Hi! Hello! I’m so sorry I’ve been gone! It turns out that working full time while planning a wedding and trying to run a blog is very hard! But I’m back, and I promise today I’m going to make my absence up to you beautiful sugar fiends.
Behold! The pink velvet cupcake. It’s insanely easy and really only requires two bowls if you can believe it! This is my recipe for red velvet, just…pink. I posted the original red velvet around Halloween, but what the hey. My boss is having twin girls (can you imagine?) and tomorrow is her baby shower so like, duh, obviously I’m going to bake for it. I *also* got to play with one of the most awesome toys from my shower, a multi-chambered frosting coupler. You’ll see. Stuff’s gonna get weird.
Pink Velvet Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS:
CUPCAKE:
- 1 1/4 cup AP flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, room temp*
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 1 tbsp pink food dye (or red, or blue…whatever color you’re using!)
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
*if you don’t have buttermilk, add 1/2 tsp white vinegar to 1/2 cup milk and let stand for 10 minutes – voila!
FROSTING:
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp
- 1 stick butter, room temp
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12-cup pan with cupcake liners
I double lined these because it’s a special occasion, and also because I have a rather large collection of liners. - In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder
Major key to success. - In a slightly larger bowl, beat together oil, buttermilk, egg, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring.
It will look kind of gross, and kind of like a something you would find in a cauldron. TRUST IN ME. - Combine the dry ingredients with the wet in thirds until it is smooth and well-mixed.
Well, you get the idea. - Using a 1/4 measuring cup, divide the batter evenly between the cups. I have fancy cupcake measuring spoons, but a measuring cups works juuust as well.
Soon, my precious… - Bake the cupcakes for 20-22 minutes, rotating halfway through and checking in center for doneness with a toothpick.
- Remove the cupcakes from the oven, let them cool in the pan for 2 minutes, and move to a cooling rack to cool complete.
AND NOW FOR THE BEST PART OF ANY _____ VELVET CUPCAKE – THE FROSTING!
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, vanilla, and butter together until it is smooth.
Prepare yourselves. - Gradually add the powdered sugar on low speed until all of it is combined with the wet mixture
I’M LIKE HEY WASSUP HELLO - If your frosting seems kind of tacky, you can add a little bit of milk to smooth it out. I wouldn’t recommend heavy cream, because this frosting is already heavy like whoa.
- Using a knife, offset spatula, or piping tip of your choosing decorate the cupcakes!
At this point, most normal people would stop and eat all of their cupcakes. But I have a kitchen full of baking gadgets and very minimal down time. 
This is a Wilton Color Swirl. No, not sponsored – just FYI. It is exactly what it looks like. So I decided hey, why not experiment and make some kind of pink ombre floo floo nonsense for these babies?
And ombre frost I did.
There you have it! A velvet for any occasion.
-Nicole
The War On Fondant 