Notes On Red Velvet and My Birthday

IT’S MY BIRTHDAY!

It’s always been a huge deal to me to celebrate like there’s no tomorrow on my birthday.  I also stretch out my birthday over at least a week, and maybe even a month -if I can get away with it- because I love it so much.  I’m a five-year old trapped in a thirty-two year old body and I don’t mind that one bit.

So, if just for today, let’s live like we’re five years old and there’s no tomorrow. 

It’s fun.   Let’s eat cake.

About red velvet cupcakes and finding a good recipe:

  I’ve made and researched a lot of red velvet cupcake recipes, and almost all of them seem to get only four out of five stars in the review section of the original recipe.  There’s not ONE recipe that’s actually “the best”.    A lot of them claim to be.    However, much like the “world’s greatest cup of coffee” this sentiment is entirely too copious and therefore unbelievable, as I’m sure you’re aware.    However, this recipe does have four out of four forks, despite some users randomly reporting two or one fork reviews. 

I figured I’d give it a shot.

Do you read those reviews?  I find them very helpful on sites like epicurious and foodnetwork {dot} com.   When there are enough reviews, you can definitely tell if it’s a good recipe or not.  If two people say the recipe stinks, and five hundred people say it’s awesome, the recipe is probably awesome and those two people who said “it stinks” probably just did something very wrong to the recipe.  

But, when it comes to red velvet in particular, no matter how many reviews the recipe gets, no matter how many recipes I’ve looked at, none of them ever get consistently positive reviews. There’s always at least one review that says that it’s the “worst recipe they’ve ever tried”. I’ve searched high and low and cannot find one that EVERYONE loves. 

I’ll stop rambling now.

My point is that I think people just don’t really enjoy the real cake flavor of red velvet as much as they do other cakes. 

Why are they so popular then?  Because.  It’s all about the frosting! 

About these red velvet cupcakes:

This particular recipe came out with some a bit sunken only in the center and they were (at first directly after cooling)  kind of eggy tasting and not very impressive on any level.  Also, they were not terribly rich in flavor.   I don’t expect too much chocolate flavor from a red velvet cupcake, because red velvet isn’t technically a chocolate cake, but it was indeed a “meh” experience when I first tasted these.    This explains a lot of reviews, in my opinion.  But, that’s just my theory.  I could be wrong.   The end result, however was outstanding.  

THE SECRET TO “FROM SCRATCH” CAKE AT HOME: 

Once cooled, I covered them in an air tight container unfrosted.  They sat overnight at room temperature and turned into probably one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had.   Wild!

Have you ever noticed that about homemade cake before?    For whatever reason,  sitting at room temperature for a good twelve hours makes nearly all “from scratch” cakes about fifty times better than when first initially cooled.  It only took me about twenty years of baking to figure this out.  What’s up with that?  Anyway,  this little factoid could potentially put all boxed mixes out of business.  I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.  But, all home bakers that  say they “can’t bake from scratch” should be informed of all the tricks, in my opinion.     

Notes on these particular cupcakes:  As I’ve stated,  red velvet cupcakes are pretty much just vehicles for an overabundance of frosting, so the sunkeness that resided with some of them worked beautifully.  It was like a little well, perfect for capturing the  creamy and decadent frosting.   I’m not positive that they’re intended to be sunken (there’s no mention of this is the recipe).  So, if yours don’t sink, don’t worry, as some of mine did not, so I assume it was a result of my oven.  The ones that didn’t sink, I stuffed with more of the frosting because it was amazing.  I would recommend adding as much of this frosting to the cake as possible without making them ugly.  This of course (duh), may just be my inner five-year old talking again.  

If  today  you’re a lame grown up type person who hates “too much” frosting, you don’t have to add it to the center of the cake.   Feel free to use the frosting sparingly on some complex carrot cake or just responsibly eat a good salad as I do on most days.

This recipe was -barely- adapted.  The original is a perfectly well described recipe that yields delicious cupcakes that may or may not be sunken. 

The only thing I changed was that I used gel coloring instead of an excess of bottled dye and I wanted the frosting to stand up once piped, so I added a bit more powdered sugar, mostly for eye candy appeal (not required).  

Notes on garnishing with crumbs: I used one of the cupcakes for crumbs for the garnish because I saw some in a bakery and I thought it was beautiful.  But, you need to break the crumbs down pretty fine to make them pretty, so to do that I first crumbled at night and then let the crumbs sit out uncovered.  They broke down to very fine crumbs easily in my fingers by morning. 

Despite their first impression, the end product was insanely surprisingly decadent and flavorful.   The frosting is outstanding.  I can’t recommend it enough.

  Oh! And, since it’s not your birthday (most likely) but rather close to St. Patrick’s Day, you can add green gel dye instead to make green velvet cupcakes.   No matter what color they are, they’re delicious, I’m sure.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting

Barely Adapted from a Recipe by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman:   The Pastry Queen Christmas

Red Velvet Cupcakes

• 1/2 teaspoon red gel food coloring ( you may substitute other colors)
• 3 1/2 tablespoons high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Cream Cheese Mascarpone Frosting

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar (plus more if desired for stiff standing piping)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pinch of kosher salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 prepared cupcake, crumbled for garnish

Make Cupcakes:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line with baking papers,  12 jumbo muffin cups (3 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep) with butter or cooking spray, and lightly flour them, knocking out the excess flour.
2. In a small bowl, add food coloring and cocoa powder and mix into a paste.  Set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar on medium-high speed until pale, light and fluffy, or about 2 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition then add the cocoa paste while continuing to beat.
5. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat the batter for about 4 minutes.
6. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda.
7. Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk (I used a measure cup to do this).
8. Add the flour mixture in 3 equal-ish increments alternating with the buttermilk in 2 increments (meaning you start and end with the flour). 
9. Beat again on medium speed just until the ingredients are combined. Add the sour cream and vinegar and beat on low speed until just combined.
10. Fill the muffin cups three-fourths full with batter immediately after beating.
11. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, just until the cupcakes feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake, or the cupcakes will dry out.
12. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then unmold onto a wire rack and let cool completely. 
13. **(see note)**  

Make Frosting:

1. In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
2. After other ingredients are well combined, beat in the mascarpone on very low speed until just combined. (Be careful; it’s temperamental) once you’ve added the mascarpone, excessive beating can make the frosting curdle.)
3. Stir in the vanilla or mint extract.
4. Frost the top of each (except for one if using cake crumbs to decorate) with the icing.  

 **Note**: At this point I recommend covering the cakes and allowing them to “settle” overnight before frosting. You may prepare the frosting and store in the refrigerator for a firm piped topping and leave one cupcake crumbled uncovered for garnishing the others. The next day (the day you intend to serve the cupcakes), further crumble the cake crumbs and pipe frosting onto settled cupcakes.  Also, you may brush with simple syrup directly after baking to keep the tops moist.  I do this with most cake recipes for added sweetness and a light, moist crumb.

Notes On Red Velvet and My Birthday

 

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Red Velvet Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Icing Barely Adapted from a Recipe by Rebecca Rather and Alison Oresman: The Pastry Queen Christmas

Kate from Scratch: Adapted from “The Pastry Queen Christmas”

Recipe type: Baking, Dessert, sweet, celebration, birthday

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• ½ teaspoon red gel food coloring ( you may substitute other colors)
• 3½ tablespoons high-quality unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1¾ cups sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• Cream Cheese Mascarpone Frosting
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup (8 ounces) cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar (plus more if desired for stiff standing piping)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) mascarpone
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 prepared cupcake, crumbled for garnish

Instructions

1. Make Cupcakes:
2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease or line with baking papers, 12 jumbo muffin cups (3½ inches in diameter and 2 inches deep) with butter or cooking spray, and lightly flour them, knocking out the excess flour.
3. In a small bowl, add food coloring and cocoa powder and mix into a paste. Set aside.
4. Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar on medium-high speed until pale, light and fluffy, or about 2 minutes.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition then add the cocoa paste while continuing to beat.
6. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and beat the batter for about 4 minutes.
7. In a medium bowl, sift together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda.
8. Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk (I used a measure cup to do this).
9. Add the flour mixture in 3 equal-ish increments alternating with the buttermilk in 2 increments (meaning you start and end with the flour).
10. Beat again on medium speed just until the ingredients are combined. Add the sour cream and vinegar and beat on low speed until just combined.
11. Fill the muffin cups three-fourths full with batter immediately after beating.
12. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, just until the cupcakes feel firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake, or the cupcakes will dry out.
13. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then unmold onto a wire rack and let cool completely.
14. **(see note)**
15. Make Frosting:
16. In the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
17. After other ingredients are well combined, beat in the mascarpone on very low speed until just combined. (Be careful; it’s temperamental) once you’ve added the mascarpone, excessive beating can make the frosting curdle.)
18. Stir in the vanilla or mint extract.
19. Frost the top of each (except for one if using cake crumbs to decorate) with the icing.
20. **Note**: At this point I recommend covering the cakes and allowing them to “settle” overnight before frosting. You may prepare the frosting and store in the refrigerator for a firm piped topping and leave one cupcake crumbled uncovered for garnishing the others. The next day (the day you intend to serve the cupcakes), further crumble the cake crumbs and pipe frosting onto settled cupcakes.

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