Red velvet cupcakes

My experience with red velvet cupcakes is a little like a disaster movie. Thankfully a disaster movie with a happy ending, not one where everyone slowly gives up hope and dies (yes alien I am talking about you).

My first red velvets were a complete and utter disaster, and I mean one of epic proportions. It was not simply a case of them not being red enough, not being chocolaty enough, too thin frosting, a little bit dry etc. No, these were inedible, purely on the basis that they would not bake.

I cannot actually use the word bake, the best way I can describe their cooking process is to say that they boiled. I very thin vaguely chewy crust formed and the underneath bubbled and boiled like something from Halloween. I ended up with very hot, sticky, red liquid all over my cupcake tin, with slightly burnt sugar crusts. Not a cake, not edible, not happy.

There are no words

I know I followed the recipe, so I have no idea what happened, either my scales or oven went hinky.

Anyway I waited a while, put on a brave face and  had everything crossed for red velvet cakes take 2. And they worked! Actual cakes!

I followed a red velvet recipe from love bakery for my second attempt and I followed it to the letter.

The resulting cupcakes are nice and soft and the frosting is delicious. M says they are lovely but for me the chocolate is just not there enough. As Florian on cupcake wars says, the red velvet should be a chocolate cake with a hint of red not the over way round! Still I have an idea to ramp up the chocolate flavour so hopefully my next red velvets will be perfect, if so I will post my adapted recipe then.