Ruby Red Velvet Cupcakes

What’s chocolate and vanilla and red all over? Ruby Red Velvet Cupcakes! These cupcakes have a lovely chocolate and vanilla flavour and their bright red colour makes them so much fun to decorate — but even more fun to eat! We’ll take two scoops with sprinkles on top, please

Ingredients 

Cooking spray, for greasing pans
1½ cups all- purpose flour
½ cup cake and pastry flour
2 cups white sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¾ cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 (1 ounce/28 ml) jar liquid red food colouring—yep, the WHOLE jar!
½ cup boiling water

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Take the 2 muffin pans and place cupcake liners in each of the cups. Spray the inside of the liners with cooking spray.
2. To the large bowl, add the all-purpose flour, cake and pastry flour, white sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using the whisk, whisk until the mixture is lump- free.
3. Add the eggs, buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, white vinegar and liquid red food colouring. Using the electric mixer, beat on low speed until everything is combined.
4. Slowly and carefully add the boiling water.
5. Gently whisk until everything is combined. The batter should be very wet.
6. Using the spatula, scrape the batter into the spouted measuring cup. Scrape down
   the sides and bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into each cupcake liner, filling them 2/3 of the way up.
7. Bake the cupcakes, 1 muffin pan at a time, until a toothpick stuck in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean, about 16–18 minutes.
8. Using the oven mitts, carefully remove the muffin pans from the oven and place them on the cooling racks. Let the cupcakes cool completely before removing them from the pans. Save for later? Store the cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days

Excerpted from Baking Wonderland by Jean Parker and Rachel Smith. Copyright © 2023 Jean Parker and Rachel Smith. Photographs by Reena Newman. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.