Red Velvet Cupcakes, #The Cake Slice Bakers

To this Tokyo-raised Ninja Baker, red velvet cake has always seemed a fancy dessert reserved for elites at grand Southern weddings and dinner parties in antebellum mansions. Turns out the red velvet cake tradition started at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

I may have geographically missed the mark, but the Waldorf-Astoria definitely has catered to the elite. Allegedly Queen Elizabeth II and royals of the literary world like J.K. Rowling (the Harry Potter series) and Dan Brown (Da Vinci Code) have been guests of the famed hotel.

So it’s appropriate that I baked red velvet cupcakes from Vintage Cakes to celebrate the elite of extraordinary baking in The Cake Slice Bakers group. Every month the group bakes the same recipe from the same cookbook. However, as this is our last month of baking from Julie Richardson’s Vintage Cakes, we were given carte blanche to choose our own recipe.

The red velvet cake from Vintage Cakes is luxuriously cocoa in flavor. Frosting is always the best part of any cake and Julie Richardson’s recipe for mascarpone frosting does not disappoint. Rich whipping cream, cream cheese and mascarpone combine to complement the red velvet cake.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting

Cocoa fans will definitely enjoy this rich recipe. And the mascarpone frosting is one of the best I’ve ever tasted. The recipes are from Julie Richardson’s Vintage Cakes. The baking times are adjusted for cupcakes.

Note: If you don’t have buttermilk in the fridge, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to 1 cup of whole milk. Stir. Then let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes. The mixture will look lumpy but it works! (No need to strain, just use the whole cup of lumpy milk.)

Ingredients:

For the Red Velvet Cake

2 ½ cups sifted cake flour
½ cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon red food coloring
¾ unsalted butter, softened
1 ¾ cups sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
2 egg yolks at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk at room temperature

For the Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces whipped cream cheese, softened
8 ounces mascarpone, cold
½ cup heavy cream, cold
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions:

For the Red Velvet Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line the cupcake tins with cupcake cases.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Whisk together. Set aside.
Mix the oil, vanilla and food coloring in another bowl.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat for about 5 minutes or until fluffy.
Pour the oil in a continuous stream into the butter / sugar mixture. Add the eggs, one at a time. Scrape the bowl often with a spatula.
Starting and ending with the flour mixture, add the dry ingredients. Alternate with the buttermilk.
Bake for 21 minutes. Cool.

For the Mascarpone Cream Cheese Frosting

Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the mascarpone, cream, sugar and vanilla until thick and creamy.
With a piping bag, swirl with a star tip onto the cupcakes.

Ready to meet a few luminaries of the Cake Slice Bakers?

Anne, a Bostonian who now lives in Washington, D.C., shepherded me into the Cake Slice Bakers group. Her blog, From My Sweetheart, is rife with erudite literary references and quotes. Her gorgeous cakes could be sold in any Beacon Hill (a posh Boston neighborhood) pastry shop.

Paloma of The Coffee Shop is the leader of The Cake Slice Bakers. She is as sweet as the beautiful cakes she bakes. Paloma is a lady who models integrity and compassion in all her actions. As Paloma says (in her Meet Me section on her blog) “everything I do I do it with love for God and my family.”

Monica is the blogger at and author of the cookbook Lick the Bowl Good. Her cookbook features yummies such as hummingbird cupcakes and Oreo stuffed chocolate chip cookies!

Holly of Love to Whisk It! is also a professional pastry chef. Naturally her cakes are fantabulous!

Sandra is a party planner and baker extraordinaire. Visit The Sweet Sensations to see her always beautiful baked goods.

My Australian friend, Felice, now lives in the Aloha state. She is a wife and mom to four daughters. Felice has an incredible talent for baking. (She always infuses her sweets with much love.) I have learned many things from this lovely lady. Her blog is entitled All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

Hazel lives in Ireland. Her Cupcakery has been nominated as one of the best food blogs of the Emerald Isle. Of course, her cakes are flawless.

And Anabel’s Oven Delights are indeed delightful!

You can meet many more extraordinary Cake Slice Bakers at the Cake Slice Blogroll. From the few I’ve introduced you can see why I celebrated these royal bakers with red velvet cupcakes.

Mascarpone cream cheese frosting is swirled atop a red velvet cupcake.

Are you a red velvet cake fan? Is frosting always the best part or is cake your favorite? Love to see your answers in the comments section.

Wishing you velvety smooth days rich with soul-satisfying work and play.

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

Tags:

red velvet cupcakes recipe

mascarpone cream cheese frosting

Waldorf-Astoria