Red Velvet Cupcakes

Inspired by Carrie Bradshaw’s drool inducing cupcake from Sex and the City, Lola’s red velvet cupcakes are one of our best sellers!

Red velvet cake was created all the way back in the Victorian era and they remain a baking staple to this day. During World War II, bakers needed to get creative with their ingredients to get around rationing, so they started to add beetroot juice to their cakes which gave them a deep red colour. These days, we get a more vibrant effect by adding red food colouring to give it that iconic scarlet look. We always recommend using food colouring paste because you need to use less of it to get a vibrant colour - plus it lasts forever.

The cake itself as an incredibly light, mild chocolate cake, that gives you a hint of chocolate without it being overpowering. It’s paired with a cream cheese icing that blends acidity and sweetness into a mixture that’s almost impossible to stop eating - trust me, you’ll be licking the bowl for this one!

Now, you might have noticed that the ingredients list white wine vinegar as one of the cake ingredients. I know it sounds completely crazy to put vinegar in a cake, but there’s science behind it, I promise. Do you remember when you used to make volcanoes in science class? You added vinegar to baking powder and watched it bubble up! Well that’s exactly what’s going to happen inside the cake mixture. The reaction of the baking powder with the acidic vinegar means your cake will rise up to its full potential giving you the lightest, fluffiest cupcakes in town.

These cupcakes are also really easy to make without gluten - just replace the flour with 190g of rice flour and 3 tablespoons of ground almonds. We also have a recipe for vegan red velvet cupcakes!

Because the cake itself is such a knockout colour, we tend to keep the decoration pretty simple. Just take a little bit of each cake, and crumble it between your fingertips to make a crumb, then sprinkle it on top of the cream cheese icing. These cupcakes look really beautiful, especially if you pipe the icing on, but don’t worry if you’re not comfortable with a piping bag - it’ll taste just as delicious if you spread on a liberal layer of icing with a knife!

We think they make perfect treats at Christmas time, or for a Valentine's day treat - but since they’re such a crowd pleaser, and their velvety texture means they’ll be a hit with adults and kids alike, they’re practically perfect for any event. 

Ingredients

For the cake

200g all purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tbsp cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

100g butter

175g caster sugar

1 egg

2 tsp red food colouring

25g dark chocolate, melted

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1 tsp white wine vinegar

½ tsp vanilla extract

120 ml single cream

For the icing

65g butter

250g cream cheese

185g icing sugar

How to make red velvet cupcakes

1. Take out your butter, cut it into cubes and leave it out for a while until it hits room temperature. 
2. Preheat your oven to 180ºC.
3. Sift together your flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and salt.
4. Put your butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat together until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
5. Now add the egg to your mixture.
6. Next up, add the red food colouring, then add in your melted chocolate, oil, vinegar and vanilla

Top Tip: the best way to melt chocolate is to put it in a heat proof bowl and place over a saucepan with boiling water. Chocolate tends to burn if melted in a microwave.

1. Gently fold in half of the dry ingredients with a large metal spoon.
2. Now add in half the cream and mix.
3. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and cream.

Top Tip: don’t get lazy here and just chuck all the ingredients in and hope for the best. Your mixture won’t rise!

1. Line your muffin tin with your favourite cupcake cases.
2. Divide your mixture evenly between your cupcake cases.
3. Bake your cupcakes for about 20-25 minutes.

Top Tip: You can tell if your cakes are done by sticking a skewer into the middle of one of the 

cakes and checking that it comes out clean.

1. Remove them from the oven and leave them to cool completely before you even think about decorating them!
2. Make the icing by beating your butter in a bowl until it’s soft and smooth.
3. Add in your cream cheese and then beat on low speed for about 2 minutes.
4. Gradually sift the sugar into the bowl and continue to mix until mixture is smooth and glossy.
5. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes until the icing is firm enough to pipe / spread with a knife.
6. Slice a sliver of cake off the top of each cupcake which you’ll use as a crumb for decoration.
7. Pipe / spread icing on top of the cupcakes, and sprinkle on your cake crumbs. If you are going to pipe the icing, we recommend using a star nozzle for an extra wow factor.

Cupcakes didn’t turn out exactly as you’d hoped? Check out our tips on how to make the perfect cupcakes every time.

Or alternatively, you could just have a look on our website at our red velvet range. We’ve got cakes, cupcakes and even red velvet brownies that can be hand baked and delivered to your door.