Red Velvet Cupcakes

I'm not sure if I love cupcakes or frosting more.  I think maybe the cream cheese frosting but you can't just eat that by itself, you gotta make the cake too, right?  Anyways,  I went to a birthday party over the weekend and there were red velvet cupcakes there.  My daughter loves cupcakes, what kid doesn't.  As soon as we got home she started asking when we could make cupcakes.  So the next day I went out and grabbed a few ingredients and we got to work.  She had so much fun filling the pastry bag with frosting and frosting her own cupcakes.  It was hard to convince her of why she could only eat one cupcake.  You would think a little 4 year old girl couldn't eat more than one in a day but I tell you what, I bet she could eat an entire dozen if I let her!  She was so impressed with her frosting abilities that when I started taking pictures for my blog she asked if she could take pictures of her cupcakes and put them on my blog too.  How can I deny such a request?  So below is not only a picture of the two cupcakes she frosted, but she also took the picture herself just for my blog.   

 Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 1/4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 3/4 c. granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

3 eggs

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring

1 1/4 teaspoons white vinegar

1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/8 cup water

Cream Cheese Frosting * recipe below

The cupcakes my daughter frosted herself.

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.  Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside.  In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.   

Cream Cheese Frosting:

2 sticks melted butter

6 c. powdered sugar

8 oz. cream cheese (room temp.)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Melt butter and add to a mixer with paddle attachment with room temperature cream cheese and mix to combine.  Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.  If too thick add a splash of milk, if too thin add more powdered sugar.  Mix until well combined and lump free.  

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