Red Velvet cupcakes. Never in a million years could I have imagined myself in a frilly apron, piping frosting on cupcakes. That just isn’t me. However, when I was going through the Hershey’s Arabia Ramadan Recipes, I stumbled upon one for red velvet cake, and decided to adapt it to make cupcakes because I just feel cupcakes are (a) safer and (b) cuter. The end result was a mind-blowing, epic, phenomenal success. These, ladies and gentlemen, turned out to be the best Red Velvet cupcakes I have ever had.

I made these cupcakes with my Kenwood Chef XL stand mixer, as well as a huge supply of Hershey’s products, which included their cocoa powder. I was promoting their Ramadan contest (however this post is not sponsored), which encouraged consumers to recreate some of Hershey’s Ramadan recipes and share them on social media for a chance to win a Kenwood Chef XL of their own.  I’ve always been one to get most inspired by whatever if in my pantry, so my brain juices were really flowing with excitement!

Sadly enough for me, the frosting was a fail and is still work in progress. I don’t know if it’s because I’m just not a very seasoned baker, or if it’s because frosting is an utter science, but neither of the two recipes and techniques I tried really worked for me. Both the times, the frostings were flat and runny and just quite hold their own. They tasted great, but the texture just didn’t work.

Regardless, these cupcakes are absolutely phenomenal, and it would be a crime to not share their recipe. I’ll update this post to include the recipe for an equally good cream cheese frosting when and if I figure out how to make some.

This recipe for the best red velvet cupcakes ever yields 12-18 regular to large cupcakes.

Ingredients

• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1½ cups oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon rouge red food coloring
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 medium eggs
• Cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Line 2 large or 3 regular-size muffin pans with cupcake liners, preferably a silicon tray.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until yolks and whites are blended.
4. Add remaining liquid ingredients and whisk until everything is well incorporated. Set aside.
5. In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer, place all dry ingredients and mix until completely combined.
6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix on medium-high speed for 1 minute or until mixture is completely incorporated.
7. Fill the muffin moulds with batter until 2/3rds full.
8. Gently tap the pans on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles from the batter.
9. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
10. Let the cupcakes rest 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on a cooling rack.
11. Frost with cold cream cheese frosting.