Red velvet cupcakes: a guide to baking this Christmas favourite

Amidst the tinsel and baubles this week, the kitchen brigade must be forgiven for falling into the lure of novelty bakes and some festive frippery. I am indulging myself with the ubiquitous red velvet cupcakes which are bestsellers in all the coffee shops at this time of year (and probably two months prior and post-Christmas).

Red velvet bakes have an intriguing trompe l’oeil effect signalling to the brain “red fruit”, whilst the flavour of the cake is actually chocolate, due to the addition of cocoa powder.

Commercial bakers achieve a vibrant deep red sponge purely by adding artificial red food colouring as it maintains a stable colour after baking which doesn’t fade. However, the manufacturer’s labelling indicates it should be used sparingly (so it’s wise to ask Mum to supervise the amount used).

In this recipe, I have kept the red colouring to a quarter teaspoon in both the cake sponge and icing respectively; the result won’t be as shocking red but they will taste just lovely – light and moist with the buttermilk (a signature ingredient in most red velvet cakes).

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The good news is I have noticed that a good quality cocoa powder gives a richer hue rather than paler brown texture in the sponge. For a more natural terracotta colour, so a less red "red velvet cake", you can experiment with brands supplying natural red food colourings and even substitute organic colours from the natural pigment in beetroot (you'll need a lot and the taste will be quite earthy) or use freeze-dried raspberry powder if you can get it. The specialist brands of colouring gels and pastes are Wilton, Sugarflair and PME, and you can buy them in specialist cake decorating shops. Most people can't resist something dainty and small, so I often bake novelty cupcakes in mini sizes which will need half the baking time in the oven.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

(Makes 12 cupcakes)

Ingredients

30g cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp natural red food colouring paste (or gel)

100g butter, cubed, room temperature

125g caster sugar

2 large eggs

250g plain flour, sieved

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bread soda

1 tsp salt

200ml buttermilk

Red and white icing

120g butter, cubed, room temperature

120g cream cheese

400g icing sugar, sieved

Zest of an orange

¼ tsp natural red food colouring paste (or gel)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170°C fan. Fill the muffin tray with paper cases.

2. In a bowl, mix the cocoa powder, vanilla essence and red colouring together, then gradually add as much buttermilk as required (about 50ml) to form a loose paste. Set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Gradually mix in the eggs, then add in the coloured cocoa paste to the mixture. Sieve the flour, baking powder, bread soda and salt together and gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.

4. Gradually whisk in the remaining buttermilk to a smooth batter. Fill the 12 paper cases evenly with the coloured cake batter, about two-thirds full.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until nicely risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool fully in the tin before icing.

6. To make the icing, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese together until lump free. Add in the sieved icing sugar in three batches, beating till smooth, lastly mix in the orange zest. If you only have one piping nozzle set aside a third of the icing which will remain uncoloured.

Then colour the remaining two-thirds of the icing by mixing ¼ tsp red colouring into it, and fill a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle before piping from the outside inwards to give a peaked effect. Clean the nozzle and place it into a second piping bag with the white icing and pipe a base rim, then a single bobble on the centre of each peak.

Variation: Instead of red icing, make mini cupcakes and use fresh strawberries to create a Santa hat with a quarter of the amount of white icing for the rim and bobble.