Red Velvet Brains Cupcakes
- Level: Intermediate
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 670
- Total Fat
- 36
- Saturated Fat
- 7
- Carbohydrates
- 84
- Dietary Fiber
- 1
- Sugar
- 63
- Protein
- 5
- Cholesterol
- 48
- Sodium
- 376
- Total: 50 min
- Prep: 20 min
- Inactive: 10 min
- Cook: 20 min
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice)
1 teaspoon white wine or cider vinegar
1 teaspoon red food coloring (recommended: Select natural food coloring)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 teaspoons natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1/3 cup whole milk
Red and black food coloring
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with 12 paper liners (preferably silver).
- For the cupcakes: Crack the eggs into your mixer. Add the canola oil, buttermilk and vinegar. Drop in the food coloring and vanilla. Let it stir up until well mixed.
- Put the sugar, flour, salt, cocoa powder and baking soda in a large bowl. Whisk together until well mixed. Then sift this right onto a big piece of waxed paper, it makes it easy to transport to the mixer. Make sure there are no clumps.
- Turn your mixture on low and slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients as it's mixing. Turn the mixer up just a bit and combine well. Stop and scrape down the bowl.
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly dish the batter out into the cupcake liners, about 3/4 full.
- Pop the cupcakes in the oven until a cake tester comes out nice and clean, about 20 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting: Add the softened butter and confectioners' sugar and cream together in a mixer. Add the milk. Stop and scrape down the bowl, getting all the confectioners' sugar incorporated. Add a couple drops of black food coloring and then some red food coloring. Mix in the vanilla and a pinch of salt. Mix well.
- Fill a pastry bag or snip the corner of a zip top bag. Fill with the frosting. (To fill the bag easily, wrap the bag around a cup and wrap the edges of the bag around the top to keep the bag open while filling with frosting.)
- Frost the cupcakes, making a little squiggly line down the middle, and then filling in little swirls to look like the brain. Repeat on the other side and for the rest of the cupcakes.