Red Velvet Cupcakes

I have tried and tested a lot of red velvet cupcake recipes and till now this one is the winner.  

My mission was to try and get the best recipe with beetroot to colour the cupcakes.  So I used beetroot juice and beetroot pulp, but it seems like the colour fades when baked.  So to get them that dark red colour it seems like you have to use food colouring {if you don't like food colouring stick to normal cupcakes beetroot doesn't do much to the colour, well that's what I have found} So if you have any tips on this please let me know! This recipe is out of Cake by Callie Maritz and Mari-Louis Guy.

What you need:
2 1/2 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 tsp Bicarb of soda
1 tsp Cocoa Powder
1 tsp Salt
1 cup Buttermilk
2 Eggs (room temperature)
1 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
1 tsp White vinegar
5 tsp Red food colouring (or beetroot reduction)
1 tsp Vanilla essence

Pre-heat the oven at 180 C

Put cupcake liners in your cupcake pan.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and salt together.

In another mixing bowl combine the buttermilk, eggs, oil, vinegar, food colouring {or reduction} and vanilla essence.

Mix the flour mixture into the buttermilk mixture.

Pour the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 18 - 20 min.

Decorate with Cream Cheese Icing... it freezes well {before iced} but sure by the time you have served them there will be nothing left to freeze!

Cream Cheese Icing:
Mix 60g Cream Cheese {softened}, 30g butter {softened}, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence in a electric mixer until pale.  Then gradually add 3/4 cup icing sugar.  Allow to rest in fridge for about 20min before icing the cupcakes.

I love freebies {eat me printable}

Print on board, cut out and glue {glue gun} onto a toothpick.  Stick them into your cupcakes to give it a fun twist.  You can also print on sticker paper, cut out and stick on a plain white paper bag with treats in {email me and I'll send you the pdf file for the printable: denise@weloveevents.co.za}

{For personal use only}

quotes I love {Jim Rohn}

Breakfast frittata's {mini}

There are few "nice" ideas for breakfast, other than layered muesli with fruit, or stacked flapjacks! 

So this is a dedication to making brunch {or breakfast} special :-) with mini Frittatas. I enjoy making individual portions, it's lovely to make variation and it also looks beautiful, so I made these in muffin pans to make small servings and this recipe makes 12.

FYI
Frittata is an egg-based dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables or pasta.  It may be flavoured with herbs. Place of origin is Italy. {wikipedia}

What you need:
Oil or cook n spray
8 large eggs
1/3 cup full cream milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan {or mature cheddar}
1/2 cup grated Cheddar
Salt and pepper {to taste}
Any left overs or whatever you have in the fridge {experiment}

Some ideas:
grilled veggies {chopped up into small cubs}
bacon and spinach
ham and mushrooms {cooked}
caramelised onion and cooked sausage
Steak cut into small pieces with mushrooms and onions {cooked}
Potatoes {cooked}, caramelised onion and thyme

Method:
Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius {before you start chopping and mixing}

Spray or oil the muffin tins well {you don't want these to stick, cause then it's a mess}

Whisk the egg, milk, parmesan, salt and pepper in a large bowl and blend it well

Put the "filling of your choice in the muffin cup and fill with egg mixture almost to the top

Sprinkle with cheddar cheese

Bake for about 10 min in a pre-heated oven until the egg mixture puffs and it is set in the centre

They will be all puffy but will settle once removed from the oven

Run a knife around the edge to loosen the frittata from the muffin pan, slide onto a platter.

Serve immediately

Share if you have more ideas for combo's to put into your mini frittata's :-) by commenting below!