A Recipe: Red Velvet Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Creamcheese Icing

A Recipe: Red Velvet Chocolate Cupcakes w/ Creamcheese Icing and Coconut Sprinkles (This experience was kindly funded by ING DIRECT Wave and Save Promotion)

Over the Christmas/New Years Holidays I baked some of the yummiest and easiest cupcakes: Red Velvet Chocolate Cupcakes complete with cream cheese and coconut icing. I took the recipe straight from Taste.com:

Ingredients: 

• 300g (2 cups) plain flour
• 30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 315g (1 1/2 cups) caster sugar
• 250ml (1 cup) buttermilk
• 200g unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 1 tbs white vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp red food colouring
• 2 x 250g pkts cream cheese, at room temperature
• 300g (2 cups) pure icing sugar
• 120g butter, extra, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla essence, extra

Method:

1. Step 1
   Preheat oven to 170°C. Line eighteen 80ml (1/3 cup) capacity muffin pans with paper cases. Sift flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl. Stir through the sugar. Whisk the buttermilk, butter, eggs, vinegar and vanilla in a large jug until combined. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture. Add the buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined. Stir in the food colouring.
2. Step 2
   Divide the mixture among the lined pans. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centres comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
3. Step 3
   Use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, icing sugar, extra butter and extra vanilla until smooth. Spread over cupcakes.
   
   
   

I decided to add some coconut desiccant to the top of my cupcakes (full recipe here). Also, 500 grams of cream cheese is quite alot to work with, but I found it was just enough, with the icing layer being very deep. But if you find that your cupcakes have risen considerably, you can use only half the cream cheese. Happy Baking!