Sunday, August 31, 2008

red velvet: a tribute to george costanza and paula deen


Red Velvet Cupcakes

I aquired this recipe from Paula Deen, First Lady of all things artery-clogging.
Suprisingly, the cupcakes themselves don't contain any butter. They does however contain a fair amount of oil making these little beauties incredibly moist. Lord knows there's nothing worse than dry cake and surely Mrs. Deen would never be responsible for that sort of baking tragedy.
Baking Tip a la Paula:
To make buttermilk, add 1 tsp white vinegar to 1 c. milk; let sit 5 minutes.

Her recipe goes as follows:
Granted, I tweaked it a little

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder I prefer a little more, maybe 2tbsp
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring as per usual, ran out. 1 tbsp worked just fine

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a larger bowl, and being careful not to stain everything within 100 yards, carefully whisk together oil, buttermilk, food coloring, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla. Add the dry to the wet and mix until smooth and combined using an electric hand mixer.
Divide batter between cupcake pans lined with papers (should make about 24). Bake 11 minutes- turn- bake 11 more. Test for doneness with a toothpick.
Frost with whipped cream cheese frosting:

1/2lb c. cheese
1 stick of butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar

"If it were socially acceptable, I would drape myself in velvet."
Photobucket

5 comments:

Deborah said...

I made a Paula Deen recipe for red velvet cupcakes awhile back, and they have been my favorite. The recipe looks like a different one, but these look just as good!

grace said...

i need to tell you that that picture of george costanza is my favorite of all time. whenever i see it, i'm immediately in a better mood. :)
lovely cupcakes--a wonderful tribute. :)

Bri said...

I'm making these as we speak. Mine are definitely not as pretty as yours. I used gel food coloring so I wasn't sure how much to add. Yours sure are beautiful though. That intense red color is gorgeous!

Dominique said...

Gorgeous cupcakes, can you tell me where you got that piping tube, i've been looking online and I can't find it anywhere! Thanks and keep up the baking

firefly said...

It's actually one of those cheap piping sets you can get in the grocery store with the rubbery bag and the attachments. I've found it works better for this sort of piping than the fancier ones.