It must be something in the air, I’m not sure what it is. Cupcakes. Cupcakes instead of cake. First Heather Mangrum (confession – about to be my step-daughter-in law, engaged to my stepson Alex) who wrote in about her and Alex’s adorable (and sensible and charming) decision last week to serve cupcakes at their wedding instead of cake. And the test they ran to choose them, buying cupcakes from bakeries all over New York City, adding a kind of individual flourish to an already elegant and stylized yet slightly modest event. The best kind.
Cupcakes are an East Coast thing for sure. But they’re migrating west. There’s always a line down the block at Sprinkles on Wilshire Blvd in Beverly Hills. And Joan McNamara’s Joan’s on Third coconut cupcakes are simply the best ever. They just are.
And then Sunday I was at the gym at Sunset and PCH, where the coffee shop specializes in healthy juice and breakfast burritos with whole wheat tortillas. And there on the counter at the check-in desk was this adorable display with cupcakes on it, tiny pink cupcakes, some white, some red velvet with pink icing, for anyone who wanted one to share. And there was Kristin the receptionist wearing a sparkly silver Happy Birthday tiara on her head because it was her birthday. Her 27th birthday. And she’d picked cupcakes instead of cake. And, not only that, she’d baked them herself that morning.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces water
2 ounces red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 12 cupcake cups or line with paper liners.
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and blend well. Make a paste of cocoa and food coloring and add to the butter mixture. Sift flour and salt together into this mixture. One at a time, add the following ingredients: buttermilk, vanilla and water.
In a small bowl, combine the vinegar and the baking soda. Fold it into the cake batter. Make sure it's incorporated, but don't beat it. Pour the batter into the cupcake cups. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back when touched. Remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out of pan and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8 ounce)package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Blend together all the ingredients until smooth.
Adapted from the book "Hey There, Cupcake!" by Clare Crespo.