Southern Comfort

A glimpse of the finished product to whet your appetite.

I have developed a borderline obsession with red velvet cupcakes. This may seem strange, seeing as they are a traditionally southern food item (who can forget the red velvet armadillo wedding cake in Steel Magnolias?) and Southern California is about as southern as I get. If you have not yet tried one, they are the ultimate comfort food. The first time I ever had a red velvet cupcake (or red velvet cake of any sort) was just under a year ago at a French bakery here in Salt Lake City called Tulie Bakery. This cupcake was nothing short of mind blowing - a fluffy, deep red cake topped with a rich cream cheese frosting. Thus started my obsession. I went back on several occasions to buy these cupcakes, the most recent purchase being in April. Then I got busy, traveled, etc. and nearly forgot all about these tasty little cupcakes.

A few weeks ago I headed back to the bakery, only to find yellow and chocolate cupcakes in the bakery case, but no red velvet in sight. I asked the cashier if they had sold out and she responded that they had never had such thing as a red velvet cupcake at this bakery and she would know if they did because she had been working there for quite some time. I responded that she clearly had not, since I had purchased one in April (which is after all only three months ago). So she asked the baker if they were going to have any soon and she said no but that I was free to place a special order for some if I wanted. At $3 per cupcake and a one dozen cupcake minimum for special orders, I did not. And so I went on a quest to find a red velvet cupcake recipe of my own. But where to even begin since, not being from the south, it's not as though I know anyone who makes these on a regular basis.

After searching high and low through cookbooks and scouring several websites, I came across the following cupcake and frosting recipes, which I have to say are mighty tasty (the cake may not be quite as rich as the one I remember from the bakery, but the icing is a dead on match). And for me the icing on the cupcake (so to speak) of this experience was that I got to use my brand new stand alone mixer for the first time. (As a fan of the Food Network I have been dying to own one for years now!) I felt like the Barefoot Contessa. (Is it just me or is every show on the Food Network secretly sponsored by KitchenAid? Every chef on there has one of these mixers even though they cost more than my rent!) I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do:

Red Velvet Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter

2 eggs

2 Tbsps cocoa powder

2 oz water

2 oz red food coloring

2/3 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin pan with muffin tins. In electric mixer bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time (on medium low speed) and blend well. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring and add to the butter mixture. Sift flour and salt together into this mixture. One at a time, add the milk, vanilla, and water (mixing on low speed).

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda. Fold it into the cake batter. Pour the batter into the cupcake tins. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, take the cupcakes out of the pans and place on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe courtesy of Sprinkles Cupcakes)

8 oz cream cheese (cold)

1 stick unsalted butter

1/8 tsp salt

3 3/4 cups sifted confectioner's sugar

In electric mixer bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, and salt one medium low speed for 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and add the sugar gradually and in batches, stirring until completely incorporated before adding the next batch of sugar. Add the vanilla and beat until just incorporated.