Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These cupcakes are soooo beautiful. The flavor and texture is perfect.





And the COLOR is gorgeous! Perfect red velvet color.



I know that some of you might freak out about the fact that this recipe calls for two whole bottles of red food coloring... but really, it isn't going to kill you.



Unless you eat these delicious cupcakes as a part of your regular every day diet... And if that's the case, the red food coloring is not the issue you should be concerned about. :P



Just let the pictures speak for themselves. :)



If you're looking for a red velvet cupcake recipe, you really don't need to look any further. Go bake it now!

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside.
4. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go until smooth.
5. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.
6. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda (it will fizz).  Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine.
7. Fill cupcake cups with batter about 3/4 full.  You may not fill all the cups, but I ended up with 24 cupcakes.
8. Place muffin tins on the middle rack of a preheated 350 degree oven.  Bake for approximately 20-22 minutes, rotating pans halfway through. Cupcakes are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Check early and don’t overbake!
9. Cool in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove to cool completely before frosting.
10. Frost with cream cheese frosting (recipe here).