Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

3/4 cup  all-purpose flour

3/4 cup  whole-wheat pastry flour

1/4 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

2 teaspoons  baking powder

1/2 teaspoon  salt

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons  sugar

6 tablespoons  cold unsalted butter, cut into chunks (see Cake-Baking Tips)

2   large eggs, at room temperature (see Cake-Baking Tips), separated

2 teaspoons  vanilla extract

1/2 ounce  red food coloring, (4 teaspoons), optional (see Ingredient note)

1 cup  nonfat buttermilk

12 ounces  soft light cream cheese

3/4 cup  confectioners' sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons  vanilla extract

1/2-1 ounce  chocolate, grated, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray.

2. Whisk all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Beat sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until crumbly, about 2 minutes. Beat in egg yolks one at a time, then vanilla and food coloring (if using) until smooth.

4. Beat in half the buttermilk on low speed until smooth, then half the flour mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the remaining buttermilk. Beat in the remaining flour mixture just until combined.

5. Clean and dry beaters. Beat egg whites in a clean medium bowl at high speed until soft peaks form. With a rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the batter until just incorporated, using long, even strokes. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, spreading to the edges. Gently rap the pans against the counter once or twice to settle the batter.

6. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert the layers onto the rack, remove the pans and let cool to room temperature, about 45 minutes more.

7. To prepare frosting & assemble cake: Beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Place one cake layer top-side down on a serving plate; cover with half the frosting, spreading just to the edges. Set the second layer on top, top-side down. Spread the remaining frosting on the top only. Sprinkle with grated chocolate, if desired.

Tips:
Cake-Baking Tips: When using cake pans, they must be greased and floured to create a thin layer of protection against the oven's heat. For greater convenience, use a cooking spray that has flour in the mix, such as Pam for Baking, Baker's Joy or Crisco No-Stick Flour Spray.

Whole-wheat pastry flour has less gluten-forming potential than regular whole-wheat flour, making it a better choice for tender baked goods.

To properly measure flour when baking, use a spoon to lightly scoop flour from its container into a measuring cup. Once in the measuring cup, use a knife or other straight edge to level the flour with the top of the cup. If the measuring cup is dipped directly into the container - a common mistake - the flour will be packed into the cup and result in extra flour being added to the recipe, yielding tough, dense baked goods.

Room-temperature butter for a batter is one of the biggest culinary missteps. In fact, butter must be below 68 degrees F to trap air molecules and build structure. Otherwise, the fat will be liquefied and the cake will be flat. To get "cool" butter: Cut refrigerated butter into chunks and let them sit in a bowl for 5 minutes before beating.

Eggs must be at room temperature for the proteins to unwind enough to support the cake's crumb. Either set the eggs out on the counter for 15 minutes or submerge them in their shells in a bowl of lukewarm (not hot) water for 5 minutes.

Although you cannot overbeat the eggs, sugar and butter, you can overbeat the flour. If you do, you'll develop the gluten and create a quick bread rather than a layer cake. Beat the flour just until there are no white grains of undissolved flour visible but not until the batter is smooth.

Ingredient Note: If you prefer not to use food dye, you can omit it completely: just add 4 more teaspoons of buttermilk to the batter (your cake will, however, be more brown than red). Natural food dyes, while less vibrant than conventional dyes, are chemical-, lactose- and gluten-free, but they vary widely in availability. Check for them at your local natural-foods store.

 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

 

With its bright red color, Red Velvet Cake always invokes a reaction. For more fun, turn this chocolate cake recipe into cupcakes by baking the batter in muffin cups. Frost them with chocolate or vanilla icing, or some of each.

             

3/4 cup  sour cream

2/3 cup  oil

2-1/2 cups  self-rising flour (such as Presto)

1/4 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder

1-1/2 cups  sugar

2   eggs

1   bottle (1 ounce) red food coloring

1 teaspoon  vanilla extract

1 can  (1 pound) prepared vanilla icing

  Additional red food coloring

1 can  (1 pound) prepared chocolate icing

 

Directions

1. Line standard-size muffin pans with 18 cupcake liners. Heat oven to 350 degree F.

2. In a large bowl, whisk sour cream and oil (it will look curdled). Sift flour and cocoa powder into the bowl. Add sugar. Beat until just moistened. Add eggs and beat on medium-high for 2 minutes, until smooth and fluid. Stir in bottle of food coloring and vanilla. Fill liners 2/3 full.

3. Bake cupcakes at 350 degree F for 22 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes; then remove cupcakes and let cool completely on rack.

4. Tint vanilla frosting light pink. Frost half the cupcakes with chocolate icing, half with pink icing. Chill slightly before serving. Makes 18 cupcakes.

 

Red-Velvet Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 cup  all-purpose flour

3/4 cup  sugar

1/4 cup  unsweetened natural cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon  baking soda

1   large egg

3/4 cup  vegetable oil

1/2 cup  buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon  white distilled vinegar

1/2 teaspoon  vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons  red food coloring

1   recipe Cream-Cheese Icing (Recipe follows.)

  Garnish: sliced almonds, cupcake crumbs

Cream-Cheese Icing

1 (8-ounce) package  cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup  confectioners' sugar

1/8 teaspoon  vanilla extract

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

2. In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda.

3. Add egg, oil, buttermilk, vinegar, and vanilla and beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until combined.

4. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.

5. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted near center comes out clean.

6. Cool for 10 minutes in pan. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool completely on wire racks. Reserve crumbs from edges of cupcakes for garnish. Frost cooled cupcakes with Cream-Cheese Icing.

7. Garnish with sliced almonds and reserved crumbs.

 

Giant Cupcake

Ingredients

  Cake:

3 cups  all-purpose flour

1/4 cup  poppy seeds

3/4 teaspoon  baking soda

1/2 teaspoon  salt

1 cup (2 sticks)  unsalted butter, softened

1/2 of an 8-ounce package  cream cheese, softened (save other half for frosting)

2 cups  granulated sugar

3   large eggs

3/4 cup  buttermilk

1/4 cup  fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons  fresh grated lemon zest

  Glaze:

3 cups  confectioners' sugar

4 tablespoons  lemon juice

2   drops blue food coloring

  Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick)  unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces  cream cheese, softened

2 cups  confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon  fresh lemon juice

 

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degree F. Grease and flour giant cupcake pan (find it here: familycircle.com/pan) and set aside.

2. Cake: Whisk together flour, poppy seeds, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

3. Beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add granulated sugar and beat on medium until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each until well combined.

4. Combine the buttermilk, lemon juice and zest in a liquid measuring cup. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, to the butter mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until just blended.

5. Divide batter evenly between prepared pan halves. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, about 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack and cool 10 minutes. Invert; cool completely.

6. Trim cakes if necessary. Place bottom part of the cupcake on a wire rack over a jelly roll pan, top-side down.

7. Make Glaze: In a medium-size bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice and food coloring until smooth. Pour glaze over the bottom half of cake to cover completely; use a spatula to help spread it onto side of cake. Let dry 5 minutes, then repeat, scraping up glaze from the pan and reusing excess. Let stand until glaze is set, about 15 minutes.

8. Meanwhile, make Frosting: In a large bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese. Add the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice and beat on low speed until smooth and good spreading consistency.

9. Turn over cupcake bottom and spread with a little frosting. Attach top of cupcake (trimmed level if needed) and spread with remaining frosting. Decorate with berries and sprinkles and add candles or sparklers, if desired.

 

Molten Chocolate Cupcakes

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup   whipping cream

1 cup   semisweet chocolate chips

1 box   Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® devil's food cake mix

1 cup   water

1/3 cup   vegetable oil

3   eggs

1 container   Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy chocolate frosting

  Powdered sugar

  Sliced strawberries

Directions

1. In 1-quart saucepan, heat whipping cream over medium-high heat until hot but not boiling. Stir in chocolate chips until melted and mixture is smooth. Refrigerate about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until thick.

2. Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease and flour or spray with baking spray with flour 18 large (2 3/4x1 1/4-inch) muffin cups. In large bowl, beat cake mix, water, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl constantly. Place 1/4 cup batter in each muffin cup. Spoon 1 tablespoon cold chocolate mixture on top of batter in center of each cup.

3. Bake 18 to 22 minutes or until top springs back when lightly touched. Cool 1 minute. Carefully remove from pan; place on parchment paper. Cool 10 minutes. Frost with chocolate frosting. Just before serving, dust with powdered sugar. Garnish with strawberry slices. Serve warm.