Red Velvet Cupcake

I'm not sure what  I love more about Red Velvet Cupcakes, the chocolate mouth coating texture of the cake or the mouth watering cream cheese icing - YUM!  I have made Red Velvet Cupcakes from scratch and I have to say, my Faking Fancy Red Velvet Cupcake recipe rivals, if not beats, that recipe.  To pull this one off you'll need...   

• Chocolate Cake Mix (plus ingredients to make the cake...usually eggs, oil, and water)
• 1 cup of Buttermilk
• 4 ounces of Bittersweet Chocolate (melted)
• Red Gel Food Colouring
• 1 - 8oz package of Cream Cheese (room temperature)
• 1/4 cup of Butter (room temperature)
• 2 teaspoons of Vanilla
• Icing Sugar

Here's the recipe...

Step 1: Kinda  follow the directions on your chocolate cake mix. Go ahead and preheat your oven and add the oil and eggs...but DO NOT add all the water.

Step 2: Replace 1 cup of the water it calls for with Buttermilk.  So, if your mix calls for 1 and 1/3 cup of water, then add 1 cup of Buttermilk and 1/3 cup of Water.  Mix the ingredients together until it is smooth.

Step 3: Melt down the 4 ounces of Bittersweet Chocolate - but be careful not to overheat or burn the chocolate.  Mix the melted chocolate into your batter until fully incorporated.  Now, add in your Red Food Colouring until it's as red as you want it to be.  To get the best colour using the least amount of food colouring, I'd recommend using a gel food colouring.

Step 4: Spoon the batter into your cupcake liners and bake as directed on the package.  Once they are done baking, let them cool completely.

Step 5: On to the most delicious of all icings...cream cheese!  Beat the Cream Cheese and Butter together until fully incorporated.  Add in the vanilla and slowly add in icing sugar until it tastes the way you like it.  Once it's as sweet as you like it, make sure that your icing is mixed well and is smooth.

Step 6: Now it's time to top off your Red Velvet Cupcakes with the most delicious Cream Cheese Icing.  I like to add a lot, so you may want to double your icing recipe.  To ice these I used a piping bag and tip #1M.
Feel free to pile on the icing - HEAVENLY!

Happy Faking!