Red Velvet Cupcakes

I made these beauties for Ann's bridal shower earlier this month. The cupcakes were an absolute hit! I'm not exaggerating - even those who usually shy away from cupcakes asked for a second helping! I made an assortment of cupcakes from scratch - red velvet, lemon, and cherry almond.

The most versatile and crowd favorite (if pressed to choose) would probably be the red velvet cupcake. This red velvet cupcake is an extremely moist cupcake; I pored over the 700+ reviews on this Allrecipes recipe and incorporated the most common recommendations. Then I made a whipped cream cheese frosting, piped it on top with a fancy frosting tip, and topped with sprinkles! Please don't cut corners and buy the canned frosting... I promise that the attached frosting recipe is easy and tastes much, much better!


Red Velvet Cupcakes (modified from Allrecipes.com)
makes 30 cupcakes

2 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vinegar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 ounce red food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Set aside. 
2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, buttermilk, vinegar, food color, and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture until just blended. Do not overbeat! Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin tins, filling each cup about 2/3 full. 
3. Bake for 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely, then frost with desired frosting. 

Tip: If you're like me, you don't want to go out and buy buttermilk just for this recipe. Make your own! Place 1 teaspoon white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup, then add milk until the 1/2 cup mark. Let it thicken at room temperature for about 10 minutes prior to using.


Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting (from Allrecipes.com)

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup white sugar (may substitue with 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions:

1. For best results, chill bowl and beaters prior to beating whipping cream. In a small bowl, with electric mixer beat whipping cream until stiff peaks form; set aside. (Test for stiff peaks: stop mixer, lift beaters out of the cream, and peaks should keep their shape or stand pertly.)
2. In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Beat until smooth, then fold in whipped cream. Chill in refrigerator until use. 

Tip: If frosting is too soft or runny, may try adding a packet of unflavored gelatin to stiffen the frosting. 

Fit for a Wedding?

My baking MO is definitely cute individual-sized cakes- muffins, cupcakes, mini cupcakes, mini cheesecakes, individual tartlets. An added plus- they're perfect for gift-giving. Although, I basically ate the whole tray of these bomb.com cheesecakes myself!

I embellished the mini cheesecakes by creating two layers- vanilla and chocolate. Not only is the two-tone result gorgeous, the bit of chocolate cheesecake in each bite adds even more decadence!


Mini Black-and-White Cheesecakes (modified from allrecipes.com)
serves 12

1 cup crushed wafer cookies
2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. 
2. Combine crushed cookie crumbs and butter, then press a tablespoon into each muffin tin. 
3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Then beat in sugar, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until smooth. Divide cream cheese mixture into 2 equal parts. Melt chocolate chips until smooth, and stir into one part of the cream cheese mixture.
4. Evenly divide regular cream cheese mixture between muffin tins. Then evenly spoon chocolate cream cheese mixture on top. 
5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, until center of each cheesecake is just wobbly and outside of cheesecake is firm. Remove from oven and cool. Serve chilled with fresh fruit and powder sugar. 

More pictures... drooling may commence! 

molten chocolate lava cakes

I was on total chocolate craze last month. Hmm... it aligned perfectly with exam schedules, coincidence? Then as if it was meant to be, I discovered this chocolate lava cake recipe from foodwishes.blogspot.com. As if the universe was telling me to eat more chocolate! For those who have never had molten chocolate lava cakes, you have been missing out! The recipe utilized ingredients I already had and consisted only of 3 steps! Easy and delicious! You can be having your own chocolate lava cakes in a short 60 minutes! What are you waiting for? :)

As an aside, I love foodwishes.blogspot.com! The blogger makes video recipes, so you can see every step in action. It's perfect for those of us who don't quite know what "stiff peaks" or "curdled mixture" looks like.

So far, I have baked this cake 3 times. The first time it was absolute perfection, with the gooey chocolate-y inside. However, the second time, I was impatient and under-baked the cake; needless to say, it completely collapsed once I slid it out of the ramekin. Ben ate the molten chocolate all the same, when do you pass on molten warm gooey chocolate?! And the third time, I used metal muffin tins rather than ramekins and the cakes turned out overbaked. I guess I'm still working on my timing. Ideally, the cakes are done when the center of each cake is a bit jiggly, indicating the creamy, not-completely-baked insides. So, take the listed baking time as a suggestion... baking times can vary depending on your oven and the type of baking pan you used (metal or ceramic).

Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
5 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. sugar
3.5 oz. dark chocolate
3 tbsp. flour
4 tsp. cocoa powder
A pinch of salt
1/8 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Butter 4 small ramekins, and set aside. Whisk eggs, egg yolks, and sugar until mixture is light and foamy. 
2. Melt dark chocolate and butter in microwave until just melted (20-30 seconds). Stir chocolate into egg mixture. Sift cocoa powder, flour, and salt into mixture. Fill ramekins with mixture. 
3. Cover ramekins with ceramic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 
4. Place ramekins in deep baking dish, and fill baking dish halfway with hot water. Bake at 425 degrees F. for 15 to 18 minutes. Remove from oven, run a knife along outside of the cake to detach cake from ramekin, and turn upside down to remove cake from ramekins. Dust with powder sugar prior to serving. 

Loving myself some chocolate!