming Makes Cupcakes? My cousin Naomi sent me the link to her page a few months ago and I have finally tried a recipe form it. This Red Velvet recipe is one of her 33 delicious cupcake recipes. A perfect choice for Valentine's Day! On her site, it is Cupcake 4. However, she makes these cupcakes with a buttercream frosting, and I have used a cream cheese frosting.

Red Velvet Cupcakes
(Taken from Ming Makes Cupcakes)

1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1 tbsp red food coloring
1/2 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. In a separate bowl, whisk together oil, buttermilk, egg, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.  While mixing at medium speed, gradually add dry mixture to wet mixture until just combined. Fill cupcake liners.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

The recipe was pretty easy to make.

Key ingredient...red food coloring.

Each cupcake formed such a nice dome shape.

Perfect for a thin layer of delicious cream cheese frosting.

That's how I like it!

Yum!

But others prefer loads of icing!  These ones turned out so beautifully. They are made with the same cake, but contain many more calories due to the excess amount of cream cheese frosting!

So what kind of a cupcake lover are you? 
Do you love a cupcake with a thin layer of frosting and more cake, or, a cupcake loaded with frosting and just a bit of cake? 

14 comments:

  1. OMG that last picture looks amazing! And I support your choice of cream cheese over buttercream (Jamie agrees)!

    To answer your question about the frosting-cake ratio...when I made Ming's cupcake #24, I loaded them with frosting, although not as much as in the photo on the website. They were delicious, but quite sweet. My friend Erica made the same recipe for my birthday last month, only she made them in a teeny-tiny bite size...even smaller than two-bite brownies! Anyway, the ratio of cake to icing was perfect, since the treats were more like a decadent chocolate candy than a cupcake! I'm definitely going to have to test it out for myself...maybe with this red velvet recipe!

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  2. By the way, I might try out Ming's cupcake #3 for Passover, and cupcake #22 for, well...just because!

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  3. I agree, can't have red velvet cupcakes without cream cheese frosting.. I also like just a swipe of icing, but its so fun to add pretty piping! But it can get a bit outrageous.. A lot of my friends will eat the cupcakes but end up scraping off half the icing because its just too much.. I just love how cute star tip swirls are !

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  4. I definitely need to try Red Velvet one of these days

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  5. I love cupcakes loaded with frosting (some cupcakes can be too stingy with their frosting), but I prefer half cake and half frosting.

    What measurement do you use to fill the cupcake liners? Whenever I make cupcakes, they tend to overflow, so I was wondering what you used.

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  6. Hey Jessica,
    I usually fill cupcake liners about three-quarters full. I like using an ice cream scoop so they are all even.
    Hope this helps,
    Melissa ;)

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  7. I really like that site, and I love that your cupcakes have the cute rounded tops! I definitely agree with the cream cheese frosting substitution. It's funny, because as much as I love frosting, I really prefer my cupcakes to just have a thin, even layer of frosting over the entire top so I get a pretty uniform bite despite where I begin and end eating my cupcake. Wow, that makes me sound like a really picky cupcake eater!

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  8. These look great! And to answer your question...I'm an icing girl. Get me a bowl of creamcheese frosting and a spoon, and I'm set!

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  9. Oh wow your red velvet cakes look so yummy!!
    I can't decide on the whole thin frosting vs thick frosting, its so hard to decide...I would have to say it depends on the flavour!!

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  10. I love love your blog! I like frosting with a touch of cupcake for flavor :) And cupcakes with filling are even better.

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  11. Does this recipe make 12 cupcakes?

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  12. Hi Miranda,
    You've got it. Exactly 12. Next time I will double it and freeze the other dozen!
    Melissa :)

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  13. I like your cake/cupcake stand. Where did you get it? Can it be found on amazon? I love your blog. I've been checking it regularly ever since I saw it on Bakerella. :D (btw, congrats on your marriage)

    Um... personally, I like cupcakes with a thin layer of frosting.

    Check out my blog! http://softandstiffpeaks.blogspot.com/

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  14. Hey Amanda,
    I bought it at Williams-Sonoma a few months ago. I'm sure that you can find it online. I also have the larger sized stand from there too. I like that it is glass, so the sweets underneath the lid can be seen and then eaten!
    Melissa :)

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