Come to find out, a new cupcake store was open. A cupcake store that supposedly sells the most delicious and beautifully decorated cupcakes. Though I had no intention of eating cupcakes, I was intrigued. I first went to a Starbuck’s nearby, grabbed my usual dark roast black coffee, and then got in line. The list of options was long with fancy names, ranging from “Brown Sugar Praline” to “Belgian Light Chocolate” to “Lemon Meringue”. In addition, surprisingly, almost every cupcake on the menu was alternatively offered in vegan form. A little overwhelmed with the number of choices, and honestly, not knowing what I wanted, I asked the girl at the counter what was their bestseller. Without hesitation or thinking, she told me it was Red Velvet Cupcakes. She also added that they simply couldn’t make enough of them. I thought to myself, I should have guessed it. I was in the South. Precisely, in Atlanta. People love Red Velvet Cake here. Big time. As I was eating my delicious cupcake, all I could think of was going home and making it in my own kitchen. Luckily, Ina has already published her version of a Red Velvet Cupcake recipe in her “Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?” cookbook. On my first try, I ended up with the best Red Velvet Cupcakes ever, even better than the ones in the fancy cupcake store. And the best part: I enjoyed them without the hassle of waiting in a long line. They were perfectly fluffy and moist without being overly sweet (like in most store bought cupcakes).
How To Make Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes
The process for making this red velvet cupcakes recipe is no different than any other cupcake recipe:
Prep the dry ingredients and the wet ones separately.Mix them together.Divide the batter in a muffin tinBake 25-30 minutes and let it cool
There are two important things about this recipe that I would like to mention here. When it comes to filling up the muffin cups, do not be tempted to fill it up all the way. For best results, you should only fill 2/3 of each muffin cup. Also, this recipe makes 16-17 cupcakes. I only have one muffin pan so I had to bake them in two sessions, but if you have two muffin pans, feel free to bake them together. Depending on your oven, keep in mind that it may take just a couple of minutes longer for them to bake. Additionally, I usually make the batter at night, cover it tightly with stretch film, and let is sit in the fridge overnight. Letting the batter sit overnight allow gluten work its magic and as a result create ultra moist red velvet cupcakes. Other than those points, it is a pretty straight forward, easy, foolproof, and fairly quick to put together recipe.
For The Cream Cheese Frosting
When it comes to frosting, Ina Garten’s cream cheese frosting never disappoints. To make it you mix together cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and powder sugar using an electric mixer. You can make this a day in advance and keep it in the fridge until you are ready to use. If you do so, I recommend letting it sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes before you are ready to frost your red velvet cupcakes. As I was eating my own version of the Red Velvet Cupcake recipe, I wondered if the popularity of it is a “Southern thing”. I quickly Googled it and found out that almost every “Top 10 Most Popular Cupcake Flavors” list has a Red Velvet Cupcake in it. In most of them it was in the Top 5. Who would know something so popular, could be so easy to make at home??!! And before you ask, can I make a version of this if I am on a keto diet? The answer is yes! Here is the recipe for Keto Red Velvet Cake or Cupcakes.
If you liked this Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe, You Might Also Like
Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting ~ Foolproof Living Red Velvet Ice Cream ~ Brown Eyed BakerSparkly Red Velvet Brownie Bites ~ A Farm Girl Dabbles Moist Chocolate Bundt CakeStrawberry Almond Cake
This recipe is adapted from Barefoot Contessa’s “Red Velvet Cake” recipe on her cookbook, “Barefoot Contessa, How Easy Is That?”.
