Red Velvet Muffins With Vanilla Dip Food

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.
• Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
• Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into cupcake comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.
• Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

RED VELVET VAMPIRE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
• Sift the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, oil, sour cream, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and egg in another large bowl.
• Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just incorporated. Divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out with a few moist crumbs, 16 to 18 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
• Microwave the chocolate and coconut oil together in a small microwave-safe bowl until mostly melted, about 1 minute. Stir, then microwave again until completely smooth, about 15 seconds more.
• Use a small sharp knife to cut out and remove a plug from the middle of each cupcake, making sure not to go all the way to the bottom and leaving a 1/4-inch border around the side (eat the plugs). Brush the holes with the melted chocolate and place in the freezer until the chocolate hardens, about 15 minutes.
• Whisk together the jam, 1 drop of red food coloring and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl until completely smooth. Spoon 1 tablespoon of the jam into each of the chocolate holes; set aside.
• For the cream cheese frosting: Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in the butter until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Scrape into a pastry bag fitted with a large round tip. Pipe on top of the cupcakes so the jam is covered.
• Poke 2 holes into the frosting on each cupcake using the end of a plastic straw to resemble vampire bites, making sure you hit the cupcake and not the jam-filled hole. Drizzle the remaining jam into the holes to resemble blood.

RED VELVET MUFFINS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Mix cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of the vanilla in small bowl until well blended and smooth. Set aside.
• Mix flour, remaining 1 cup granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Set aside. Beat egg in medium bowl. Stir in buttermilk, oil, food color and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened.
• Divide batter evenly among into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Place 1 teaspoon cream cheese mixture in center of each muffin.
• Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

RED VELVET MUFFINS WITH VANILLA DIP

Steps:

• Position your oven rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 400°F Prepare the muffin pans by spraying the cups and their rims with nonstick cooking spray, or putting the paper cups inside. If using silicon muffin pans, spray as directed and place on a baking sheet.
• Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until well blended. Set aside.
• In a large bowl, lightly whisk the egg, then whisk in the buttermilk and melted butter until smooth. Whisk in the vanilla, vinegar, and red food coloring until the mixture is uniformly colored. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the flour mixture, just until moistened.
• Fill the prepared pans three quarters full. Use additional greased muffin pans for any leftover batter. Bake for 27 minutes, or until the tops are browned and cracked an a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
• Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. (While the muffins are cooling, you can make the dip.) Gently rock each muffin back and forth to release it, then remove them from the pan and put on the rack to cool for an additional 5 minutes. You can then dip the tops of the muffins into the vanilla dip. If you are going to store or freeze the muffins, put into airtight containers or freezer bags once the dip has set up. These muffins will keep for up to 24 hours at room temperature or up to 1 month in the freezer.
• VANILLA DIP:.
• THis is a simple icing for baked muffins. Don't spread it with a knife-just dip the tops of the muffins into this thin glaze until they are lightly coated. The topping will be soft when set.
• Stir the water, corn syrup,and salt into a small saucepan until the salt dissolves. Place the pan over medium heat and bring to a simmer without stirring. Once it simmers, remove at once from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Stir in the sugar in 1/4 cup increments until the dip is smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl to cool slightly, about 5 minutes.
• Dip the tops of the cooled baked muffins into the mixture and let the excess drip back into the bowl. If desired, and any topping remains, dip the muffins a second time for a thicker glaze. Set the muffins right side up on a plate, and allow the dip to set at room temperature for about 15 minutes.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
• In a small bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large measuring cup, combine the buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed for 1 minute, until light. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients alternately in 3 parts, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, and mix until combined. Stir with a rubber spatula to be sure the batter is mixed.
• Scoop the batter into the muffin cups with a 2 1/4-inch ice cream scoop or large spoon. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean. Cool completely in the pans and frost the cupcakes with Red Velvet Frosting.
• Place the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and mix on medium speed just until combined. Don't whip! Add the sugar and mix until smooth.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Line a cupcake tin with 12 cupcake cases and set aside. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Sieve the flour, cocoa, bicarb and a pinch of fine salt into a medium bowl and mix to combine.
• Using a stand mixer or an electric hand whisk, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the egg, vanilla, buttermilk, oil and vinegar until combined. Gradually mix the wet ingredients into the dried. Once combined, mix in the red food colouring until you have a deep red mix - the colour may vary depending on what brand you use.
• Divide the batter between the cupcake cases and bake for 15 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the icing. Beat together the butter and icing sugar using an electric whisk or by hand until pale and fluffy, about 3 mins, then beat in the cream cheese for a further 1-2 mins until well combined.
• Once the cakes are cool, use a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle to cover the cakes with the cream cheese icing, or dollop the icing on top using a spoon.