cheesy potato casserole: Georgetown Cupcake Red Velvet Cupcakes

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This is an amazing recipe for Red Velvet Cupcakes from the lovely ladies of DC Cupcakes / Georgetown Cupcake—they’re tasty and beautiful! I think cupcakes are the most frequent type of dessert I make…and what’s not to love?!? They’re compact, perfect-sized, little bundles of happiness. Try eating one of theses without smiling, I bet you can’t! J

Mia sure can't eat one without smiling! :)

Cook’s Note: I get a lot of questions from readers about what kitchen equipment and specific ingredients I use in recipes. I will try to list any specific ingredients & specific/super helpful kitchen equipment before each recipe. I hope this helps! J Here’s the specific equipment and ingredients I used in this recipe:
Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Extract
Valrhona Cocoa Powder
Packaged Red Fondant
Shimmer Dust

Linzer Cutter Set (to make the fondant hearts)
4 Tablespoon Scoop - aka my favorite scoop ever!
Red Cupcake Liners
Pastry Tip Set
Adjustable Rolling Pin – this pin makes life SO much easier when you need to roll things out to a specific thickness.
The Cupcake Diaries Cookbook

Pin It Georgetown Cupcake Red Velvet Cupcakes
For the Cupcakes Ingredients:
3 ¼ C all-purpose flour 1 t salt
12 T unsalted butter, at room temperature (preferably European style)
1 ¾ C sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
4 T red food coloring (no-taste liquid food color, such as McCormick)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon recommended)
2 ½ T cocoa powder, sifted (such as Valrhona)
1 ½ C whole milk, at room temperature
1 ½ t baking soda
1 ½ t apple cider vinegar

For the Vanilla Cream-Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

8 T unsalted butter, at room temperature (preferably European style) 8 C (or 2 pounds) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
½ t pure vanilla extract (Nielsen-Massey pure Madagascar Bourbon recommended)
12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

For Garnish (optional): Red Fondant
mini heart cookie cutter (I used the heart cutter from this set)
Shimmer dust

Directions:
For the Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 2 standard cupcake pans with baking liners.

Sift together the flour and salt, set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with a handheld electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together at medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing slowly after each addition.
Using a whisk, whisk together the red food coloring, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Slowly add this to the mixer bowl, mixing slowly until well incorporated.
Add one third of the flour, followed by one third of the milk and mix until combined. Repeat. Stop to scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the last third of the flour, followed by the last third of the milk and mix until incorporated.
In a small bowl, add the baking soda to the apple cider vinegar. You’ll see the baking soda and vinegar fizz up. Mix thoroughly and add this reaction to the batter. Mix until just incorporated.
Using a 4 tablespoon scoop, scoop the batter into the prepared cupcake pan (each cupcake well should be about 2/3 full). Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the Fondant garnish: Roll your fondant (I used pre-packaged red fondant) out to ¼ inch thickness and dust the top with shimmer dust (optional). Cut out the fondant using a mini heart cookie cutter (I actually used the heart cutter from my linzer cookie cutter set). Lay the fondant hearts out on a piece of foil or parchment and let the fondant dry out for a few minutes.

For the Vanilla Cream-Cheese Frosting:
Place the butter and cream cheese in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream for about 2 minutes on medium speed.

Add the remaining ingredients to the bowl and beat until well combined. Be sure to beat on high speed at the very end for about 2 minutes to ensure that the frosting is light and fluffy.

To Assemble:
Frost the cupcakes as desired—I used my favorite pastry tip set to frost these and top with a red fondant heart.

Makes about 24-26 cupcakes.

Source: The Cupcake Diaries by the sister’s of DC Cupcake/Georgetown Cupcake, Katherine Kallinis & Sophie Kallinis LaMontague