RECIPE: BLUE VELVET CUPCAKES

bright blue batter
darkens down when baked

I lack the ability to keep anything simple.

I recently volunteered to make cupcakes for a baby shower. Our co-worker is expecting a boy so the general consensus was for blue icing.

Being me, I decided to take the opportunity to experiment and tweaked my red velvet cake recipe to make blue cupcakes instead.

There's a misconception that red velvet cake is simply a white cake with red food colouring.

The main ingredients in a red velvet cake are dutch processed cocoa powder, vinegar and buttermilk.

cocoa powder
natural vs. dutch processed

Traditional red velvet cake is reddish brown; not the vibrant red that we all know it by now. Dutch processed cocoa powder is treated with an alkalizing agent which gives it just a hint of red colouring and a smoother, milder flavour compared to natural cocoa powder.

The alkali renders the powder neutral so, unlike natural cocoa powder, dutch processed powder will not activate the leavening agent (the thing that makes the cake rise) in the baking soda which is where the vinegar comes into play.

The very last step in any velvet cake is mixing the baking soda with vinegar and then folding this foaming mixture into the batter. It is important to use fresh baking soda (no more than 30 days old) in this step or you run the risk of falling cake syndrome.

And finally, buttermilk is what gives velvet cake its legendary moist and fine crumb.

making 2 types of cupcakes? extra batter? make an extra cake! 

Most recipes I've seen use food colour which is liquid based. I prefer using icing colouring which is gel based (to avoid making your icing too runny for decorating) for a more vibrant colour. Icing colouring is much more potent than regular food colouring; a little bit goes a long way! To make up for the liquid deficit, I like substituting some sour cream for an incredibly creamy and moist finished product.

I am happy to report: the cupcakes were a smashing success!

What's your go-to for deliciously moist cupcakes?

Yields: A 3 tier 8 inch cake or 24 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

Blue velvet cupcakes with white icing
& white mini's with blue icing

• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 3 eggs 
• 1 tablespoon dutch processed cocoa powder 
• 1 tablespoon blue icing colouring 
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 cup buttermilk 
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1 tablespoon vinegar

BUTTERCREAM ICING

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
• 4 1/2 cups icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 

DIRECTIONS

CAKE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
2.  Grease and flour 3 (8-inch) round pans or use cupcake liners 
3. In a mixing bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 2 cups sugar, mix until light and fluffy
4. Add the eggs 1 at a time and mix well after each addition
5. In a seperate bowl, mix 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 tablespoon icing colouring and 1 tablespoon sour cream together to make a paste
6. Then add the cocoa powder paste to the creamed sugar mixture; mix well
7. Sift together 2 1/2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt
8. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with 1 cup buttermilk
9. Blend in 1 teaspoon vanilla
10. In the bowl used to make the cocoa powder paste, combine 1/2 teaspoon baking soda and 1 tablespoon vinegar to make a foam mixture
11. Then fold the vinegar foam mixture into the batter
12. Pour batter into pans. Bake 15 minutes for cupcakes (25 minutes for cake), or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
13. Remove from heat and cool completely before frosting.

BUTTERCREAM ICING

1. Cream together 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter and 4 1/2 cups sugar
2. Mix in 3 tablespoons heavy cream
3. Mix in 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract