Day 207 – Delicious Red Velvet Cupcakes

Or, better known as Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and Chocolate Ganache Filling (recipe below from The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood).  Yeah.  That’s a mouthful.  (Pun intended.)  Ok, I love a good red velvet cupcake.  And there are SO MANY different recipes out there.  But, this one is a little different.  With a non-cream-cheese frosting (weird, right?) and a chocolate ganache filling (what?!).  How could I not try them?

    

These are some of the brightest red velvet cupcakes I’ve ever made! The color is beautiful. They are dense and chewy. Just on the verge of dry, but not quite dry. They have a sweet flavor, with just a hint of cocoa.

Super easy to make! Which is always nice. But make it first, cause it needs to be in the fridge for a couple of hours before you use it. It tastes just like a semisweet chocolate ganache, but it has a stiff mousse texture.

The frosting is a sturdy but smooth consistency. It tastes very sugary. It actually reminds me A LOT of the inside of a Double Stuf Oreo. A LOT!

    

The addition of the chocolate filling is what really puts this cupcake ahead of other red velvet cupcakes. It allows the color to be more red, cause there’s less cocoa powder in the cupcake, but it still gives a stronger chocolate flavor, without being overwhelming. The chocolate and cupcake cut quite a bit of the sugary sweetness in the frosting. Yum!

Scoring Sheet:

• Cupcake Taste: 3.5

• Frosting Taste: 3.5

• Overall Taste: 4

• Appearance: 4
• Ease of Making: 3.5
• TOTAL: 18.5

    

RECIPE

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting and Chocolate Ganache Filling (recipe from The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood)

Cupcakes:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 sticks salted butter at room temp.
• 2 eggs at room temp.
• 2 T cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup red food coloring
• 4.5 T of cornstarch and 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Just under 1 cup regular milk and a splash of white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 T distilled white vinegar

Ganache filling:

• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 heavy cream

Frosting:

• 1 stick crisco
• 2 sticks salted butter
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 lbs. powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup water

For directions visit The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood.

**Tomorrow: Nutella Cupcakes with Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting**