On the 5th day of Christmas: A Sweet Treat to Eat!

in a nutshell has brought all of us so many great joys, but one of my personal favourites has definitely been learning that I am a baker at heart. You, readers, have watched my foray into the baking world once before, and I have been at it again – working my way through the kitchen to find you a treat that will make your guests putty in your hands this Holiday season. Cue, red velvet cupcakes!Red velvet is a southern classic, a cupcake with a hint of cocoa and known for it’s luscious red colour and mouthwatering cream cheese icing. The colours are perfect for the season, so I turned to the cake boss, Buddy Valastro himself, for the perfect red velvet recipe.

Red Velvet Cupcakes:

•  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Sift 2 1/4 cups flour, 1/4 cup cocoa power and 1/2 tsp. salt into a bowl. Set aside!

  Sifted flour, cocoa & salt.

•  In another bowl, beat 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) of unsalted butter at low speed until creamy.
• Add 1 1/2 cups sugar to the butter, blending on medium speed, until fluffy. (Approximately 3 minutes)
• Add 2 eggs, mixing well after each.
• Scrape bowl; add 2 Tbsp. of red food colouring and 1 tsp. of vanilla extract.
• On low speed, add 1 cup of buttermilk and sifted flour mixture, in thirds, alternating between the two. (Make sure that you begin and end with flour mixture!)
• In a small bowl, stir together 2 tsp. distilled white vinegar and 1 tsp. baking soda. (Be prepared to feel like you’re completing a 2nd grade science project – this is normal!)

• Fill cupcake liners with batter.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (Approximately 25-30 minutes)

 Cream Cheese Icing:

• Beat 16 oz. (2 packages) of cream cheese and 8 Tbsp. (1 stick) of unsalted butter at medium speed until smooth. (Approximately 1 minute)
• Blend 2 1/2 cups sifted sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla extract into the mix, on low speed for 30 seconds and then on medium-high speed until fluffy.

Putting it all together…

I am lucky enough to have a cake decorating tool that has a variety of ‘tips’ that let you make shapes with icing. I used a floral tip in a circular motion, to make the icing on my cupcakes to look ‘wintery’.