Red Waldorf (aka Red Velvet) Cupcakes

Red Waldorf cake is good all year long, but given it’s namesake hue, it’s especially popular on Valentine’s Day. Commonly referred to as red velvet cake, it is known as red Waldorf cake because it was the signature desert served at the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in NYC. Anyways, enough factoids… let’s get to the grub!

What goes in:
2 eggs
½ C unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. (¼ c) red food coloring
2 C all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
½ C butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 C buttermilk
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
1 recipe of Fluffy Frosting

Let the eggs sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine the unsweetened cocoa and red food coloring. At first, it’ll seem like these ingredients won’t mix…

But keep stirring, whisking, combining…whatever, and eventually, you will have a rich, red cocoa paste.

In a small bowl, stir together flour and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter on a medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Then add sugar and vanilla extract, and beat until well-combined. Add eggs one at a time, combining after each addition. Beat in the red cocoa paste made earlier.

Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk, beating on low to medium speed after each addition until just combined.

Combine vinegar and baking soda; these will fizz up. Add this to batter, and mix until well-combined.

Pour the cake batter into cupcake tins and fill to about 2/3 full.

Bake at 350° for 26-29 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. After removing from the oven, let your cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

While your cupcakes are baking and cooling, I suggest you begin making the frosting because of the time involved. See Fluffy Frosting recipe here. Apply frosting via spatula or pastry bag (or in my case, butter knife or Ziploc makeshift pastry bag), and decorate, if desired.

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