Description
Red velvet strawberry shortcake cupcakes blend classic dessert charm with modern twist. Sweet layers of moist cake, fresh strawberries, and creamy frosting create delightful indulgence you won’t want to miss.
Ingredients
Scale
- 0.5 cup (115 g) butter, unsalted, softened
- 0.75 cup (150 g) sugar, granulated
- 1 large egg
- 1.75 cups (160 g) flour, all-purpose
- 0.5 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
- 1.5 cups (360 ml) cream, heavy whipping
- 1.5 cups strawberries, fresh, diced
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 0.5 tsp baking soda
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp red food coloring
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsps sugar, granulated
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 0.25 cup (30 g) sugar, powdered
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and arrange cupcake liners in a muffin tin, ensuring even spacing.
- Dry Ingredients: Whisk cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until uniformly blended, eliminating any potential lumps.
- Butter Mixture: Cream butter and sugar using an electric mixer until the texture becomes light, fluffy, and significantly voluminous, creating a smooth base.
- Wet Integration: Blend egg and vanilla extract into the butter mixture, ensuring a cohesive and silky consistency that incorporates all ingredients seamlessly.
- Color and Moisture: Add red food coloring, buttermilk, and vinegar gradually, mixing until the batter achieves a rich, uniform crimson tone that reflects the classic red velvet aesthetic.
- Batter Finalization: Delicately fold dry ingredients into the wet mixture, stirring with minimal agitation to maintain a smooth, aerated batter without developing gluten or creating dense pockets.
- Baking Process: Fill cupcake liners three-quarters full, allowing sufficient space for expansion, and bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean and free of raw batter.
- Cooling Stage: Transfer cupcakes from the oven to a wire rack, allowing complete cooling before applying frosting or additional decorative elements.
Notes
- Control Food Coloring: Use gel-based red food coloring for intense color without altering batter consistency, preventing liquid dilution.
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure butter, eggs, and buttermilk are at room temperature for smoother mixing and more uniform cupcake texture.
- Avoid Overmixing Batter: Fold dry ingredients gently to prevent gluten development, which can create dense, tough cupcakes.
- Precise Baking Time: Check cupcakes at 18 minutes to prevent overbaking, as red velvet can quickly dry out and lose moisture.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 11
- Calories: 320
- Sugar: 21 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 11 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 55 mg