Red Velvet Cupcakes
After my baking extravaganza this week, I think Anna was keen to show me up. So she made these crazy cupcakes that don’t just taste awesome, the look awesome too. I’m pretty gutted about it, since I was fairly pleased with my own efforts until now. Or at least I would be gutted if I didn’t get to stuff my face on sweet sweet velvety goodness for the next week.
For those that don’t know, “velvet” cakes are basically just ordinary cakes with red food colouring. But like all things, it’s not that simple. There is some additional chocolately goodness to pay you back for picking the crazy coloured cake, and I think the consistency has been played with too as the ingredients involving mixing bicarbonate of soda with white wine vinegar! This gives it a very tight, slightly dense texture that does indeed feel velvety on the tongue. Finally, the topping is cream cheese mixed with icing sugar, a really tasty combination that works really well here.
My only problem with them is that they are very, very rich. Served in muffin cases, they are an awful lot of cake and a real challenge to get through… The second time we tried these, we had half each and used a fork to eat it which was a much better idea – I felt that I was in charge of the cake and not the other way around.
Who made it: Anna
Recipe: Cake Days: Recipes to make every day special, by the Hummingbird Bakery, page 178.
