Red Velvet Cuppies

I always see red velvet cupcakes sold in stores but never really feel like trying them. Its always the usual pick of vanilla or chocolate cupcakes....how boring yeah. Its a friend's request that trigger me to try and make this cuppies and at the same time wondering...what is the real taste of this red velvet as the name sounds very luxurious to me.

I actually tried baking them using the recipe that my friend forwarded but the result was a disaster and the trash bin was happy to gulp them all. Sigh........... Not wanting to give up, I tried again using a recipe I found from someone's blog. It taste not too bad but the ingredients list was just too long and it wasn't simple to make, too many steps. Still not very happy about this and since I was down town yesterday, I decided to buy the red velvet cupcakes from a reputable store here to taste theirs and to compare with my produce. You cant go wrong isn't it buying from a famous bakery to find out how the real taste should be.

Finally today, after my 3rd attempt, I was very pleased with the outcome. My little testers at home said to me that it tasted better than the ones I bought yesterday........Kids are innocent alright so I am sure their comments are true...hahahahahaha

Got this recipe from Wilton

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons Red (no-taste) Icing Color
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line standard muffin pan with baking cups. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, icing color and vanilla extract; mix well until icing color is well incorporated (scraping down sides of bowl when necessary). Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture; add water and mix well. In small bowl, combine white vinegar and baking soda; gently stir into cupcake mixture. Spoon into baking cups. Bake 20-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in pan on cooling rack for 5-8 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely

For the Cream Cheese Topping, here's what I used:-

Cream Cheese Topping

250 gram Philadelphia cream cheese
100 gram unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Instructions:

Beat cream cheese and butter till light and fluffy. Add the vanilla essence and mix well.
Add the icing sugar and beat well. Spread on your cake.