Red Velvet Cupcakes

My first encounter with a red velvet cake is when Xocolat was featured in one of the groupon sites I frequent. I was still addicted to vouchers and deals then and I thought, it is time to try Xocolat’s cakes. Me and my sisters were not disappointed even if we have to travel the cake by two hours from Quezon City to Las Pinas!

Since I got our little oven, I have been dreaming of making red velvets on my own. I have realized that dream already! Woot woot!

Recipe adapted from Paula Deen’s original recipe of Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

red velvet cupcake recipeWhat you will need

For the batter
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting
1 cup unsalted butter, slightly chilled and cubed
2 packs cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

What to do
1. Preheat oven to 150ºC. Line muffin pans with cupcake liners.

2. In a bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.

3. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat vegetable oil, yogurt, eggs, red food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Add sifted ingredients slowly and mix only until incorporated and there are no visible lumps. Fill liners to about two-thirds full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely.

4. Make the frosting: Beat butter carefully with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. Mix in cream cheese and vanilla. Add the confectioners’ sugar one cup at a time and beat until smooth, tasting the frosting after each cup of sugar.

5. Top each cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Ok, so my frosting isn’t really gorgeous but they taste great! And no, I am not saying that because I was the one who baked it, I am just telling the truth. Oh, except that the frosting was a little too sweet for my sweet-tooth.

I am actually thinking of making them again for Christmas. It has been months since I cooked for my mom and sisters and brothers. They will surely give this the same respect they gave to Xocolat’s This Red Cake. :D And I found really cute Christmas cupcake decors over at Not On The High Street to go with these Christmas-y cupcakes. If I get my hands on those decors, my cuppies will look like this one.

christmas cupcake decors

Cravings Chocolate Caramel Cake

My dad used to work with Cravings when I was a young girl. As an employee, he is given GCs he should consume in a month to buy their products. Thus, their cakes are what we got accustomed to. And when he left the company, we still remember how delicious the cakes are.

Two Sundays ago, when we celebrated our early Valentine’s at Festival, I joked my dad if he will treat us a Cravings Chocolate Caramel cake. After a few minute, he and my sister Toni left us. When they came back, Toni is already all smiles with our family cake in our dad’s hand. Yes, we dubbed it as our family cake even if it is not always present in our every occasion. We had this as dessert apart from the free one we got from Shakey’s.

Over the years, it still has the rich caramel frosting and the cake is still very moist. But I noticed that there is no more caramel filling in the middle of the cake. Well, good for my mom and my hubby who are not into sweets that much.

Cravings Choco-Caramel Cake

This round cake costs PhP870 and I am telling you, every penny you pay for it is worth it!

Xocolat This Red Cake

A few days before my birthday, I saw this promo over at Cash Cash Pinoy. They are offering 50% off on six Xocolat cakes. I love cakes. And I love trying cakes from different shops. Guess it is high time I discover that not only Red Ribbon and Goldilocks bake cakes! LOL.

So I posted in FB the link to the deal and said I wanted it as birthday gift. Gabby, my youngest sister, messaged me. She told me to buy a voucher and she will just pay me. Sweet huh.

I picked This Red Cake because I have been reading raves about red velvet cakes in FB. So I said, for a change, I will forget chocolate-based cakes for a moment. Today, This Red Cake proved that my decision was not only right, it was perfect!

Xocolat This Red Cake (Red Velvet Cake)

The blend of cream cheese and moist red chiffon is sinful! My mom said it was not sweet that she was able to finish a slice in one short sitting. Ayex loved the red circles! I, I love everything in it!

I will surely be back to taste the other Xocolat creations.

Xocolat – Katipunan
172 B. Gonzales Street, Loyola Heights
927-1990/929-4186

This is the street with Bo’s Cafe in front. Xocolat is on the left side, very near to the street entrance.

They also have branches in Libis and Greenhills.

Yummy Sunday #1: Red Ribbon Dedication Cake

I have tons of pictures and stories waiting to be blogged about. Looks like I have been procrastinating a lot lately.

Anyway, here is one of the pictures waiting to be posted. This was taken on Maxyn’s exact birthday. We had a simple celebration here at home where we had some pasta, roasted chicken, barbeque and this delicious cake.

This is a Red Ribbon Dedication Cake. It is pre-made and you just have to tell them the message you want for the cake. The liked this very much because it is not too sweet unlike the other chocolate cakes.

red ribbon dedication cake

Red Ribbon Chocolate Heaven

Since Red Ribbon launched Chocolate Heaven, it has always become my choice when asked what cake I want. Why not when I can enjoy four kinds of chocolates in one sinful cake? Chocolate Heaven is a combination of four kinds of chocolate goodness in every mouthful – chocolate brownie, mousse, ganache and curls. A small slice fills me up yet I cannot stop myself from having another dose.

When I buy this, I always opt for the bigger one as I feel it maximizes the value of my money than the small one. The 8″ cake costs PhP595, while the junior one is PhP390. Ayex loves the curls and brownies while I enjoy the mousse among all.

red ribbon chocolate heaven

If you have sweet tooth like us, this is definitely a must try.