Red Velvet Vampire Cupcakes
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 12 cupcakes
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 522
- Total Fat
- 27
- Saturated Fat
- 11
- Carbohydrates
- 68
- Dietary Fiber
- 2
- Sugar
- 45
- Protein
- 5
- Cholesterol
- 56
- Sodium
- 270
- Total: 1 hr 35 min (includes cooling and freezing times)
- Active: 1 hr
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 3/4 cups cake flour (see Cook's Note)
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon red food coloring, plus a drop for the filling
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg, at room temperature
One 3-ounce semisweet chocolate bar
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 cup raspberry jam
Cream Cheese Frosting:
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions
Special equipment:
a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip and a plastic straw- For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
- Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, sour cream, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and egg in another large bowl.
- Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Microwave the chocolate and coconut oil together in a small microwave-safe bowl until mostly melted, about 1 minute. Stir, then microwave again until completely smooth, about 15 seconds more.
- Use a small sharp knife to cut out and remove a plug from the middle of each cupcake, making sure not to go all the way to the bottom and leaving a 1/4-inch border around the side (eat the plugs). Brush the holes with the melted chocolate and place in the freezer until the chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes.
- Whisk together the jam, 1 drop of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until completely smooth. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the jam into each of the chocolate holes; set aside.
- For the cream cheese frosting: Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe on top of the cupcakes so the jam is covered.
- Poke 2 holes into the frosting on each cupcake using the end of a plastic straw to resemble vampire bites, making sure you hit the cupcake and not the jam-filled hole. Drizzle the remaining jam into the holes to resemble blood.
Cook’s Note
When measuring flour, we spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level off excess. (Scooping directly from the bag compacts the flour, resulting in dry baked goods.)