4th of July: Celebrating the freedom to eat delicious cuppincakes!

It's no lie that one goal of my predilection with baking is to win over Matthew's massive family. That's why I made red velvet cupcakes for the 4th of July BBQ last year and, since they were a big hit, why I made them again this year. Plus! This year I got to frost them using my fancy pastry bag and tips that Matt got me for my birthday and I have been dying to use since. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos at the party, so you don't get to see his cousin's grandson smearing cupcakes all. over. himself. These cupcakes are basically the best thing I bake and I was really proud of how cute they looked using the pastry bag to frost them. We used the leftover icing on Sunday on some cinnamon buns, and it was divine. Behold! In all their red, velvety, patriotic glory!

Now, this is a Paula Deen recipe that can be found on the Food Network website. Lots of reviewers complained about the amount of vegetable oil in the recipe, but I don't find the cuppies to be too oily -- they're moist and delicious! Suck it up and go for the full-fat, you won't be disappointed. Besides, that measurement is for 24 cupcakes, and these are so rich you can only really eat one anyway. Needless to say, once you see the recipe, you'll know there's really no way to make these diet-friendly... it's Paula Deen, after all. 

On another note, you could most definitely make this recipe in two 9-inch cake pans, and use the icing to frost it as a lovely cake. But cupcakes are so much cuter.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

[makes 24 cupcakes]

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 tablespoons red food coloring
• 1 tsp white distilled vinegar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 pound cream cheese, softened
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

Line muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Be very careful not to splash on yourself, your counter, or anything else you don't want to be permanently stained pink from the food coloring!! Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet in installments and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup to do it, and they came out perfect. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through [I didn't turn them and they were fine -- go ahead and be lazy if you dare!]. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. You can use a pastry bag with a round or large star tip, or a ziploc baggy with the corner cut off, or just a spoon or butter knife to frost these. Or your fingers, I suppose. Tasty!