LOLA’s Red Velvet cupcake is our bestseller by far. It’s a mild chocolate cake with a bright red colour, garnished with our famous cream cheese frosting. We originally created this recipe to celebrate the 4th July, but you need no excuse to bake this classic any time of the year. We’ve included instructions for an ultra-simple gluten-free version at the bottom of the page.
muffin pan lined with 12 muffin cases
Makes 12
Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/ Gas 4.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of/baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in a bowl.
Put the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until pale and fluffy. Stop occasionally to scrape down the side of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Slowly beat in the egg, mixing well. Slowly mix in the food colouring. Beat in the melted chocolate, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Gently fold in half the sifted dry ingredients with a large, metal spoon, then half the cream. Repeat with the remaining dry ingredients and cream.
Divide the mixture between the muffin cases. Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes or until well risen and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
While the cupcakes are cooling down, make the cream cheese frosting.
Put the butter in a bowl and beat with an electric hand mixer until very soft and smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Gradually sift the sugar into the bowl, beating for 2–3 minutes or until incorporated and the frosting is smooth and glossy. Refrigerate for 45 minutes, or until firm enough to pipe.
Slice a sliver of cake off the top of each cupcake with a sharp knife. Crumble it between your fingertips to make fine crumbs and set aside.
Spoon the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle/tip and pipe it on top of the cupcakes. Pour the reserved crumbs into a saucer and roll the edge of each cupcake in the crumbs to coat.
• To make this recipe gluten-free, replace the flour with 190 g/1½ cups rice flour and 3 tablespoons ground almonds and proceed as above.
• Cocoa powder with too high a cocoa content can make the cakes more brown than red. Food colouring paste is available from cake decorating stores.
