October 24, 2008, 10:39 am
Filed under: Recipes | Tags: cupcakes
Cupcake Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces red food coloring
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) cupcake pans with papers liners.
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Mix cocoa and food coloring together and then add to sugar mixture; mix well. Sift together flour and salt. Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk. Blend in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture.
Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
1/2 stick butter
1/2 package cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.
Lisa and Christine are both avid Obama supporters, so we decorated our cupcakes with the Obama logo. The Dodgers were also in the playoffs competing against the Phillys, so their logo was also adorned on top. Too bad they lost. We’ll root for the Rays in protest.
Piping frosting can be tricky and requires practice to achieve a steady hand, but keep at it, and you’ll get better. To dye the frosting, just use plain old food coloring.
Lisa and Christine are both avid Obama supporters, so we decorated our cupcakes with the Obama logo. The Dodgers were also in the playoffs competing against the Phillys, so their logo was also adorned on top. Too bad they lost. We’ll root for the Rays in protest.