Red Velvet Hi-Hats
February 26, 2009 at 6:48 AM | Posted in cupcakes | 57 Comments
I know. I know.
I’ve been a big slacker in the cupcake contest/event department these last few months. (Sorry Cupcake Hero and Iron Cupcake!) Blame it on a lack of motivation, time, energy, all of the above, whatever.
No matter the reasons, I knew I had to make time for the Mixing Bowl cupcake contest even if it cut into my Girls Next Door (guilty pleasure #839457) marathon. (Don’t judge me. Its like a train wreck. I can’t look away.) Though I admit the $200 prize money was a great incentive to make the time.
Hey… Don’t give me that look!
You can’t tell me that wouldn’t motivate you too esp in these hard economic times. Heck I’ll dance around in a chicken suit on a street corner if you pay me enough. What can I say? Money is motivating. And momma needs a new pair of shoes to pay off her credit card.
The rules are pretty simple. Create a cupcake. Upload picture to their website. Then there’s some fine print that no one reads and that’s it. Easy right? You’d think so but its not. I tend to make things more difficult. I get anxious with “too” much creative freedom. I need guidance, rules, restrictions. So coming up with a cupcake… any cupcake… was alot harder than I thought.
But eventually I went to my happy place (ie Tarjay LOL) and while shopping the 1 spot decided to create a cupcake for my husband. He’s turning the big 3-0 this Saturday. I figure this was a good opportunity to bake his favorite cupcake with a little something extra. I guesssss he deserves it.
Shameless plug alert! If you wanna vote for my cupcake. Click HERE and scroll to page 3. CB’s red velvet hi-hats. Thats me! And… if you’re bored at work, you can vote for me every day! How’s that for shameless plugging? HAHA
Recipe adapted from Cupcakes by Shelly Kaldunski & ::Cupcakes!:: by Elinor Klivans
Makes about 12 cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
For red velvet cupcake
1-1/2 cups cake flour
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp vinegar
4 drops red food coloring (I used a couple squirts of Ateco red color gel)
3/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp butter
1 egg, room temperature
For cream cheese frosting
8oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lb (~4 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
For chocolate coating*
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (I used 1/2 milk chocolate and 1/2 semi-sweet chocolate)
3 tbsp canola or vegetable oil (I used vegetable oil)
* This recipe makes a good amount of chocolate but its easier to work with more than less chocolate when dipping. You can always use leftovers drizzled over ice cream. Yum!
INSTRUCTIONS
To make cupcakes—
Preheat oven 350F. Prepare cupcake pan with liners.
Sift together cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt into a bowl. In a large Pyrex measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar and red food coloring; set aside. In a stand mixer with flat beater, beat the sugar and butter on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg. Mix to combine. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions alternating with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions, ending with the flour mixture.
Fill each liner about 2/3-3/4 full. Bake about 22-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let cupcakes cool before frosting.
To make frosting—
Combine the butter and cream cheese together in a mixer fitted with a flat beater attachment until creamed. Add vanilla extract. Gradually add powdered sugar. Scrape down the bowl as needed.
Using a Magic Tip 9ST round tip, pipe cream cheese frosting onto cupcake. Freeze to set frosting while making chocolate coating.
To make chocolate coating—
In a heatproof bowl, combine the chocolate and oil and melt over a saucepan of simmering water. Stir until chocolate melted and smooth. Let cool for 15 minutes.
To assemble cupcakes—
Holding the cupcake upside down by the bottom, dip the cupcake into the chocolate until all the frosting is covered. Let excess chocolate drip off.
[NOTES: You can leave the cupcake liner on if you like but I found it easier to dip all the frosting into the chocolate when I took the liner off.]
Then let cool at room temperature for 15 minutes so the chocolate firms up.
ENJOY!
Husband rating: A/A+
He is still a red velvet purist but raved about covering the cream cheese frosting with chocolate.
Wifey rating: A/A+
I like red velvet. Its not my favorite but I like it. Let me just tell you that adding the chocolate coating over the cream cheese frosting is AH-FREAKING-MAZING. If you like chocolate, you’ll love my twist on the red velvet cupcake.
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I’ve been meaning to make Hi-hats for a while and just haven’t gotten around to it. Now I really want to make them!
Comment by Heather Hawkins — February 26, 2009 #
Me too! They’ve been on my to-bake list for a long time. Definitely make them. Its alot of fun!
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
Holy HECK those look fantastic! I love the solid “dipped” look that comes from the chocolate!
Comment by Jingle — February 26, 2009 #
I love the “dipped” look too. Makes the cupcake looks sexy. Hmmm… can cupcakes be sexy? LOL
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
They look great! They remind me of the Dairy Queen dipped cones I loved as a kid.
Comment by pxilated — February 26, 2009 #
Omg! I remember Dairy Queen. I got my first kiss at DQ over a oreo blizzard. Aaawww… memories…
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
Wow those look awesome. I’m going to have to make these soon…
Comment by Jen — February 26, 2009 #
Yes, you should. It was a lot of fun to “dip” and I was sad when I ran out of cupcakes. hehe.
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
wow, that is one gorgeous cupcake! :) it’s the fashionista of cupcakes, hehe. i voted for you!
btw, what happened to your DSLR?? ;)
Comment by kim — February 26, 2009 #
Dang, you’re fast. I didn’t even realize we could vote yet. Might have to go add that little shameless plug in my post. DSLR? Uh yeah… its… uh… my dog ate it.
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
That is totally DQ!!! hehe Looks delicious :D And so crazy it’s John’s birthday Saturday too!!!! Happy Birthday to the mens! :D
Comment by stephchows — February 26, 2009 #
No freaking way?? His bday is Feb 28th? How old is your guy? Doing anything special/fun/crazy for the big 3-0?
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
It’s true! Feb 28!! My man is a bit older than me though, it’s the big 4-0 for him this year!!! No huge plans, just lots of baking and bringing him out to dinner day of. Friends have all been bringing him out to celebrate all month long haha, it’s a stretched out birthday :) Tons of fun though! Ok lets make it scarier, when’s your birthday?? I’m an August baby :)
Comment by stephchows — February 26, 2009 #
My birthday’s in August too! Ok its not. But that would have been way cool. I am a July baby. Ooohh older man. You dirty girl. HAHA. Same here. We’re doing a small little dinner and improv show with some friends and family. We decided to do something BIG for my 3-0 this summer since its at a better time for ppl to get away. Vegas baby vegas!
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
It’s true, I’m rockin the older man :) hehe your plans sound good to me :) I just tried to facebook stalk you… I failed hahahaha Guess I’m not as good at this stalking thing as I thought! :D
Comment by stephchows — February 26, 2009 #
Good job! These look uber-delicious. Oh man, I’m hungry just looking at them. By the way, Tar-jay is my “zen” place, as well. Love it!
Comment by Elyse — February 26, 2009 #
Isn’t it a great zen place? I go there when I need some peace of mind (and random Tarjay necessities). HAHA
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
These look awesome, and I voted for you to win the Mixing Bowl challenge. Good luck! I love your blog, too! Cupcakes are a girl’s best friend!
Comment by Krystal — February 26, 2009 #
Thanks for the vote and blog love!
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
The last time I made RV it was a complete disaster. My cupcake turned out to be too dry and it was more of a pink velvet then red. :( I think this weekend is a great time to put my big girl pants back on and try these cupcakes again.
Comment by Linda — February 26, 2009 #
aawww sorry to hear about your past RV disaster. Curious? What recipe were you using? Give this one a try and let me know what you think. Its my go-to red velvet recipe and I’ve never been disappointed. My hubs always give it 2 crumbs up! ;)
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
Hehe – my “zen” place tends to be Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. Unfortunately, they’re both a bit of a drive for me. But those hi-hats look absolutely delicious, and I agree – they remind me of Dairy Queen!
Comment by Caitlin — February 26, 2009 #
Trader Joes is a close 2nd! haha. Same here though. A little bit of a drive while Tarjay is only 5 minutes. I figure my zen place should be close b/c driving far distances doesn’t make me feel very zen. HAHA
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
I would so vote for this at work… but the wonderful California government blocked the site… I guess I spend too many hours reading your recipes, CB!
I’ll be voting from home, they look uber fabulous
Comment by CalyB — February 26, 2009 #
BOOOOO Cali government! Appreciate the vote :)
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
OMG! Those are soooo cool!!!!!
Comment by marguerite — February 26, 2009 #
Thank you!
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
You have my vote! Those red high hats are awesome!!!
Comment by Maria — February 26, 2009 #
Thanks so much!
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
Yum! They look fantastic! I think I might have to try dipping some cupcakes too.
Comment by Alicia McCarthy — February 26, 2009 #
Trust me. I have so many “dipping” cupcake ideas now. I can see how this could get addictive. LOL
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
Awesome. Never would have thought of chocolate coating a cupcake just like an ice cream cone. Looks de-lish!
Comment by Katrina — February 26, 2009 #
I wish I could take credit for the idea but Hi-Hats are typically chocolate cupcakes with a marshmallow frosting dipped in chocolate. I just kinda tweaked it a little. ;)
Comment by CB — February 26, 2009 #
Hi there.
I’m just stopping by to say hello!
Have a great day!
ps. it all looks yummy to me :)
Comment by Harriet — February 27, 2009 #
Hello!
Comment by CB — February 27, 2009 #
Hey these look amazing! One of these days you’ll get me to try a red velvet cupcake! :) I’m going over to vote now…
Comment by Mary — February 27, 2009 #
Girl. Put your big girl panties on and try!! It’s not the 3rd most popular cupcake flavor for nothing! haha. Thanks for vote :)
Comment by CB — February 27, 2009 #
Hi. the hi hats are fabulous looking- can you tell me how they do overnight? I need to make some for a shower and they have to be done the day before.Do they “hold” well? Thanks!
Comment by SandyH — February 28, 2009 #
I think they’d be fine overnight if you freeze them so they don’t melt but after you take them out of the freezer you might have maybe a few hours before they start to get soft. They probably won’t “melt” per se but they will be softer. Hope that helps!
Comment by CB — February 28, 2009 #
Maybe I should give them a “test-run”… that way I can eat some without having to wait for the shower day!!
Comment by SandyH — February 28, 2009 #
Now that sounds like a plan to me! ;) Let me know what you think, k?
Comment by CB — February 28, 2009 #
So cute and fun!!!! You are amazing!!!
Comment by foodlibrarian — February 28, 2009 #
Ah shucks. Making me blush… *smile*
Comment by CB — February 28, 2009 #
I am thrilled to report that the cupcakes held fine in the refrigerator overnight, and that three of the test ones from the freezer thawed perfectly this morning as well. This means that I can go ahead and do them in advance for my shower in May.
They were also perfectly yummy, and I sent 8 of them with my daughter to a restaurant for a friend’s birthday party last night. I got a text message that they were well-loved by the party goers, too!!
I am amazed at how perfect they look, and as said above- exactly like a DQ dip cone.
Comment by SandyH — March 1, 2009 #
Awesome! So glad to hear they worked out well for you. Do you have a blog? I’d love to see pictures of your red velvet hi-hats!
Comment by CB — March 1, 2009 #
I haven’t been on your blog for a while, but I was just in time to go and vote and I will vote tomorrow as well.
The Hi Hats look awesome…I’m definitely going to make them for Easter. I’ll let you know how I make out.
Good luck, they surely look like a winner to me.
Comment by Virginia — March 1, 2009 #
Glad you’re back! Definitely come back and let me know how yur hi-hats turn out. And appreciate the votes! Thanks so much.
Comment by CB — March 1, 2009 #
I love the Girls Next Door!
x
Comment by kim — March 10, 2009 #
Totally guilty pleasure of mine. I am so bummed it’s cancelled. What mindless show about bunnies will I watch now? haha
Comment by CB — March 16, 2009 #
I love the Girls too… my favorite guilty pleasure.
I am going to make these cupcakes. My cousin, a pastry chef, started a cupcakery and made red velvet cakes with CC frosting (sans chocolate dip of course) a couple of months ago and they were amazing. Now all I can think about are cupcakes. She also made some that were lemon and had homemade lemon curd inside and big sugar on top- huge granulated sugar. It had a lovely crunch! I am off to peruse your blog in search of lemon cuppycakes.
Comment by Tara — March 16, 2009 #
Awesome about your cousin! I’d love to pick her brain about those lemon+lemon curd cupcakes you mentioned. Any chance she might share her recipe? ;)
Comment by CB — March 16, 2009 #
This is really late in the game, but I made these a few months ago, but couldn’t dip the cupcakes, because the frosting kept sliding off. Do you know how I could prevent that?
Comment by Angela — July 29, 2009 #
Bummer! Did you freeze the cupcakes so that the frosting could set before dipping per my instructions? I think it helps keep the frosting from “melting” and “sliding” while dipping.
Comment by CB — September 29, 2009 #
Hi, so I just finished making the red velvet cupcakes…and I didn’t have a great turn out. I’ve only had RV once and I don’t remember if they’re supposed to have a chocolate taste. And they were a bit dense. And to top that off after I added the coloring they stood its original color of brown. It might be my food coloring. I used a deep pink that was gel based. I triple checked to make sure I did everything you said and checked the measurements as well. Any feed back will be GREATLY appreciated.
Comment by Delilah — September 27, 2009 #
Yes, red velvet has cocoa so it will have a chocolate taste. I don’t remember this recipe being dense though. Sorry to hear that. Dense cupcakes are the worst! What food coloring do you use? I use Ateco super rouge food coloring gel. I think the pink wouldn’t give you the red color you are going for unless you use alot. Hope that helps!
Comment by CB — September 29, 2009 #
We had the same problem with the cake – ours was dense like a muffin would be.. but they had a great taste still :)
Comment by Elizabeth — August 20, 2010 #
[...] SO MANY CUPCAKES! There are the chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes that I also made on NYE. And the red velvet cupcakes, both with plain cream cheese (well, I shouldn’t call them plain. Cream cheese frosting is ALWAYS yummy!) and hi-hat style! (a trick I learned from Clara, at I Heart Cuppycakes). [...]
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