Red Velvet with Preserves

This is what they looked like before I put the icing on them. I forgot about the final picture. 

Makes 36 cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 3 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon red gel-paste food coloring
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 teaspoons white vinegar
• fruit preserves or pie filling (canned or home made)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 deg F and line your cupcake pans with muffin liners.
2. In electric mixer whisk oil and sugar until combined. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Mix in food coloring and vanilla.
3. Reduce to lower speed and add flour in three additions alternating with the buttermilk in two additions. Stir together vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl {it will foam which will impress any baking helpers working with you!! 🙂 } and add mixture to batter.
4. Fill muffin papers 3/4 full and bake for approx. 19 minutes turning half way through baking to ensure even baking.
5. Cool thoroughly. Use a piping bag with a long round tip. Pipe a small amount of preserves (I used cherry) into the center of each cupcake through the top. If you do not have a piping bag, you could simply cut the muffin in half and spread the preserves in that way.
6. Traditional icing for a red velvet would be cream cheese but I did a simple buttercream.

Notes:

• I used homo milk rather than buttermilk because that is what I had in the fridge. It turned out ok.
• I used my whisking instead of sifting technique for the flour/cocoa mixture and it did not work well with this recipe {BLUSH}. I ended up with small dots of cocoa throughout my muffins {which thankfully didn’t affect the taste!}
• This is the first time that I made red velvet cupcakes. My husband enjoyed them greatly. I’m on the fence. Maybe it’s because I am a chocolate girl and while these give a bit of a chocolate illusion, they aren’t really chocolate.

More recipes at Tempt My Tummy Tuesdays, Tasty Tuesdays, Tuesday Tastes, It’s A Blog Party’s Delicious Dishes, Tuesdays at the Table, A Beautiful Mess’ Tasty Tuesday and a BIG thank you to Sherry at Lamp Unto My Feet for the potato salad recipe and the link locations!