you wanted yum!!? well, you got yum!

The swap was a smashing success! The girls came over and we bitched, swapped and ooh’d and ahh’d over our fabulous finds. I scored at least three pairs of shoes and some choice cashmere sweaters, handbags and loads of pants and jeans. Everyone left carting heavy bags and incredible smiles. What could be more thrilling than scoring amazing clothes for free?

Let’s just say it wasn’t a party, a real one, until i darted through my apartment, dishes of red velvet cupcakes with peanut butter icing in tow. There were gasps! There was the requisite licking of the frosting! There was glee! There was the ‘do you want to split another’? and the chorus of whispered: what is in this icing?!! Let this be known that I’ve had my fair share of cupcakes. I’ve downed the Buttercup frosting with the best of them. But you haven’t truly enjoyed chocolate until it’s gone a brazen ruby red. Feathered with tufts of blonde icing.

These were a cinch to make and I combined recipes from Ina Garten (culinary goddess) and epicurious. Enjoy licking the mixing bowl clean!!!

Red Velvet Cupcakes (from Epicurious) with Peanut Butter Icing (Ina Garten)
Note: I use all local/organic ingredients because this is how I fox trot.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (i used unbleached)
1 teaspoon salt (i used kosher salt)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar (i used cane sugar)
2 eggs (eggs must be at room temperature)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 ounces water
2 ounces red food coloring
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar (if you have apple cider vinegar, you can use this, too)
1 teaspoon baking soda (this is your leavening agent, so make sure it’s fresh baking soda, not sitting in your fridge for two years )

Kathleen’s Peanut Butter Icing (from Ina Garten’s Barefoot at Home):
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

For Cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy (about 2min). Add eggs one at a time and blend well.

In a seperate medium bowl, make a paste of the cocoa and food coloring and add the paste to the butter mixture. Sift the 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 baking soda. Fold it into the cake batter. Make sure it’s incorporated, but don’t beat it. Then you’re going to pour the batter into the cupcake tins. 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 the cupcakes out of the tins and onto a rack to finish cooling completely.

For Icing
Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

This entry was posted on Saturday, September 15th, 2007 at 7:11 pm and is filed under foodie gal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.