Red Velvet Cupcakes

One of my baking goals for 2011 was to make a Red Velvet Cake. I haven't gotten around to it, but tonight I made Red Velvet Cupcakes, which is pretty close. This recipe is from The Athlete's Palate Cookbook, which is a cookbook I ordered from Runner's World Magazine. It's a darn good cookbook filled with a lot of great pre and post running recipes.

One thing to note: when a Red Velvet recipe calls for 2 tbs of red food coloring and you think, "oh, I don't need that much - that sounds like a lot" - trust me, you need that much. My cupcakes are not nearly as red as I wanted them to be. Luckily, that doesn't take away from the flavor. Now I know for next time.

Red Velvet Cupcakes (by Beth Pilar and Ellen Sternau from The Athlete Palate's Cookbook)
Ingredients:

Cupcakes:
1.5 cups sugar
2.5 cups cake flour
2 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
2 tbs red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp vinegar

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1.5 tsp vanilla

Cupcakes:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin pans with paper liners, or grease well. Mix the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium-size bowl.

2. Mix the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar together in a separate bowl. Pour into dry mixture and stir until combined.

3. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cupcakes spring back from the touch. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10-15 minutes. Then, remove to the rack and cool completely.

Frosting:
1. Mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla.

2. Frost the cooled cupcakes using a piping bag fitted with a star-shaped tip, or use a small spatula.

Make 24 cupcakes at 290 calories each.