Isn't He Cute 
They say, no matter how old we grow,there’s a child in all of us.Well, I believe it.Dosent matter how kiddish it sounds but for me Christmas is mostly about Santa Claus.Its a week left to christmas and like every year I have bought my bunch of Santa decorations-in different cute forms.This plump, jolly, white-bearded guy wearing a red coat makes me weak in the knees.I cant have enough of him
When I was a kid, as Christmas neared, I became most well-behaved, that’s because my mom used to tell us that Santa makes a list of disciplined children throughout the world, and the ones whom he finds the most well mannered,he delivers his gifts to them.Me and my siblings used to fill our stockings with the longest list possible and sleep early on Christmas Eve to discover the presents in the morning.Ofcourse, it took me 13 years to realize that none but my mom was our Santa Though I am done away with the stocking, one thing which hasn’t change is that I still like to sleep on Christmas Eve with wishes & desires in my mind..well I told you..there’s a child in all of us.It is so strange that no matter how old we grow, the few habits from our childhood always remain with us, no matter where we are…such thoughts make me miss family so much at such times.
Anyways, I would love to know what does Christmas mean to you,except food?
Besides Santa, for me Christmas also means lots of red, white & green..in food ,in clothing, in decorations etc.And what better way to have all three of these in one sweet treat than the classic red velvet.Can you believe, that this is my first ever cupcake recipe on the blog..reason enough to convey that me and P are not really fans of cupcakes,[not that we hate them],but we ocassionally like to eat them.There is something different about classics such as red velvet! We fell in love with it the first time we ate it at and the love affair continues.So much so that P asked me to bake a red velvet the other day so that if ever we shift back to India, at least I can make it at home.With seconds I knew that though the request was innocent but the motive was clever-the guy wanted to savour red velvet
There are hundreds of recipes on the internet.My only problem hiccup with them was that they were huge batches.I did not want to bake more than 8-10, and after a recent experience with Linzer cookies, I wanted to play really safe and didn’t want to half or quarter the internet recipes.That is when I came across this recipe on Deeba’s blog.It was a beautiful recipe for a red velvet roulade and perfectly suited my count.Though she wants to bake a fatless roll some day, the very fact this recipe had butter was perfect for my cupcake making Thanks Deeba. For the frosting,I mixed in some orange blossom extract,which is my new addiction with the cream cheese and the cupcakes tasted awesome-velvety & citrusy..WOW!
I am jotting down the cake recipe again.Just one change I made was that I added normal granulated sugar and vanilla essence separate.The baking time was 14 minutes in my oven settings.See below for the cream cheese frosting recipe too.
Red Velvet Cupcakes : Deeba’s Recipe here, yields 12 cupcakes
What I need:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup cultured buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon liquid red food color
How I did it:
- Preheat your oven at 190C/375 F.Line your cupcake pan with casings or spray them with a baking spray.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- In another large bowl gently beat together the butter, buttermilk, egg, food coloring, and vanilla.
- Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.Don’t over mix.
- Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 10-18 minutes. Mine took 14 minutes.
- Once done, the cupcakes with spring back when touched.
- Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.
For the Orange Blossom Cream Cheese frosting:
What I need :
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese,softened
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup sifted confectioners’ sugar, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom extract [don't over use the extract else the frosting will smell like deodorant ]
- 1/4 tsp fresh orange zest
How I did it :
- In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy.
- Mix in the extract & zest, then stir in the confectioners’ sugar.
- Pipe the frosting on to the cupcakes after they are completely cooled.Decorate with sprinkles as you desire.
Enjoy !
This is my entry to Nupur’s Blog Bites #9
HA ha, if i tell ya all that Christmas means to me ,i’ll have to write a post here!!
Love ur post!!!
happy hols to ya!!!
Ur rite , Deebas blog has wonderful moments and these are so ooo wonderful!!
And ur cakes are absolutely delightful!!
Delicious cup cakes tanvi. And great photography too. Just right for the christmas
Except food, Christmas means gifts and friends to me. Love the frosting on those cute goodies.
Lovely cup cakes…Santa looks kool…your childhood memoirs reminds of my own:)
Christmas to me is all about the holiday baking and cooking! Red velvet cupcakes are an eternal favorite of mine! Perfect for any holiday or season.
Not a big fan of cupcakes either………..love the festive colors tho’! they look really pretty! Love cream cheese frosting—the only one that isn’t too sweet!
Awesome..It looks so festive and Christmassy
This has been in my to do list for a long long time…
Christmas is all about family and unfortunately this year I will not go to Greece to visit them. I will try to compensate by cooking some food that my mom makes during the holidays. These cupcakes will be a great addition to my holiday baking. They look so cute!
Magda
Ooh how pretty and festive the look. I ♥ that recipe too. Thank you for trying them, and for your sweet words. Just attempting to post some Lindzer cookies. They were VERY GOOD!
Tanvi,
Beautiful cup cakes, like the frosting too. Very festive
These little yellow stars stole my heart. The cup cakes look beautiful.
Awwwwwwwwww !!! They are sooooooooooooo cute and delicious looking.
Yes Red Velvet is perfect for this time of year. The sprinkles gave yours such a cute touch!
Love ur post… Well christmas is a new concept to me.. as i moved here only a year ag…but i like the lights… i go to a busy street in downtown and stare at the decoration all day… and cakes too…
Happy holidays… loved ur cake
Beautiful cupcakes, very festive!
I am soo upset that I came to read this post because now I am hungry lol. I am definitely making these on Christmas. Hands down
Your cupcakes are so beautifully frosted! And the flavor sounds so sophisticated. I am a bit envious because I only make yellow cupcakes with chocolate frosting (that looks like a second grader smeared on). Yup, ’cause that’s how I roll
Cute, attractive and beautiful looking cupcakes, soo tempting frosting..
I love red velvet and those look amazing!
These are some truly beautiful cupcakes, you did a great job. I totally know what you mean about recipes that yield far too many baked goods, because of that I don’t bake as often as I’d like. There are only two of us in my household so I am definitely not feeding an army.
Thanks for the entry.
Just now my son asked: when Santa will pass to our home with his gift. For me it is eating and baking…. Ur cupcake got the perfect Festive look!
Wow these cupcakes look great! I’ll have to say that Red Velvet is one of my favorites!
Pretty and surely divine! I love that icing.
Cheers,
Rosa
perfect for the season love it
I can’t really stand red velvet cupcakes, not for anything but the color addition. Its just how I roll, I just cant eat anything tht has even a drop of artificial color added to it. Its not more of a health issue, as its more like how I have grown up. Anyhoo, I’m liking the pictures Tanvi, great going
and the frosting is so cute. BTW when did ya buy orange blossom, isn’t it great? I LOVE LOVE it!
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I bought a huge bottle of orange blossom water and have been trying to find ways to use it. I never thought of putting it in frosting. Sounds perfect!!!
Lovely cupcakes! I always looked forward to watching It’s a Wonderful Life and decorating the Christmas tree… I love all the food and the snow and of course watching people open gifts I gave them and also my own
I love the addition of orange blossom. You just took red velvet to a whole new level!
Christmas to me is family. There is some members of my family that I only see at this time of year!
I wish I could get one for this Holiday season. I just had some leftover tomato soup and craving for something sweet. Love the colors on your homemade cupcakes.
Deeba makes great treats. Like your adaption of it! And, anything red velvet works, right! It’s a huge hit here in the south… I’m not the biggest fan, but I do enjoy a wonderfully made cupcake!
oh those looks adorable Tanvi, love the frosting idea with orange blossom so refreshing! and regarding Christmas all i can think is exchanging gifts
Thank you for these lovely cupcakes.They were yum
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