Red Velvet Cupcakes for Sue

A couple of months ago I had a wedding cake tasting for my friend Sue, and while she enjoyed all the flavors of the cakes she could only pick three of the six for her wedding day. She chose the Spicy Chocolate cake, Ginger cake, and Hazelnut cake (these were all my favorites, too). Even with the three chosen, Sue still had Red Velvet on the mind. Since her colors are a very pretty blue with a hint of red this cake would be a perfect compliment (not to mention completely delicious with the cream cheese frosting!). She decided the cake should be included...at the bridal shower, but in cupcake form! I was more than happy to oblige! Any reason to try a new recipe or perfect something I have already made, and I am game! I agreed to bring the new and improved Red Velvet cupcakes.

For some reason my cake planning process did not go as smoothly as it has before. It all started when I was on the hunt for these little red candy hearts. They were to go on top of each individual cupcake, which is not only precious, but entirely appropriate for the occasion! Alas, they were nowhere to be found. Instead of topping the cupcakes with the hearts I decided to go with an accent color that will be dominant for the wedding -- aqua blue. I had the majority of my supplies, but I still had to go out that morning to finish up (I also strongly recommend gathering ingredients at least the day before you plan on baking...). Once I had everything I started baking!

We recently got a stand mixer (Oh, so fabulous!) and this was my first time using it. I was stoked. I started in mixing the eggs and sugar -- I can go and do something else while this is happening now! The next step calls to mix the red food coloring--2 ounces--with the tiniest amount of chocolate--one teaspoon. These proportions make the final product bright red, not a gorgeous, deep blood red. We're looking for blood red here people. I decided to use only one and half ounces of the coloring, and I threw in another teaspoon of cocoa powder. Meeeeehhhh....still not looking good...dump in a tablespoon. Now we're getting somewhere! It still was not quite up to par, so I threw in another tablespoon. I mean, really, you can never have too much chocolate. This made the color of the cake perfect! This then gets stirred around with the eggs and sugar mixture. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, and distribute them evenly into the cupcake pans. It was only after they were done that we realized a tiny mistake had been made....a minor detail had been left out of the cupcakes. It was only the butter.............

They turned out perfectly!

Satiny cream cheese frosting.

I ended up throwing those ones out -- they turned out really cute, but when I pulled one apart it was like pulling apart a sponge.

Not so cute. Tasted good though! I had to make two more batches of cupcakes (one while mom was on a Weggies run to gather more supplies). The first edible batch turned out nicely, but were a little overfilled. The last batch turned out perfectly, and between the two I had thirty perfectly shaped Red Velvet cupcakes! Then I was done for the night. Whew.

Hi, you're pretty.

Nestled together

 Bright and early the next morning I made the cream cheese frosting, frosted the cupcakes, and sprinkled the blue glitter on top. They turned out perfectly! The red with a hint of blue on top of the pale frosting was gorgeous!

Ready for transport!

I had only a couple of minutes to spare before having to leave for the shower. With the cupcakes all boxed up, I left feeling confident and excited.

 

Suzanne got this beautiful tiered cupcake stand.

 

 

 The staff at the restaurant were so good to me! One of the women came out to my car and helped me unpack, and they were all ready to put the cupcakes in the fridge. I couldn't have asked for better treatment of my precious cupcakes!

I'm in love with this table-scape :)

I set them up, and the final product was gorgeous! I love the way they turned out, and so did Sue. Her guests liked them, too -- they kept telling me how pretty they looked, and then how delicious they were. I was pleased. The wedding party split up the left over cupcakes, and I was sent home with the cupcake stand! I love parting gifts! It was such a pleasure to be able to make these scrumptious treats for my friend's special day!

Me with my masterpiece!