British Velvet

Since I'm a passionate baker and I like to experiment with different recipies to finally find the perfect one, here is the recipy for absolutely divine Red Velvet cupcakes. The dough is from Nigella's book and the frosting my own invention.

Cupcakes:


250g/ 8 oz plain flour


2  tbsp/ 30 mL cocoa powder


2 tsp/ 10 mL baking powder


½ tsp/ 2 mL baking soda


100g / 3 1/2 oz soft, unsalted butter


200g / 7 oz sugar


1 heaped tbsp/ 15 mL red gel food colouring (it may take more!)

2 tsp/ 10 mL vanilla essence


2 eggs


175 ml/ 3/4  cup buttermilk


1 tsp/ 5 mL cider vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C / 325 degrees F and line muffin tin with (24) paper cases.

2. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl.

3. In another bowl, cream butter and sugar, beating well, and when you have a soft pale mixture, beat in food colouring and vanilla.

4. Into this vividly coloured mixture, still beating, add 1 spoonful of the dried ingredients, then 1 egg, followed by some more dried ingredients, then the other egg, followed by the rest of the dried ingredients.

5. Finally, beat in the buttermilk and cider vinegar and divide the batter between the cases.

6. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, by which time the redcurrant sorbet-coloured batter will have morphed into a more sombre, but still juicily tinted, sponge.

7. Leave the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack and do not ice with the frosting until absolutely cold.

Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese (I use Philadelphia)

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2½ cups powder sugar

1 tsp. gelatine (you can skip it if you want to simply have some frosting in an irregular shape on the top of the cupcake and not extraordinery decorated)

1. Heat some water and let the gelatine melt in it.

2. Combine butter and cream cheese until smooth

3. Gradually add sugar

4. Add vanilla and gelatine

5. Decorate you cupcakes :) (I also put the blue royal icing hearts on the top to achieve the union jack effect :)