Recipe Time: Red Velvet Cupcakes with Homemade Cream Cheese Frosting!

I dunno about you, but my go-to cupcake is the funfetti cupcake box mix with the funfetti frosting.  While this is an extremely yummy combination, I get bored with always making the same kind of cupcake over and over again.  Thus, I have started my cupcake journey--I have been experimenting with making different kinds of cupcakes!  I recently mastered the "Rainbow Cupcake" or "Tie-Dye Cupcake", which were super neato!  In this blog post, I decided to show the Red Velvet cupcake featuring HOMEMADE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING!!!

Cupcake:
*NOTE: If you would like to cut the preparation time down, I think it is perfectly acceptable to use a box cupcake mix.  I think box mixes are yummy and then you still have the unique taste of the homemade cream cheese frosting!

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 fluid ounce red food coloring
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 12 cup muffin pans or line with 20 paper baking cups.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, red food coloring and vanilla. Stir in the baking soda and vinegar. Combine the flour, cocoa powder and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, dividing evenly.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in the pan set over a wire rack. When cool, arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter and frost with desired frosting.

Finished product after baking cupcakes!

Now for the YUMMY part!

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients

• 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.

I placed the frosting in a ziplock baggie and pushed it all to one corner.  Cut a SMALL piece off the corner.  

Start from the outside of the cupcake and make a swirling motion toward the middle.  The swirls should get smaller as you reach the middle.

Finished Product!!!!!!

More Finished Pictures!

Of course, I am a nerd so I thought it would be fun to put Trolly Sour Gummy Worms on top!  You can put anything on top that you think might be a fun idea!  Or I left some plain as well and they are pretty too! :)

I hope you enjoy trying out a new cupcake recipe!!!!