Red Velvet Cupcakes With Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Found this recipe and thought it would be fun to make these with the kids today as they are out of school now. He's already "bored". Sigh. But....red cupcakes! It's Christmastime...so the color is perfect!

You'll need this stuff for the cake:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 c. buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp. red food coloring paste*

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

*I couldn't find "paste" but regular food coloring worked just fine for me.

And you'll need this stuff for the frosting:

1 brick cream cheese, softened

1 stick butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. sifted confectioners' sugar

[ DIRECTIONS ]Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers. There is a lot of oil in this recipe, so I prefer the foil kind. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with an electric mixer or balloon whisk. The liquids should be emulsified. Add dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined. Stir gently with a large spoon just until combined. Do not over work the batter or your cupcakes will be tough.Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins, about 2/3 filled. Bake at 350 for about 22-25 minutes. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Cakes will be a little soft while still hot, but will set once cooled. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. [ MAKING THE FROSTING ]Combine all ingredients until smooth. Chill for at least 30 min. before frosting cupcakes.

Ashlee side note: plain yogurt can be used as a substitute for oil in most recipes. It really makes for a moist cake. This recipe has A LOT of oil....so if you're trying to be "good", give the yogurt a try. I just LOVE red velvet cake and cupcakes are one of my FAVORITE desserts, so I'm excited to try these out!