This weekend I am going to be a part of a charity/fundraiser bake sale for a sick little boy named Cole and his family.
For the bake sale, I decided to make my Chocolate Chunk Cookies and Red Velvet Cupcakes. Mmm... Red Velvet is our family's favorite. I like it for the aesthetics, my husband likes them for the taste, and my son loves them because, well, they are sweet and RED.
Look at how moist that cake is!
RED VELVET CUPCAKES
2 1/2 Cups GLUTEN FREE ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
2 Cups "Raw" Turbinado Sugar (or you can substitute Coconut/Palm Sugar for this)
1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 Cup Soy Free Earth Balance Margarine
1/2 Cup Palm Shortening
1/3 Cup Vegenaise Original Mayonnaise (seriously) (Can be omitted to make SOY free)
1 1/8 Cup UNSWEETENED Applesauce
1 Cup Non Dairy Buttermilk (1 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar + enough unsweetened Coconut milk to equal one cup... let sit for 5 minutes before using)
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp - 2 1/2 tsp Red food coloring (some are weaker than others... you just want to make sure you have a nice deep red color or else you will end up with chocolate cupcakes.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and line cupcake tins with paper liners and set aside.
Prepare your "buttermilk" by adding 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (I like Bragg's) and enough unsweetened coconut milk to bring your mixture to the one cup mark, and let sit for approximately 5 minutes.
Whisk together Flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt in medium sized bowl.
In a separate bowl, mix together the margarine, palm shortening, sugar, vegenaise, vanilla, and food coloring until creamy.
Take dry ingredients and add about 1/3 of the mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix with hand mixer. Add about 1/3 of the buttermilk, continue mixing. Alternate adding dry ingredients and buttermilk until everything is well mixed together.
Fill cupcake liners about 1/2 way, and cook for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Take cupcakes out of oven at that point and allow to cool in the pans.
This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes.
FROSTING
1/2 Cup Palm Shortening
1/2 Cup Butter flavored Palm Shortening
1 lb Confectioners Sugar (You CAN make your own using Palm sugar or Turbinado sugar... see my notes below)
1 1/2 Tbsp Vanilla
2 Tbsp unsweetened Coconut milk
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 drops of food coloring of choice (optional)
Mix all ingredients together in a bowl until well blended and creamy. Spread on cupcakes and enjoy!
MAKING YOUR OWN CONFECTIONERS SUGAR (POWDERED SUGAR)
(make however much you need)
1 Cup Turbinado (or palm sugar)
1 Tbsp Arrowroot starch
Mix together on high in a high powered blender until the consistency of powder. (Don't let the blender get too hot or the sugar will start to stick to the blades).
A word about using Palm Sugar: It will speckle your frosting with brown flecks. To avoid this, use a different sugar.
Eat and Enjoy!
