Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These are so yummy and great for a party! One batch makes about 72 mini-cupcakes. They can be made ahead and frozen until you're ready to frost.  It's actually easier to frost them when they're frozen and they will thaw very quickly. Keep the leftovers refrigerated. 

For the cupcakes: 

I converted this recipe to cake flour from all purpose, as the original called for.  And I always weigh my flour, especially when making cakes, so they're light and fluffy. If you don't have a scale, use 2 cups plus one heaping 1/4 cup of cake flour.

10.3 oz cake flour (I use King Arthur Unbleached Cake Flour)

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

pinch of salt

2 tbs. dutch process cocoa powder

1 cup buttermilk

1 tbs. white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 tsp. red gel food coloring (or 2 tbs. regular liquid)

12 tbs. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I substituted organic evaporated cane juice)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini cupcake pan with paper liners.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a medium bowl. (Make sure you sift to get the clumps out of the cocoa!) 

In a large (4 cup) glass pyrex measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and eggs. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce mixer to low speed. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix about 30 seconds. Add 1/2 of the buttermilk mixture, mix another 30 seconds. Repeat with the flour, buttermilk, then ending with the flour mixture, scraping the bowl as necessary. Add the food coloring and mix until well blended, making sure you scrape down the bowl very well and mix again so all the batter is red. 

Spoon 1 even tablespoon of batter into each mini cupcake well. Bake for 11 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

The cupcakes keep their "rise" only if you don't open the oven while baking, this can take some trial and error to know how long it will take in your oven. Mine takes exactly 11 minutes.  If your cupcakes sink, don't worry about it. The frosting will cover it up anyway! 

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

6 oz unsalted butter, softened

9 oz cream cheese, softened

12 oz confectioners sugar  (2 3/4 cup)

1/2 tsp. vanilla

Cream the butter and cheese until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Add sugar in 3 batches, mixing until well blended and scraping the bowl as needed. 

Add vanilla and mix thoroughly. 

Refrigerate until ready to frost the cupcakes. 

Let the frosting sit at room temperature for a few minutes before spreading on each cupcake. You can also frost using a piping bag fitted with a large tip.