Over at Week of Menus, Joanne, who is not a fan of the famous red velvet cupcake, has posted a Paula Deen recipe for a "beyond velvet cupcake" that she ate and then adapted herself. What's that? Well, it's basically a red velvet cupcake...without the red. Yes, there's cream cheese frosting. And recipes! Secret ingredient: vegetable oil.
She writes:
I sat down with my lunch, chit-chatting with a few other folks, and everyone was talking about which baked goods tasted the best. I got quite a few compliments on my cupcakes and so I graciously said, "Oh no, they aren't really anything" while the inside part of me cheered victoriously! I then had the opportunity to eat the cupcake that I had purchased and friend JEL happened to walk by. "What's that?" she asked.
"A velvet cupcake," was my reply.
"Oh...interesting," she said.
"Do you want a bite?" I asked.
She readily took some and I also took a bite. I was confused initially, not really sure what I was tasting, but next to me JEL was suddenly ecstatic. She said, "THIS is JUST like a red velvet cupcake, but it's just not red."
"Wait," I said. "This is like a REAL red velvet cupcake only not red?"
"If I close my eyes, I can't tell it's not red."
But wait, there's more!
Here at Week of Menus is a recipe for The Velvet Cupcake, as shown below.
What do you think? Is the red color of a red velvet cupcake part of its appeal? I am consistently told by bakeries that red velvet is their top seller (or close) and many of them are, like me, baffled, because I'm not a big fan (or even a small fan) of red velvet cupcakes, so these posts intrigued me.
She writes:
I sat down with my lunch, chit-chatting with a few other folks, and everyone was talking about which baked goods tasted the best. I got quite a few compliments on my cupcakes and so I graciously said, "Oh no, they aren't really anything" while the inside part of me cheered victoriously! I then had the opportunity to eat the cupcake that I had purchased and friend JEL happened to walk by. "What's that?" she asked.
"A velvet cupcake," was my reply.
"Oh...interesting," she said.
"Do you want a bite?" I asked.
She readily took some and I also took a bite. I was confused initially, not really sure what I was tasting, but next to me JEL was suddenly ecstatic. She said, "THIS is JUST like a red velvet cupcake, but it's just not red."
"Wait," I said. "This is like a REAL red velvet cupcake only not red?"
"If I close my eyes, I can't tell it's not red."
But wait, there's more!
Here at Week of Menus is a recipe for The Velvet Cupcake, as shown below.
What do you think? Is the red color of a red velvet cupcake part of its appeal? I am consistently told by bakeries that red velvet is their top seller (or close) and many of them are, like me, baffled, because I'm not a big fan (or even a small fan) of red velvet cupcakes, so these posts intrigued me.
Comments
I'm more curious how Joanne got her frosting to look so much like a rose! It's gorgeous.
Why that is the most un-southern thing I've ever heard. This is opinion only, I truly think the food coloring adds to the moist rich flavor. I've made red, green and blue velvet--but I do think some food coloring is a necessary part of the recipe. It's what makes it taste as smooth as velvet!
For Betsy - the frosting - I get a lot of questions on it. It's a wilton's 2D tip - I hold the pastry bag perpendicular to the cupcake, start at the center and spiral swoop outwards. I do have quite a bit of pressure on the pastry bag and I swoop quickly. It's my technique. I have no idea if it is right or not, as I've never taken a class, but it is currently the only way I know how to pipe icing.
There are two recipes for not-red velvet cupcakes on my blog - one done with butter and one done with vegetable. Strangely enough I get more positive reviews on the vegetable oil one - which is hard for me to swallow as I love butter. But every has their own opinion.