Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red velvet cupcakes are delicious dessert topped with the popular cream cheese frosting or any frosting of your choice. 

Buttermilk is essential in baking red velvet cupcakes as it adds the tangy flavor to the cupcakes and also makes them moist. The additional vinegar makes the batter color brighter and when reacted with baking soda makes the cupcakes super light and fluffy.

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour - 2 1/2 cups
• Sugar - 1 1/3 cups
• Cocoa powder - 2 tbsp
• Baking soda - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1 tsp
• Oil - 1 cup
• Egg whites - 2
• Red food coloring - 1 tbsp
• White vinegar - 1 tsp
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Red colored sugar for decorating (optional)

    To make buttermilk

• Milk - 1 1/2 cups
• Lemon juice/White vinegar - 1 1/2 tbsp

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners and keep aside.
3. To make buttermilk, in a small bowl stir lemon juice into milk. Allow it to stand for 5 mins or until thickened and slightly curdled.
4. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and keep aside.
5. In another bowl, mix buttermilk, oil, egg whites, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla extract together until combined.
6. Make a hole in the middle of dry ingredients and pour the wet mixture. Mix until combined.
7. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full with batter.
8. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean or with few crumbs, not wet batter.
9. Cool in the muffin tins for 5 mins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Frost the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting or buttercream frosting and sprinkle with red colored sugar, if using. Enjoy!