First of all, these cupcakes sound complicated, but they were really pretty simple once you get the swing of it. The cheesecake mixture is very simple to blend and I am going to add a few tips I did not see in the recipe that will you help you in your endeavors :)
First comes the topping. Because it is so simple, I decided to make this first and then the red velvet batter. To make the cheesecake topping, you need the following:
One 4 oz package of cream cheese (make sure this is brought to room temperature and that it is not low fat)
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp of vanilla
*tip: add some corn starch and flour to this if it is runny. Beat all the ingredients together until creamy and well incorporated.
Once you finish, your cheesecake mixture should look something like this:
Set this aside and preheat your oven to 325 (my toaster oven did not bake well at this temp, so I put my oven to 180 degrees celcius and it worked much better)
Now for the Red Velvet Cake You will need the following:
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/3 cups vegetable or canola oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
In mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. In another mixing bowl, stir together the eggs and oil. In a mixing cup, mix together the buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract and lightly whisk. Gradually add the dry ingredients and buttermilk mixture to the egg mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Then add the batter to the cupcake liners and bake 22 minutes, or until done. Let the cupcakes cool completely.
Because you have cheesecake batter on top, you will want the top be firm but not hard because the cheesecake will continue to cook after it is taken out of the oven. Use the toothpick method to ensure the red velvet cake has baked completely.
The first batch, I filled the cupcake liners a little full and baked them at 325. They baked for what seemed like forever and the red velvet cake was still gooey and leaving traces on the toothpick. The second batch baked much better and the cake was fluffy :)
The first batch:
The second batch I used a little bit less of both batters and baked it at a higher temp. Next time I plan on swirling a toothpick through to actually marble the cake. This was more topped with cheesecake.
All that was left was to make the cream cheese frosting! Now I have a problem with the frosting melting very easily so I have changed the recipe a bit and it has really worked out for me.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting you will need:
1/2 cup of butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
up to 3 ounces of cream cheese
Cream the butter and then gradually add powdered sugar until frosting is crumbly. Then add vanilla and cream cheese. Add small amount of cream if still not creamy in consistency.
The finished product looked and tasted amazing! I hope you guys enjoy the recipe because we sure did :)
