Red Velvet for Valentine’s Day Treats

Red Velvet Cupcake: The Lover

The best gifts come from the heart…or the kitchen. This may be cliché but it’s also true.

This Valentine’s Day, instead of foraging the mall for that perfect gift to show your loved ones how much they mean to you, make them a special treat instead.

Get Baking for Valentine’s Day

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Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (recipe below) are an obvious choice. They’re always a hit no matter the occasion, but they are a model cupcake for Valentine’s Day.

The reaction the combination of buttermilk and cocoa create makes for a rich and velvety smooth cake. They’re topped off with an enticing vanilla cream cheese icing making these cupcakes as delectable as they are distinguishable in colour.

The best part is that contrary to what many think, they’re not complicated to make. They’re foolproof — anyone can make them, which is probably one of the reasons they have been popular since the early 1900’s.

A Little Red Velvet History

During the Great Depression, food colouring was not a necessity for most families. The Adams Extract Company created and introduced the Red Velvet Cake –that called for their red food colouring– to kitchens across America. Red Velvet Cake recipe cards were distributed for free in stores allowing the cake’s popularity to spread.

What’s Your Cupcake Personality?

Besides their appearance, the Red Velvet Cupcake represents classic romance during this month’s Cupcake Personality Contest. Take the cupcake personality test and find out which cupcake personality best suits you and your loved ones and be sure to enter the contest.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

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Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

Yield: 12 cupcakes

Recipe Credit: Kathryne over at www.foodmusings.ca

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour  375 mL
2 Tbsp cocoa powder  30 mL
1/2 tsp baking soda 2 mL
1 tsp baking powder  5 mL
¼  tsp salt  1 mL
1 cup sugar  250 mL
½ cup canola oil  125 mL
2 eggs  2
2 tsp vanilla 10 mL
3/4 cup buttermilk  175 mL
¼  tsp concentrated red gel colouring  1 mL
2 tsp vinegar  10 mL

Directions:

  1. Line one muffin pan with paper liners. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).
  2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Stir to combine. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and canola oil and egg until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Slowly add in buttermilk and vanilla.  Beat until combined, about 1 minute.  Stir in red gel colouring and vinegar until combined, about 20 strokes.  Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
  4. Divide cupcake batter into the paper lined muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center of the      cupcakes comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Once cupcakes are cooled completely.
  5. Frost with Cream Cheese Icing.  Recipe follows.

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe

Ingredients:

1 (8 oz/227 g) pkg cream cheese
¼ cup canola margarine 60 mL
3 ½ – 4 cups confectioner’s sugar 875 mL – 1 L
1 tsp vanilla extract 5 mL

Directions:

  1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and canola margarine until very smooth. Add confectioner’s sugar and beat well.
  2. Add vanilla and beat to combine ingredients.

Recipe notes: You can experiment with natural food colourings like beet juice (reduce liquid as you increase juice) but it will never produce the redness of using food colouring.

Eat Well…Jenn

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