Red Velvet Cupcakes

 

Dark Chocolate
Red Wine
Cream Cheese

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These three ingredients make an extraordinary Red Velvet Cupcake.
A perfect treat for Valentine’s Day!

To my knowledge, there are just a few recipes ‘out there’ that suggest using red wine as the ‘red’ ingredient in Red Velvet Cupcakes.   Most recipes for this dessert use red food colouring; most recipes emphasize the vanilla flavouring, as opposed to a rich dark chocolate experience.   Recently, a recipe by Canadian Chef, Stefano Faita, suggested red wine as the red ingredient. With my curiosity fully piqued, inspiration continued to blossom as I wandered down the aisle of our local wine store …a label caught my eye.  As a loyal supporter of California wines, I was already familiar with the Cupcake sipping experience…

… and now I had visions of another beautiful way to use this lovely wine.

Top it off with the elegant and unique flavour of a cream cheese frosting, and you will have an exquisite dessert experience.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Prep Time: 15 minutes                           Baking Time: 20-25 minutes
Yield: 18 cupcakes

Ingredients:

235 g (1 ¾ cups) cake and pastry flour
½ cup (125 mL) cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking soda
1 teaspoon (5 mL) baking powder
½ teaspoon (2.5 mL) salt

2 large eggs, at room temperature
375 mL (1 ½ cups) granulated sugar
160 mL (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
1 cup Cupcake Red Velvet wine, or another dry red wine
1 tablespoon (15 mL) pure vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

 Method:

1. Prepare a standard muffin pan by lining each cup with cupcake liners. Preheat oven to 350 ⁰F  (180 ⁰C).
2. In a bowl, combine flour, sifted cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.  Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, with a mixer, beat together the eggs, sugar, and oil until well combined.   Mix in red wine and vanilla.
4. Slowly beat in flour mixture. Mix until just combined.
5. Fill each cupcake liner with batter to about 2/3 full.
6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
7. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large bowl, with a mixer, beat together 8 ounces (1 large package) of cream cheese with ¼ cup unsalted butter until smooth and fluffy. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt, 2 teaspoons vanilla, and 2 tablespoons of heavy cream.   Begin to slowly add up to 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar. Continue to mix together until frosting is smooth and will hold its shape. More sugar may be needed.  This would be where you could use a little red food colouring to create a pink blush to the frosting. Use a piping bag to decoratively frost the cupcakes.   Sprinkles of red sugar complete the project.

Pull back the cupcake liner and enjoy!

 

Comments or questions are always welcome       alex@chilipeppersandpears.com