Red Velvets

Being bored has its perks & drawbacks. Well huge drawbacks - weight gain!!!

As I said being bored has its perks: catching up with the latest news, getting rest, fixing my room, eating, & discovering new stuff. One of the new things that I got to do for the last leg of my summer vacation was to bake all sorts of stuff, that includes cupcakes.

I have always wanted to make red velvet cakes but I see cakes to be a bit tedious so instead I made cupcakes!!!

On my first take of baking these delicate cupcakes I burned the bottom and did not really do a buttercream frosting instead I did a weird sweet butter topping.

I would really like to thank Ming Makes Cupcakes for the original recipe (I tweaked some elements on my recipe), my family totally loved it!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

For the Cupcakes you need:

1 1/4 cup flour (all purpose flour could do)

3/4 cup sugar (brown sugar in my case)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp cocoa powder (in my case I pulverized semisweet chocolate)

3/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup buttermilk (a substitute of milk & vinegar should do the trick; ratio - 1:1)

1 egg

1 tbsp red food coloring

1/2 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

Sift together the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, & cocoa powder in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, food coloring, vinegar, & vanilla. Now add the

wet concoction

to the

dry mixture

gradually while mixing at medium speed until mixture is just combined and at smooth & gooey consistency. Fill the cupcake liners. Bake in a preheated oven at 175C for 15 to 20 minutes. To be sure that the cupcakes had been baked, poke a toothpick in the cupcakes and if it comes out clean then it's ready.

For the Buttercream Frosting:

1 stick room temp. butter (1/2 cup or 8 tbsp)
2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
a dash of almond extract

Cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar, milk, vanilla, & almond extract then beat until spreadable consistency. This will yield a pale yellow-white mixture. Just wait for the cupcakes to cool then you can frost. You can use a plastic spatula or a piping bag to frost (I used spatula).

Voila!!! You now have delicious red velvet cupcakes topped with buttercream frosting. This recipe should make at least 12 cupcakes. :)

LATER!!!

Cupcake Comebacks

Been on a hiatus since February because of the many projects and activities that I have been busy with because of college.

I am currently at my room sitting at the foot of my bed with the laptop in front of me thinking of clever things to say on this blog while watching a rerun of Gossip Girl's episode last week - The Unblairable Lightness of Being, on ETC. Oh well, what a tiring and sweltering hot summer this has become and to beat the summer heat is to stay cool by creating delectable desserts like CUPCAKES!!!

I have been a secret aspiring foodie and chef, showcasing my cooking (dare I say it) prowess to my family and the dishes that they enjoyed (hopefully) were my desserts. In the past I did Choco Cakes, Panna Cottas, Fruit Cakes and cookies, now I would want to venture on creating cutesy cupcakes.

I recently stumbled upon Ming Makes Cupcakes, as Refinery29 would describe it: a veritable goldmine of cupcake porn you can salivate over and then attempt to recreate. It is truly a dessert lovers site aiming to recreate Cupcakes by Sonja. Ming doesn't only make cupcakes he also makes cookies and savory snacks for those with aversion to cupcakes.

Just look at these delectable delights, aren't they scrumptious!

Pictures from: Ming Makes Cupcakes

Makes me want to make some right now but unfortunately its getting late (2:00 in the morning!!!) and I'm dozing off.

LATER!!!! =D