Bake-n-Blog: Red Velvet Cupcakes

Staci at Staci Edwards Design had this fun idea for bloggers to make one of Ming’s cupcakes and blog about it.  Since I love everything about cupcakes – making them, eating them, serving them – it was easy to get on board.

Ming’s website is simple with beautiful photos and recipes for cupcakes, cookies and scones.  I discovered that Ming Thompson is a recent graduate of the Masters in Architecture program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. So interesting that her site about cupcakes has been all over the blogosphere.

I chose the Red Velvet Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting because I have never made them before but have always wanted to.  I think they are much more popular in the US than here in Canada.

The Toronto Star recently printed a red velvet cupcake recipe from a bakery in New York that delivered the cupcakes to actress Katie Holmes who is filming here in Toronto.

Martha Stewart’s Cupcakes book says that “the name comes from the naturally reddish hue of cocoa powder, which is enhanced by a chemical reaction between vinegar and baking soda.  Today, most versions rely on food colour (although some bakers use beet juice) to achieve a vivid shade.”

             

    

I took the last few photos using the Hipstamatic app on my iphone.  There are different lenses that make your photos look retro.

They don’t require a lot of ingredients and were so easy to make.

So how did the cupcakes taste?  They weren’t too sweet, fluffy yet dense at the same time, very moist and the vibrant red colour made them appealing.  Everyone loved them but interestingly enough, it was the adults who raved about them more, especially my sister who had three!  Maybe they weren’t sweet enough for kids.  I will definitely be trying a few more of the recipes.  To read more blog posts about this fun event, click here.