Valentine’s Baking

by Colleen | February 10, 2009 11:01 pm

I love bak­ing for oth­ers so of course Valentine’s Day pro­vides ample oppor­tu­nity.  I’m get­ting an early start by mak­ing these deli­cious red vel­vet cup­cakes for my friends.  Hubby has three to take to work for the guys and I will take the rest with me.

These lit­tle beau­ties have a hid­den gooey cream cheese frost­ing cen­ter and are also topped with more and then rolled in sparkly red sugar just for fun.

I had to try this recipe out.  It’s not mine it’s from my friend over at Art of Dessert who has per­fected it!

Red Vel­vet Cake
1 1/2 cups but­ter, soft­ened to room tem­per­a­ture
2 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt
1 ounce red food col­or­ing (liq­uid or gel)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups flour
3 Tbs. cocoa pow­der
2 tsp. bak­ing pow­der
1 1/2 tsp. bak­ing soda
3/4 tsp. salt

Pre­heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans or line three muf­fin pans with cup­cake liners.

In a large mix­ing bowl, cream but­ter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Com­bine yogurt, red food col­or­ing and vanilla extract in a small bowl. Sift together flour, cocoa pow­der, bak­ing pow­der, bak­ing soda and salt in another bowl. Alter­nate adding the yogurt mix­ture and flour mix­ture into the large bowl. Pour bat­ter into pre­pared pans or lined muf­fin pans. Bake for 30–35 min­utes (15–20 min­utes for cup­cakes) or until a tooth­pick inserted in the cen­ter of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

With the mixer on a low speed, beat the cream cheese and but­ter till blended. Mix in vanilla and lemon extracts. Slowly add the pow­dered sugar, a cup at a time. Once all the pow­dered sugar is added, increase to a higher speed to whip up the frost­ing till light and fluffy.

Recipe by Art of Dessert

Source URL: http://www.cakeartisan.com/2009/02/valentines-baking/

---