Red Velvet Cupcakes With Cream Cheese Frosting

With Valentine's day so nearby, Red Velvet Cupcakes are a perfect treat to make! The red cake has a slight cocoa flavour that's delicious and it has a wonderful light texture. Additionally, it's topped with a tangy cream cheese frosting. I followed the recipe from the all-famous Joy of Baking website, which is an incredibly accurate recipe, because it makes 12 cupcakes as the recipe states, and because it makes enough frosting to generously top the cupcakes. I even had frosting leftover.



As I said, the cake was exceptionally light. This is because of a technique I have never heard of before, where once the batter is made, you add a 1/2 tsp of white vinegar to a 1/2 tsp of baking soda so that it foams, and then fold it into the mixture. I don't understand the science of this entirely, but I think that the chemical reaction makes the air bubbles in the cake larger, hence a fluffier cake.



I've had a challenging time often with getting an icing that pipes well, but the cream cheese frosting in this recipe was a cinch to make and pipe. I think the pipeability (not a word, but I like it) factor comes from the fact that a main component is whipping cream, which you whip with the softened cream cheese, vanilla extract, and confectioner's sugar. This is my favourite cream cheese icing that I've made and will use it with all things that require a frosting of that nature.



If you choose to make these, don't forget to add something festive to these luscious desserts! I added a nice cinnamon heart to the top of each cupcake for some festivity.