BEST RED VELVET CUPCAKES!!! EVER!!!!

I was always intimidated by cream cheese frosting so I never got around to making anything which I could use it on... but then A super close friends birthday came along and I decided to try something special... (also because I had cream cheese at home :) )

So here's my recipe with a few tweaks (from lanka)



Best Red Velvet Cupcakes
This recipe for originally adapted from Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook, which is pretty neat… (however I stole it from the internet) J
This recipe makes one dozen cupcakes.  Double the recipe and you’ll have either two dozen cupcakes, or enough batter to make 2 9-inch layer cakes.  Which is quite awesome?

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used motha cocoa powder)  
• 2  Tablespoons red food coloring (unless you want to buy wilton gel paste which is awesome, I used starbrand food colouring)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk OR 1 cup Yogurt
• 1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda OR 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In the bowl cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about three minutes on a low speed. Turn mixer to high and add  the egg.  Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.

In a separate bowl mix together cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a thick paste.  Add to the batter, mixing thoroughly until completely combined.  You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.

Turn mixer to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk.  Add half of the flour and salt and mix until combined.  Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour.  Beat on high until smooth.

Turn mixer to low and add baking soda and white vinegar.  Turn to high and beat a few more minutes.
Spoon batter into a paper lined cupcake baking pan and bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center cupcake comes out clean.

Let rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then place them of a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (My version of it)

The original recipe calls for ground cinnamon powder but since I'm not a big fan I used my own recipe.

double the recipe to frost a 2 layer 9-inch cake

• 1 3/4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• 3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 2 ounces cream cheese, cold 
• dash of Milk 
• Pinch of salt

Beat the sugar and butter together in the bowl .  Mix on medium-slow speed until it comes together and is well mixed.
Add the cream cheese all at once and beat on medium to medium-high until incorporated.
Turn the mixer to medium-high and beat for 5 minutes, or until the frosting becomes light and fluffy.
Do not over-beat as the frosting can quickly become runny.

Ride on!

Our friend who was fixing our new bicycles called and confirmed that we could pick ours one night, about a week ago. Beet suggested we go to his workshop by tuk-tuk and then ride back home - literally from Kotte to Pelawatta. I instantly thought of all the ways we could die/ be maimed, after all, it's Sri Lanka...

For example -

1. Get knocked down by a bus
2. Get waylaid by a stray dog, end up in ditch
3. Fall down a open manhole
4. Fall into a paddy field
5. Fall into open water (It's Pelawatta..hello...)
6. Get something yelled at by Sri Lankan neanderthal, Beet to protect me heriocaly, we die in bloody politically connected gang fight ...

Etc...

Then again I pushed the thoughts away from my head because one, WE WERE MARRIED DAMMNIT...and two, WE LIVE ALONE...so three, we (I) really didn't need to answer to parents who never really did anything as zany as this at 8 o' clock in the night...and even though all the scenarios (point 1 to 6) could have definitely come true...

you only live once...

right?

Thinking this to myself, we left home in a tuk and wound up at Kotte. The bikes looked awesome so we picked them up and set off back home.

It occurred to me while we pedaled along that you tend to miss so much while being inside a vehicle. Like how one little hill was as daunting as Mount Fuji. How sweat runs down your temples and your glasses fog up (yes, I wore my nerd specs because my vision does a nose dive at night). Then there's that old tuk driver taking a nap inside his his tuk-tuk...women with sili bags full of groceries going home...a coconut seller listening to a radio...a guy in a simple bicycle passing us effortlessly as we struggled. Stray and community dogs of all colours, some tightly curled up and sleeping, some lazily opening an eye as we cycled past.

Lovely.

Of course there's only some small tips to remember while cycling in Sri Lanka -

a. Wear a helmet, gloves and some knee/arm guards if possible (Ebay has some good stuff)
b. Always, always, ALWAYS be aware as cycle tracks are virtually non-existent and traffic is usually indiscipline and horrid
c. Take water (humid) and few tools just in case

I must say this cycling thing is addictive. After that night's jaunt, we cycled on Sunday morning and at night and its only the massive wedgies and crotch/butt hurt that poses as the only setback right now. Then again, I heard you get used to it so...um.. I'm still waiting for that, yeah.

Till then, keep calm and ride on bitches!!!!!

xo