Chocolate Cake vs. Red Velvet Cake:
It is a common misconception that red velvet cake is just chocolate cake with red food coloring. Red velvet cake does have some chocolate flavor to it, but it is also slightly acidic and tangy, due to the buttermilk, vinegar, and either cream cheese or ermine frosting. In this recipe, we include the instructions for an ermine frosting that we love as a great balance to the tangy flavor of red velvet, but you can also use cream cheese frosting.
What kind of food coloring should I use?
What is ermine frosting?
Ermine gets its name from the cute, weasel-like animal that has a white, fluffy coat. Ermine frosting is made of heated milk, sugar and flour and then whipped with butter. It is light and delicious, but not as tangy as cream cheese frosting. It will hold its shape better if it is refrigerated before and after icing. You can also use cream cheese frosting if you prefer it and like a little more tang on your red velvet cupcakes.
Buttermilk Substitute:
Buttermilk is a key component in this cake recipe. If you don’t have access to buttermilk, you can easily use a buttermilk substitute using just 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and 1 cup of milk. If you like this recipe, you may be interested in these other delicious cupcake recipes:
Most Amazing Carrot Cake CupcakesFunfetti Birthday CupcakesMost Amazing Chocolate CupcakesMost Amazing Vanilla Cupcakes
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