Aparment Baking: Red Velvet Cupcakes
May 12, 2008 // Food & Drinks

I haven’t really posted about my new apartment much, but I’m definitely going to once it starts looking better. It’s only been about two weeks now, but things are looking pretty great except for the living room, which is pretty barren. Anyhow, I made a decision when I moved that since I now had an oven, that I would start baking every weekend. I’ve never really been a baking kind of guy, but I have serious baking-envy because of my friend Frank who is the best cook that I know.

So I was going to bake chocolate chip cupcakes, but the power went out on my block for most of Saturday afternoon so it didn’t happen. But last weekend I made the awesome red velvet cupcakes you see above. I got the recipe off of FoodNetwork.com so it wasn’t very special, but it worked. The recipe was one of Paula Dean’s, and even though I think she’s the most annoying little troll on earth, they ended up being fairly easy to make. Overall they turned out okay, though I think I cooked them a little too long, but my roommate and best friend Garrett ate 4 of the 6 of them anyhow.

If anyone has any good recipes that I should try let me know! I want to bake all the time, it’s become my new addiction!

Bobby

  1. http://smittenkitchen.com/

    Comment by Jess — May 12, 2008 #

  2. MMMMM… thanks!

    Comment by Bobby — May 12, 2008 #

  3. epicurious.com usually has the good stuff when you get more confident in the kitchen. And don’t neglect Martha’s cookie recipes at the end of each issue of Living.

    Comment by Brad — May 12, 2008 #

  4. Jess: that website should be renamed food-porn.com.

    looks soooo good!

    Comment by Jeff — May 12, 2008 #

  5. The best frosting:

    1 box (8 oz.) cream cheese
    1 pound powdered sugar
    splash of vanilla extract
    1 stick of butter

    Mix until smooth. It goes perfectly on red velvet, carrot cake, etc.

    Comment by leanna — May 12, 2008 #

  6. http://bread-and-honey.blogspot.com/

    yum!

    Comment by erika — May 12, 2008 #

  7. It’s nice to see the use of buttermilk, it’s god awful that this stuff is based on food coloring. Food coloring is starting to become a suspiscious ingredient by toxicologists. We are living in a chemical world and this is part of it. Mind you, the titanium dioxide in the white isn’t too shabby either.

    What I hate the most about food coloring is when I am really drunk and have a crap in the early morning, it takes me about 5 second to realise that I don’t have a bleeding colon cancer ulcer, just a poisonous red muffin passing by…

    5 years ago I made colored cakes for my kids. Now I rather make black rice and coconut vanilla pudding as confort break. Be nice to yourself, go get a real nice fat tahitian vanilla bean. The extract isn’t even that.

    Comment by tipere — May 13, 2008 #

  8. i keep a baking blog – you might be interested
    http://deuxanimaux.wordpress.com/

    Comment by kyle — May 14, 2008 #

  9. check out Nigella Lawson – don’t know how well known she is in the states, but “How to be a Domestic Goddess: baking & the art of comfort cooking” was massive over here in the UK… A-MAZ-ING brownies.

    Comment by ben — May 14, 2008 #

  10. Delicious Guinness Chocolate Cake:

    http://www.cam.cornell.edu/~saliola/chocolate_guinness_cake.html

    Comment by april — May 16, 2008 #

  11. Better late then never… you HAVE to bake these cookies.

    Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

    Makes: Not enough (approx. 4 dozen).
    Recipe from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook

    Ingredients
    1¼ cups all-purpose flour
    ¾ teaspoon baking soda
    ½ teaspoon baking powder
    ¼ teaspoon salt
    ½ cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
    1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (smooth is what we used, but I am pretty sure they use chunky at the bakery)
    ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon (for sprinkling) sugar
    ½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
    1 large egg, at room temperature
    1 tablespoon milk or soymilk
    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    ½ cup peanut butter chips
    ½ cup chocolate chips

    Directions
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, and the salt. Set aside.
    In a large bowl, beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Add the egg and mix well. Add the milk and the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly. Stir in the peanut butter chips. Place sprinkling sugar on a plate. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls into the sugar, then onto ungreased cookie sheets, leaving several inches between for expansion. Using a fork, lightly indent with a crissscross pattern (if you happen to get so excited about these cookies that you forget this step *cough*likeme*cough* not all is lost. actually, nothing is lost at all), but do not overly flatten cookies. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.
    Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely.

    Comment by Annie — June 5, 2008 #