TEEN CHEF: Red Velvet Cup Cakes

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

ISHAWNA Smith is on the way to becoming a musical diva in Jamaica. She finds time to be a mother and considers herself to be outspoken and down-to-earth, loving and caring.

We all know Ishawna as a singer, so TEENChef decided to expose her inner culinary skills as she dedicated her favourite dessert to her Valentine.

Yes, Valentines because Ishawna is lucky enough to have two wonderful men in her life, her son Oshawn and his dad.

They say red is the colour for Valentine's Day as it signifies love and Ishawna decided to show her love in the most obvious way with her moist and scrumptious red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.

This recipe produces quite tasty cakes which carries every love message that you would like to send out to your loved ones. Ishawna dedicates these treats to her son and his dad on Valentine's Day.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs all-purpose flour

12 oz sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cocoa powder

12 oz vegetable oil

8 fl oz milk (room temperature)

2 large eggs (room temperature)

2 tbsp red food coloring

1 tsp white distilled vinegar

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

1 lb cream cheese, softened

1 lb butter (unsalted), softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 lbs icing sugar

Garnish

Chopped almonds

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Line two (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, milk, eggs, food colouring, vinegar, and vanilla with a hand-held electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, halfway through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

4. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

5. Garnish with chopped almonds.

NB: Do not attempt without parental supervision.

TEEN Chef wants to hear from you.

Feel free to e-mail us at lifestyle.teenage@gmail.com and share a recipe or give us an idea of what you want to see.

Special thanks to the University of Technology for the use of their Hospitality and Tourism Management baking lab.