In preparation for Valentine’s Day, I decided to be a nice co-worker and make red velvet cupcakes to take into the office. I would have rather made a red velvet cake, but the cupcakes are so much better for sharing. I found really cute cupcake wrappers at the grocery store which made the cupcakes even more special.

I found a recipe from Paula Deen, because Southern ladies know their red velvet, and got to work.

Start the recipe by sifting together the dry ingredients.

Using an electric mixer, mix together all the wet ingredients, including the red food coloring and vinegar. Slowly work the dry ingredients into the wet ones.

Once the batter is well incorporated, scoop into the prepared cupcake pans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool completely before icing.

I prefer my red velvet cake with butter cream icing, as opposed to the more popular cream cheese. So I whipped up a batch of my favorite butter cream and piped it on top.

I don’t think I’ll use this recipe again, they were decent but not good. I felt the cupcakes lacked in flavor overall and I while I baked them I thought I should have added more cocoa than the recipe called for, but talked myself out of it. I usually like to follow a recipe the first time I make it and then makes notes afterward about how it turned out for the next time I make it.

Even thought they didn’t taste amazing, they certainly were pretty and put everyone at the office in a Valentine’s mood!

Here’s the recipe from Foodnetwork.com: