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Maroon Cupcakes

Burgundy velvet cupcakes, decorated with cream cheese icing flowers. Inspired by Taylor Swift's song, 'Maroon'.
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword Burgundy velvet cake, Cake, Cream cheese, Piping
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes

Ingredients

For the burgundy velvet cupcakes:

  • 2 1/4 tbsp buttermilk
  • 3/4 tsp red food colouring paste (see Note 1)
  • 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
  • 175 g self-raising flour
  • 3/4 tbsp black cocoa powder (see Note 2)
  • 190 g caster sugar
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 200 g Stork (see Note 3)
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 1/4 tsp white wine vinegar

For the cream cheese icing:

  • 150 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 240 g full-fat cream cheese
  • 840 g icing sugar
  • 1/16 tsp black cocoa powder
  • 1 drop red food colouring paste

Instructions

For the cupcakes:

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole cupcake tray with burgundy cupcake cases and set aside.
  • In a small jug, whisk together the buttermilk, red food colouring and vanilla until the colour is evenly incorporated. Set aside.
  • Sift the flour, black cocoa powder, caster sugar and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer, which has been fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the Stork and eggs, then beat on medium-high speed (you may want to start on a slow speed, just to incorporate the flour and prevent a cloud) for about a minute, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
  • Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then add the red buttermilk mixture to the batter. Mix for a further 30 seconds, or until the red colour has been evenly distributed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again, to prevent any red streaks.
  • In a small cup, whisk the baking soda and vinegar together. The mixture should fizz up immediately. Quickly pour this into the batter and give the whole thing a brief mix to incorporate. Divide the mixture between the 12 cases (each case should be about 3/4 full), then place into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cakes spring back when touched. Remove from the tin straight away and allow to cool completely on a wire rack, before decorating.

For the cream cheese icing:

  • In a large bowl, beat the softened butter for 1-2 minutes with an electric mixer, until smooth and noticeably paler.
  • Add the cream cheese and mix by hand until incorporated.
  • Sift in the icing sugar and mix by hand until incorporated. Use electric mixer to beat for 10-15 seconds only, until fluffy, but still thick and stiff.

To decorate:

  • Remove 1/2 tsp of the cream cheese icing and place in a small bowl/ramekin. Add the black cocoa powder and red food colouring and stir well to combine.
  • Fit the piping bag with the #124 petal tip. Use a skewer (or the blunt edge of a dinner knife) to smear the burgundy icing all the way down the seam of the bag, on the same side as the thinner end of the tip.
  • Being careful not to smear the burgundy icing already in the bag, fill the piping bag with the white icing. Pipe a little icing back into your bowl, until you see the burgundy colour come through along the top.
  • Hold your cupcake in your non-dominant hand (alternatively, place the cupcake on a non-stick mat, on top of a turntable). Hold the piping bag in your dominant hand, ensuring that the petal tip is vertical, with the thicker end facing the bottom (the line of burgundy icing should be on top).
  • Pipe a cone in the centre of the cupcake. Work your way out, adding petals around that centre cone, gradually increasing the size of each petal, while decreasing the angle between the tip and the cake's surface, as you go. Wipe the tip off in between each petal. By the time you reach the edge of the cake, your piping tip should be close to horizontal.
  • Repeat the process for all of the cupcakes. Because of the cream cheese icing, these cupcakes will need to be stored in the fridge, where they will stay fresh for 2-3 days.

Notes

  1. Make sure the food colouring you use is a) formulated to work in mixtures with a high-fat content and b) won't be affected by the heat of the oven. I like to use Colour Mill colourings in my bakes. Don't use a liquid food colouring, as it won't provide enough pigment/will alter the consistency of the cake batter. 
  2. Black cocoa powder is an ultra Dutch-processed form of cocoa powder. This recipe relies on it to achieve a deep, burgundy colour. I purchased mine here, but, if you cannot find it near you, you can substitute regular cocoa powder. You will, however, need to add (quite a bit of!) black food colouring, or replace the red colouring with even more burgundy colouring, to achieve a similar burgundy colour.
  3. As always with my cakes, I prefer to use Stork (a baking margarine) in place of butter, because I think it makes for a fluffier, moister cake. If you do not want to use Stork, you can substitute with an equal amount of softened, unsalted butter.