Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes
I found this recipe on a blog while I was coasting around like a shark looking to see what I could capture. It's a very good red velvet recipe; I particularly like that it calls for 2 ozs. of the red coloring. It comes out a beautiful red.
Ingredients
2-1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teasp. baking powder
3/4 teasp. salt
2 Tbs. unsweetened cocoa
2 ozs. (2 bottles) red food coloring (tasteless)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda
Directions
Oven at 350 degrees. Use 2 - 12 cup muffin pans for regular cupcakes,2 - 24 cup muffin pans for minis. Line with stiff textured cupcake liners.
Sift flour, baking powder, salt into mixing bowl. In smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa to form a thin paste without lumps.
Beat butter and sugar (3 mins.). Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add 1/3 of flour mix to butter mix, beat slowly well, then beat in 1/2 of buttermilk. Beat in another 3rd of flour, then 2nd half of buttermilk. Beat in last 1/3 of flour mix, until well combined.
In small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Add to cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cups a little under 3/4 full.
Bake about 20 minutes for full size, about 16 mins for minis, rotating pans. Use spring up test or toothpick test. Cool in tins on wire rack for 10 mins. then remove. Cool completely before frosting.
Bench notes - Buy the Wilton taste-free red coloring (the regular red coloring will give the cupcakes a metallic flavor as one has to use so much of it.)For minis bake about 16 mins. Use 1 level Tbs. batter for each cup. Put some oil or crisco on edges of cups so any overflow does not stick; use stiff cupcake cups - the dough is quite thin and light paper cups will not hold it well.Cups must be a little under 3/4 full.
