Red Velvet Cupcakes with Butter Cream Cheese Frosting ♥

Without fail every time I have checked my Instagram feed this past month I've seen at least one red velvet recipe and so I felt inspired to venture into red velvet territory. Now I'm not one to go into uncharted waters unprepared so I did a bit of research, turns out that traditionally the red colour of the cake was due the reaction between acidic vinegar and buttermilk which reveals the anthocyanin in cocoa, nowadays we also add in red dye to enhance the colour (and ensure red velvet remains the international Valentines day dessert, obviously). 

I imagine the Queen of Hearts loves a red velvet cake or two, must be tiring work screaming 'off with their heads' multiple times a day. That's one of the reasons why I want to throw an Alice in Wonderland themed tea party, just so I can feature my red velvet cupcakes on a little stand centre stage, dress up in an eccentric costume, put up elaborate decorations and consume tea party food to my hearts content. That or a 1930s themed party (the good bits, notwithstanding the Great Depressions); art deco decor similar to the salons of the Waldorf Astoria, glamorous dresses and lots of red velvet, only apt considering the Astoria made this cake iconic. 

Now I'm not much of a party planner or thrower but what I do know is that this cake needs to made in abundance and shared and loved. 

These cupcakes are wonderfully soft, moist and flavourful with just a hint of cocoa. 
As for the frosting, most people go for a full-on cream cheese extravaganza but I personally don't like the taste of that so instead I made a buttercream frosting with a touch of cream cheese. I've also upped my piping game, check out those roses! they are nowhere near perfect but still look very pretty, especially with the white contrasting against the red cake and the subtle gold glitter. With the tiniest bit of effort and skill you can create a delicious cupcake, the type you would purchase at a fancy bakery in a hipster neighbourhood for an extortionate price and eat with a fork because etiquette.

So to make these Red Velvet Cupcakes you will need the following ingredients:

- Plain flour
- Caster sugar
- Baking powder
- Bicarbonate of soda
- Cocoa
- Salt
-Buttermilk
- Vegetable oil
- Egg
- Apple cider vinegar
- Red food dye
- Hot water

Begin by combing the liquid ingredients together in the bowl of your stand mixer - 2 fl oz of vegetable oil (or other flavourless oil), 1 egg, 1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar), 2 1/2 tsp red food colouring (I used a powder but if using gel dye amend amount as you see fit) and finally 4 fl oz buttermilk (can be purchased or alternatively mix together 4fl oz milk and 1 tblsp of lemon juice and let stand for 5 mins). 

Next add in your dry ingredients - 163g plain flour, 207g caster sugar, 1 and 1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 2 heaped tsp of cocoa. 
Stir mixture on low speed and pour in 3 fl oz of hot water, less may be required so just keep an eye on the consistency of the mixture.

Pour the mixture into a tin lined twelve lined cupcake cases and bake in a preheated Gas Mark 4 oven for 15-17 minutes or until cooked and springy to the touch. I prefer to use muffin tins as it offers better support.

In the meantime to make the butter cream cheese frosting, beat 110g of butter until pale then add in 250g of icing sugar and beat until well combined. Pour in 2 1/2 tsp of milk and 15g of soft cream cheese and mix to incorporate. To make the frosting more cream cheese based, alter the amounts e.g. 90g of butter and 35g of cream cheese but ensure that it is always double the amount of fat to sugar.

Once the cakes are out of the oven leave to cool of a baking rack to ensure that air gets underneath the cakes.

Fit a piping bag with a 1M tip, fill with the frosting and pipe on rosettes - starting from the centre and swirling outwards. Sprinkle with edible gold glitter if desired.

These cupcakes can be eaten immediately (most likely) or stored in an airtight container for up to two days. 

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x 

Cinnamon Pancakes with Caramelised Apple and Walnut

Today I woke up from the morning light coming through my window, the sun was up and I had weird shadows in my room. I dozed for a few more hours and had the strangest dreams but when I woke I could barely remember them, it was like trying to hold water in your hand but it just trickles out from between your fingers. This actually reminds me of a book I bought last year from the little bookshop under the bridge, it was called IQ84 by Haruki Murakami and it certainly helped me to while away a couple of spare hours between lectures. A particularly apt quote from it is 'time flows in strange ways on Sundays', I find this to be very true and its probably one of the reasons why I don't really like Sundays. Take today for example, its nearing the evening now and all I've done today is sleep, clean, watch the Winter Olympics (with awe and a little bit of jealousy) and brunch. This has included pancakes and copious amounts of tea in my London 2012 mug (does this count as vintage yet?).

Now at the risk of tooting my own horn these pancakes were niceee, fluffy and cinnamon-y with lashings of golden syrup and sweet caramelised apple and walnut. 

The recipe is simple enough with ingredients you most likely have to hand, perfect to make on a slow Sunday morning in your pyjamas. Or even a recipe to try on pancake day, yay for appropriately themed blog posts. Speaking of, I shared another pancake recipe this time last year (double yay for overcoming commitment issues and actually blogging for this long!).

To make these Cinnamon Pancakes begin by whipping up a simple batter:

Start by whisking together 1 cup of plain flour, 4 tblsp of sugar, 2 tsp of baking powder and 1 tsp of cinnamon.

Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and crack in 1 large egg, followed by 1 and 1/2 cups of milk and a dash of vanilla extract. Whisk together until well incorporated.

Meanwhile dice up one large apple, I opted for a 'Golden Delicious' for a sweet flavour but a tart Granny Smith is also a great option.

Add this to a saucepan along with 2 tblsp of salted butter, 2 tbls of soft brown sugar, and 1 tsp of cinnamon. Place this on a medium high heat and cook for a few minutes until the apples have softened slightly, don't overdo it as we want to retain some crunch and to not reduce the apples to turn to mush. Nearing the end of the cooking time stir in the desired amount of chopped walnuts. 

To cook the pancakes, in a small saucepan melt 1 tsp of butter then add in your pancake batter.

Wait until bubbles appear and the underside of the pancake is cooked, then flip. 

Cook up your stack of pancakes and plate up with a heaped pile of the caramelised apple and walnut.

Drizzle on a generous amount of golden syrup or maple syrup to serve.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x 

Yeast-Free Dough // Chicken Tikka Pizza

Things I'm loving at this moment: sweet milky coffee, linen scented candles, The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding, the smattering of snow I can see through the window.

Things I'm not loving at this moment: the seemingly never ending winter, my long to-do list, the loud rumbling of diggers outside, tired eyes from too little sleep. 

It's been a long past week or so and I've got a busy upcoming schedule (الحمد لله) so this Tuesday will be a little haven amongst all the hectic. I'm planning on baking some red velvet later but we'll see how that goes as I'm currently feeling a little 'cooked-out', meaning that in the past few days I did a hell of lot more cooking than I usually do. There was cake, banana bread, chicken tikka, various curries, naan, pancakes, pasta etc. and pizza of course.

  Chicken Tikka Pizza to be precise, with a yeast free dough because ain't nobody got hours to spare to wait for rising dough or the patience to go that long without consuming said pizza, for that matter. I've already shared a pizza recipe on this blog before but whereas that base was naan-like in texture this one is more what you'd expect from a traditional pizza base.

Rest assured its still easy and super delicious, doubly so when piled high with this chicken tikka and other toppings then baked until the cheese is all bubbly and golden, drool. 

The recipe uses cup measurements but I've recently added in a cooking conversions page so do check that out if you need to.

So to make the make the base, you will need the following ingredients:

- Plain flour

- Baking powder

- Salt

- Milk

- Butter

Begin by combining 3 cups of plain flour, 1 and 1/2 tblsp of baking powder, 1 tblsp of salt in the bowl out your stand mixture.

To this add in 1 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of water, 1 tblsp of unflavoured oil and 1/4 cup butter.

Using the dough hook attachment on the mixer combine all ingredients together on low speed until a ball of dough forms. You may need to add additional flour if it is too sticky or a dash more liquid if too dry.

Sprinkle some flour onto a surface and knead the dough slightly to reduce excess stickiness.

Divide the dough according to how many pizzas you want to make.

Using a rolling pin roll out the dough retaining a reasonable thickness for the base.

For the first stage of the cooking pop the base onto a hot ungreased pan aka tawa. You can stretch the dough or alter the shape slightly at this stage. 

After a few minutes, flip and cook the other side. Note that the dough is not fully cooked at this point. 

Over an open flame heat the base to cook the remaining parts and add some colour. 

Prepare the toppings: the no-cook tomato sauce, chicken tikka, sliced red onions, red peppers and cherry tomatoes.

Place the base onto a baking sheet, spread with the tomato sauce, add the toppings along with grated cheddar and sprinkle of mixed herbs. Omit the chicken for a tasty veggie alternative. 

Bake in a Gas Mark 8 oven for about 10 minutes until the cheese has melted and is golden. Remove from the oven, slice and serve.

😋

Enjoy!

 Q x