ABC-Cooking

Cooking is really something that help people to get closer, if people already are happy to be with each other, cooking is just an other excuse to have fun together. Try

Last tuesday was the starting point of a weekly routine my friend Nathalie and I want to settle. She’s the happy owner of a KitchenAid stand mixer, so we have to make it work a little bit. Of course, it is NOT essential to have one, it just make the process easier (and help not to have a wrist tendonitis !)

For this first try, we wanted to start with something that united us since the first time we met: cupcakes ! Indeed, Nathalie have bought some cupcakes in THE cupcakes shop of Vancouver. We didn’t make any recipe: we chose to bake the famous Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe.Do you know it ? Imagine… some red cupcakes, deliciously flavoured with cocoa and frosted with a snowy white fluffy vanilla topping. Yum Yum Yummy !

Usually, these cupcakes are cooked around Valentine’s day period, but because we are nothing less than rebels, we decided there is no specific moment to cook Red Velvet Cupcakes ! Oh YEAH !

I chose the recipe from the famous US bakery Magnolia bakery (located in NYC), well known for their delicious cupcakes (apparently, there is sometimes a line on the sidewalk, from people who are waiting to buy their cupcakes!). They (obviously) published some books with recipes: The Magnolia Bakery Cookbook: Old-Fashioned Recipes From New York’s Sweetest Bakery and More from Magnolia:
Recipes from the World-Famous Bakery and Allysa Torey’s Home Kitchen. The recipe can be found on epicurious.com.

The frosting is awsome ! White, smooth, fluffy, a little bit crunshy thanks to the granulated sugar used instead of the usual icing sugar (I dislike icing sugar), perfectly flavoured… But the quantities are high for cupcakes, so I’ll make an other cake just for the frosting, something to enlight it (any ideas ?).

Baking soda and vinegar are there to pop the red food coloring. Nothing less, nothing more.

We could think that this recipe needs a lot of bowls, but just wash it as the recipe go and reuse it.

We made about 30 to 40 cupcakes. It’s possible to freeze them BEFORE to put the frosting on it.

Ingredients for the cupcakes:

• 3 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons red food coloring
• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Ingredients for the vanilla frosting:

• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• 2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

First, make the cupcakes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Put some cupcakes paper liners in the pans.

In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla.
Add to the batter and beat well.

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat.

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well.
Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans. Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let the layers cool in the pans for 15 minutes.
Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

While it’s cooking and then cooling, prepare the frosting:

In a medium-size saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth.
Place over medium heat and, stirring constantly, cook until the mixture becomes very thick and begins to bubble, 10-15 minutes.
Cover with waxed paper placed directly on the surface and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

In a large bowl, on the medium high speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter for 3 minutes, until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously for 3 minutes until fluffy.
Add the vanilla and beat well.

Add the cooled milk mixture, and continue to beat on the medium high speed for 5 minutes, until very smooth and noticeably whiter in color.
Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (no less and no longer—set a timer!).

Ice the cupcakes thanks to an icing bag.

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