Red Velvet Cupcakes

Nothing vegetable about this-- the only cupcake left of two dozen (in two days.)

Craving cupcakes (and needing to bake for the medical school talent show bake sale), I turned to the New York Times (via The Confetti Cakes Cookbook by Elisa Strauss) for this delectable recipe:

Red Velvet Cake

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/dining/141vrex.html

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3½ cups cake flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 cups canola oil
2¼ cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring
1½ teaspoons vanilla
1¼ cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons baking soda
2½ teaspoons white vinegar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place teaspoon of butter in each of 3 round 9-inch layer cake pans and place pans in oven for a few minutes until butter melts. Remove pans from oven, brush interior bottom and sides of each with butter and line bottoms with parchment.

2. Whisk cake flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.

3. Place oil and sugar in bowl of an electric mixer and beat at medium speed until well-blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. With machine on low, very slowly add red food coloring. (Take care: it may splash.) Add vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk in two batches. Scrape down bowl and beat just long enough to combine.

4. Place baking soda in a small dish, stir in vinegar and add to batter with machine running. Beat for 10 seconds.

5. Divide batter among pans, place in oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes (or about 30 minutes for cupcakes). Let cool in pans 20 minutes. Then remove from pans, flip layers over and peel off parchment. Cool completely before frosting.

Yield: 3 cake layers (or about 30 generous cupcakes.)

and...

Red Velvet Cake Icing

(NYTimes via The Waldorf-Astoria Cookbook by John Doherty with John Harrison)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/14/dining/142vrex.html

Ingredients:

2 cups heavy cream, cold

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

12 ounces mascarpone (I used 15 ounces of "Farmer's Cheese" which was soft and came in a tub)

½ teaspoon vanilla

1½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted.

Directions:

1. Softly whip cream by hand, in electric mixer or in food processor. Cover in bowl and refrigerate.

2. Blend cream cheese and mascarpone in food processor or electric mixer until smooth. Add vanilla, pulse briefly, and add confectioners’ sugar. Blend well.

3. Transfer cream cheese mixture to bowl; fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate until needed.

Yield: Icing for top and sides of 3-layer cake (or bucket loads of cupcakes, piled to overflowing).

(Don't forget the sprinkles. Amazing.)