Red Velvet Cupcakes

We had a little birthday party for my sister-in-law Rachel yesterday, and I made red velvet cupcakes for dessert. This is the first time I've used a cake decorating tip to frost cupcakes, but I'm definitely converted. During WWII beets were used to achieve the red color. I'll try that next time in honor of Dwight Schrute.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

1 oz liquid red food coloring

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups flour

8 oz cream cheese

1/4 cup butter

2 Tbsp sour cream

1 Tbsp vanilla extract

16+ ounces powdered sugar

Combined softened butter and sugar. Beat until fluffy--about five minutes.

Add eggs. Mix. Add sour cream and milk. Mix. Add vanilla and food coloring. Mix.

Add cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Mix.

Add flour 1/2 cup at a time and stir just until combined. Don't over-stir.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. 22 minutes worked perfectly for me and 23 was a bit too much.

Cool in pan for five minutes and then remove from pan.

When cupcakes are completely cooled, make frosting.

Beat softened cream cheese, butter, and sour cream until smooth.

Add vanilla. Stir.

Add powdered sugar until the frosting is as thick as you would like. Less powdered sugar will create a runny frosting, and more will create one that holds its shape. For this recipe, I used about 20 oz.

Yield: 28 cupcakes

Cake BonBons

Not quite a cupcake and not quite candy--these cake bonbons are a fun alternative to typical birthday cake. Feel free to use any combination of cake and frosting flavors. My rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Cake BonBons

1 prepared 9x13 cake
12 oz frosting
20 oz bark coating or candy melts

Once the cake has completely cooled, use your hands to crumble it into a very large mixing bowl. If you want the final result to be prettier, skim off the brown from the top and sides of the cake before crumbling it.

Stir in enough frosting to make the cake crumbs stick to each other and be able to hold a shape--but not so much that they are gooey and overly sticky. I've found that about 3/4 of a 12 oz tub of frosting does the job well. You can adjust it based on what type of cake you use.

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Using a cookie scoop or your hands, form the cake mixture into balls. You can choose whatever size you want. Those pictured above were about 1.5" in diameter.

Put the cake balls into the freezer for 10 minutes. This will help them stick together better when you are dipping them.

Melt the candy melts (available at craft stores) according to package directions.

Pour the melted candy into a deep bowl. It needs to be deep enough to cover the entire cake ball.

Take the cake balls out of the freezer. Gently roll them with your hands to get rid of loose crumbs. Using two spoons, dunk each ball into the melted candy. Cover the entire ball in one continuous motion. Place back onto the wax paper to dry.

If desired, you can decorate with another color of melted candy melts.

Thin Mint Inspired Cupcakes

If you're like me and eat the entire box of Girl Scout Thin Mints in under 48 hours, you're then left for an entire year without any of their minty goodness. These cupcakes are an attempt at re-creating their flavor. My rating: 4 out of 5.

Dark Chocolate Mint Cupcakes

1/2 cup butter
2 oz bittersweet baking chocolate
1/2 cup cocoa
2 large eggs

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sour cream

4 oz semisweet baking chocolate
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream
1 Tbsp corn syrup

1/2 cup cream
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
1/8 tsp salt
2.5 cups powdered sugar
2 drops green food coloring

Combine butter, 2 oz chocolate, and cocoa in a small saucepan and heat on low, stirring frequently, until butter and chocolate have melted. Remove from heat and let cool until just warm to the touch.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs lightly. Add vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar. Stir. Add sour cream. Stir. Add flour. Stir just until everything is combined. Don't overmix!

Place cupcake liners in a muffin pan. Fill each cup 3/4 full (recipe yields 12 cupcakes).

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.

Cool cupcakes for 45 minutes before cutting them.

In the meantime, combine 4 oz chocolate, cream, and corn syrup in a small saucepan. Cook until chocolate is melted. Stir well. Refrigerate for one hour or until firm. This will be your frosting.

In a medium bowl, combine remaining cream, peppermint extract and salt. Slowly add powdered sugar. Tint with green food coloring if desired. This will be your filling.

Once cupcakes have cooled, use a sharp knife to cut a square "plug" out of the middle of the cupcake--working from the top. This sounds more difficult than it is. Looking down at the top of the cupcake, cut a deep square and then carefully remove that piece from the cupcake.

Fill the newly-created hole with mint frosting (a Ziploc bag with a hole on the corner works well). Cut off the bottom of the cake plug, and replace the top back on top of the frosting. You shouldn't be able to tell that the cupcake was cut.

Top cupcakes with chocolate ganache frosting.