With Valentine’s Day this Friday, whether you are planning a quiet Friday night in or going out for dinner, finish your night with a special dessert to end the evening on a high note with this super easy, red velvet cupcake recipe.

I always thought the red velvet cupcake was the more time intensive and harder cupcake to make.  However, after testing a number of recipes, I found this beauty which is the super fluffy and easy to make.

INGREDIENTS

For the cupcakes

2 1/2 cups self-raising flour

1 1/3 cups caster sugar

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (Cadbury is my preference)

1 teaspoon bicarb soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 cup vegetable oil

2 egg whites

2 tablespoons red food colouring

1 teaspoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or my secret, vanilla bean paste)

 

For the cream cheese icing

225g of cream cheese (full fat of course)

¼ cup of cold unsalted butter

4 cups of icing sugar

 

INSTRUCTIONS

For the cupcakes

Preheat oven to 165 degrees celsius.

Put cupcake papers into muffin tins.

Place all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and give them a quick stir with a fork.

Place all the wet ingredients on top of the dry ingredients.

Mix all ingredients on medium speed for 4 minutes.

Use a 1.3 cup to spoon mixture into patty papers.

Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer can be inserted into the middle of the cupcake and come out clean. Should take no longer than 20 minutes.

For the icing

Add cream cheese and butter and mix on medium speed until blended.

Add icing sugar one cup at a time and mix on medium to high speed for approximately 2 minutes until smooth and fluffy. Be careful not to overmix as the cream cheese will become too soft to pipe onto a cupcake.

Now for the fun part. Once your cupcakes have completely cooled, spread your cream cheese frosting over the cupcakes or using a piping bag and piping nozzle to pipe the icing onto it.

Finally, decorate using heart shaped sprinkles or a pink Lindt ball.

Tips:

Don’t microwave your butter for the icing.

For best icing results, ice your cupcakes after they have been refrigerated for approximately 1 hour or are cold to touch. This holds the icing in place and prevents it from melting.

Don’t overfill your cupcake papers. No more than 1/3 of a cup.

Makes approximately 16 to 18 cupcakes.

Enjoy!