Red Velvet Cupcakes

Cupcakes

1 large egg

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup buttermilk (or Powdered Buttermilk, use 2 1/2 tablespoons + 2/3 cup water)

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

2 rounded tablespoons vanilla Greek yogurt (plain Greek yogurt or sour cream may be substituted)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

pinch salt, optional and to taste

1 to 2 tablespoons red food coloring, or as needed

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 heaping cup cream cheese, softened (I used Trader Joe's soft spreadable light)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

about 2 to 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, or as necessary

splash cream or milk, only if necessary

sanding sugar or sprinkles, optional for garnishing

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan with paper liners; set aside. You will likely have batter for a 13th or 14th cupcake, and I baked it in this cooking-sprayed mini loaf pan because my oven is small and that setup works; discard extra batter if that's easier.

Cucpakes - In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients, through vanilla, until smooth.

Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, optional salt, and whisk until just combined; don't overmix.

Carefully whisk in the food coloring, making sure to add only as much as necessary to color the batter a deep shade of red; adding more than necessary can leave an aftertaste.

Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, place about 2 heaping tablespoons of batter per cupcake into each of the 12 cavities so they're solidly 3/4-full. I poured the excess batter into a mini loaf pan.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter; don't overbake. My cupcakes were on the large side of normal because I generously filled liners to 3/4-full, and they took exactly 20 minutes. If yours are filled more shallow, start checking at 18 minutes. Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing. I baked the mini loaf for 20 minutes. While cupcakes cool, make the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting - Combine first 3 ingredients in a large mixing bowl, add about 1 cup confectioners' sugar, and whisk to combine or beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Continue adding sugar until desired frosting consistency is reached. If you add too much sugar and need to thin frosting out, add a splash of cream. Because I used light cream cheese, the frosting stayed on the runnier side. If you want frosting thick enough to pipe, do not use light cream cheese.

Add 2 to 3 tablespoons frosting to the top of each cupcake and smooth with a knife. Optionally transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost the cooled cupcakes. I like the Wilton 1M tip for cupcakes. You may have a small amount of frosting left over. It will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Optionally, garnish each cupcake with a sprinkle of sanding sugar or pinch of sprinkles. Cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. I personally am comfortable storing cream cheese-frosted items at room temp, but if you prefer to store in the fridge, that's fine, but note the fridge will dry cupcakes out much more quickly.