Red Velvet Cupcakes

I'm attending a "True Blood" party this weekend and since I need to bring a desert appropriate to the vampire-related tv series I thought of red velvet cupcakes.  I loved the monster RVC I'd shared with my hubby at Auntie Em's in Eagle Rock, CA (Terri Wahl is famous for them) and I remembered her recipe had been tested on an episode of Bobby Flay's "Throwdown" a couple of years ago.  So, to my delight, I found the recipe on the Food Network's website and plan to bake them this weekend.   I've never seen  the "True Blood"series before, but I'm sure these cupcakes will be good enough to please the most "blood" hungry crowd.  Here's the recipe, in all its food-colored glory! ~cmw

Recipe courtesy Terri Wahl via Food Network

Prep Time: 50 min

Inactive Prep Time: 30 min

Cook Time: 55 min

Level:Easy

Serves:16 cupcakes

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

• 15 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 13 ounces granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 3 eggs

Directions

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring

• 1 1/4 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)
• 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/8 cup water

For the cream cheese frosting:

• 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 pound butter, room temperature
• 2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.
Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside.
In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.
Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

For the cream cheese frosting:

Whip the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment until creamed. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture and scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the vanilla and mix until combined.
The frosting can be used right away, or stored in the refrigerator up to a week.
Frost cooled cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting.

Copied from FoodNetwork.com on Fri Jun 11 2010
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