Magnolia Bakery Red Velvet Cupcakes sans the Red

This recipe was modified to remove the iconic red food coloring.  Many people do not know that food coloring is a known carcinogen.  Obviously, the adverse effects only arise after excessive consumption, but most processed foods have food coloring these days.  Originally, Red Velvet cakes did not contain food coloring, but rather utilized a lighter, alkaline cocoa that appears reddish-brown in certain light.  Around the 1950's, the food industry began selling a darker, acidic cocoa, which spawned the classic Devil's Food cake recipes.  

This recipe attempts to capture the classic, non-artificial taste and texture of the original Red Velvet cakes.  Most recipes use about 3 bottles of food coloring, which is a lot.  This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes 

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-Processed or Alkalized Unsweetened Cocoa Powder (Valhrona is my preference)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. 
2. Line two muffin tins (12 muffins each) with paper liners
3. To make the cake
   1. In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside. 
   2. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer: 
      1. cream the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 
      2. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. 
      3. In a small bowl, whisk together cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.
   3. In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. 
      1. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. 
      2. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. 
   4. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. 
      1. Add to the batter and mix well. 
   5. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. 
4. Fill each cupcake about 2/3 full with an ice cream scoop
5. Arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and bake the cupcakes
   1. Switch the positions of the pans halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
6. Cool the cupcakes in the pan 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on a rack before icing.

 

Linkage

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Velvet-Cupcakes-with-Creamy-Vanilla-Icing-241544#ixzz1P4j8REvL