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Sunday, January 9, 2011

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Back to baking time. I got this wonderful icing set (icing bag with a bunch of different tips, for different designs) and wanted to put it to use. My mom also gave my a book I've been wanting for a while... Babycakes by Erin McKenna (a baking book based on the famous vegan, mostly gluten-free and mostly sugar-free bakery in New York). Unfortunately a lot of their recipes require a stop at Bulk Barn (or the like) for specialty ingredients, and considering I started this adventure late on a Saturday night, there was no chance it would be open. The Red Velvet cupcake recipe was the only one that I had the ingredients for... so off I went!

Ha ha, and I had a little trouble with the icing. The Babycakes book has a recipe for great icing, but I didn't have the ingredients, so I just stuck to my old standard (see below) and had a lot of trouble. At first it was too liquidy, and then too solid and wouldn't come out of the icing bag. I had had enough, so I decided to just use a knife to put the 'too solid' icing on... but then wouldn't you know, ha ha it melted? I've never seen icing that was that solid melt after a few minutes? Anyways, they taste delicious, but look a little funny.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Makes: 24 (mine made ~19)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rice milk (I used vanilla)
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 1/4 cups whole spelt flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp salt
2/3 cup coconut oil
1 1/4 cups agave nectar
2 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
5 Tbsp natural red food colouring, or as needed to achieve your preferred depth of colour

Frosting Ingredients:
Rice milk
Icing sugar
Lemon juice
Vanilla

Directions:
-Preheat the oven to 325 F and line two 12-cup muffin tins
-Pour the rice milk and vinegar into a small bowl, do not stir, and set aside to develop into 'buttermilk'
-In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt
-Add the oil, agave nectar, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and stir to combine, the batter will be thick
-Using a spatula, add the 'buttermilk' and mix until just combined
-Slowly add the food colouring until desired colour is achieved
-Pour 1/3 cup batter into each cup, almost filling it
-Bake them on the center rack for 24 min, rotating the tins 180 degrees after 14 minutes (the finished cupcakes will bounce back slightly when pressed and a toothpick will come out clean)
-Let them stand in the tins for 20 min and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely
-Spread frosting over cupcakes and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days




Enjoy!

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