Scrummy Sunday: Red Velvet Cupcakes!

So I had a fairly busy weekend entertaining my old housemate from university who I haven't seen in aaaaages! We did lots of touristy things as is required when people visit London and one of my favourite things to take people to is the food court in Harrods! My visitor this weekend, like me, fully appreciates marvellous food in all it's glory and we had such a lovely time yesterday! My favourite purchase there was one of their mini red velvet cupcakes and I cannot begin to explain how amazing it was. Here is me about to eat it in one bite:

They're so cute and tiny! I especially love red velvet because they're not too sweet because of the cream cheese frosting and they always look so fancy with the red sponge! The recipe I use to make them myself is from one of the Hummingbird Bakery cookbooks (if you haven't been to a Hummingbird Bakery yet then I suggest you find one immediately! There's 5 in various places in London. If you don't live in London, I apologise for your misfortune, but you can buy the book and make the cakes yourself! You may buy them here!) This recipe is literally heaven in cake form. To start, preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F and you'll need a 12-hold cake tray and some pretty cake cases (here is where I buy a lot of mine. I actually really like the silicone ones because you can use them again but there's lots of cute themed ones too :)

1. Put 60g of butter and 150g of caster sugar in an electric mixer (or use a handheld whisk OR use a good old fashioned wooden spoon and get those guns out!) and whisk together until light and fluffy. Turn the whisks up to a higher speed or move your arm faster, slowly add one egg and beat until everything is mixed well.

2. In another bowl mix together 10g of cocoa powder, 20ml red food colouring and ½ tsp of vanilla extract to make a thick paste. Add it to the butter mixture and mix well until it's all red. Turn the whisk down to a slow speed and slowly pour in 60ml of buttermilk. Then add 75g of plain flour and mix well. Repeat this again, adding 60ml of buttermilk and another 75g of plain flour, mixing well until it's all yummy and velvety!

3. Finally add ½ tsp of salt, ½ tsp of bicarbonate of soda and 1½ tsp of white wine vinegar (I know it's weird but have faith). Then turn up the speed again and mix for a few more minutes.

4. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases (I actually like to use a little ice cream scoop because then the cakes are all the same size and shape!) Make sure the cases are about two thirds full. Bake for about 20-25 minutes until the sponge is all bouncy. Then leave them to cool on a cooling rack.

5. For the cream cheese frosting, beat 300g of icing sugar and 50g of unsalted butter, with a whisk or by hand. Add 125g of cold cream cheese and mix well until is it light and fluffy which normally takes about 5 minutes. Don't over mix it because it will become too liquidy. When the cakes are cold you can spoon some frosting on top or use a piping bag to make them look all pretty. Edible glitter or red sugar sprinkles looks nice too (here's where I get my edible glitter! FYI put it just before serving the cupcakes because it melts really quickly and goes into the icing!)

Happy Baking!