Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Brownies

Ugh. So my computer is dead once again. My sister is gracious enough to let me use hers here and there so I can check blogs and such things. Since I've been MIA for a little bit, I haven't gotten to show you guys what I have been making. Granted, I haven't taken too making pictures either=/ Oops. But bear with me here.

These brownies were OMG good. Really really good. Like eat half of the 8x8 pan in one evening good. But you should probably not do that. Do as I say, not as I do.

It calls for a white chocolate frosting which threw me a little because I'm used to the classic pairing of cream cheese frosting. But I trusted Jessica at How Sweet It Is (I mean who couldn't possibly trust her?). The brownies were soooo good. Raise-the-roof-swing-low-sweet-chariot good.

So I told you they were so good and that I had to eat so many, right? Well... I made a second batch. And doubled the recipe. And dyed them green. And made a cream cheese frosting for good ole time's sake! Holy yumm. Green for St. Paddy's day. (See how behind in my posting I am?) I brought the pan to school (or else you know I would have eaten then for breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and my friends helped me gobble them down. Although I will say that bringing your friends green my give you some strange looks. However, one bite will change their minds!

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Frosting
from How Sweet It Is

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
2 tablespoons red food coloring
2/3 cups chocolate chips (optional, I omitted)

Preheat oven to 350.
Butter and flour an 8 x 8 cake pan.

In a small bowl, combine cocoa powder, red food coloring, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to create a paste.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, then add remaining teaspoon of vanilla. With the mixer on medium speed, add in cocoa powder mixture. Beat until batter is completely red. (If at this time your batter is NOT red, you can add a little more food coloring if desired. Color will depend on brand.) Add flour and salt, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread in the 8 x 8 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting.


White Chocolate Frosting
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 ounces white chocolate, melted
1-2 tablespoons milk (or more if needed)

Cream butter in an electric mixer until fluffy, then add vanilla. Slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time with the mixer on low speed. Add in melted white chocolate and beat until incorporated. To reach desired consistency, add in milk 1 teaspoon at a time with mixer on low speed. If frosting becomes too liquidy, simple add additional sugar.

 Pretty blurry huh? Well you get the picture. See Jessica's blog for a drool-worthy post!

Red (Purple) Velvet Cupcakes

As my baking skills become more well known, it is both a gift and a curse. People are beginning to use me for my baked goods! I actually love it though;) My friend Maria loves when I send extra cupcakes her way and has been asking me when we can get together and bake. So real spur of the moment, we got together and made some cupcakes. This isn't the first time we've baked together. Remember the white velvet cake? The one that took three days to complete? If not, check it out.


When me and Maria bake, we like experimenting. We look at the recipe, then try and put at least a small twist on it. We scoured my beloved Martha Stewart's Cupcakes book, and landed on the red velvet cupcakes. The cream cheese frosting sold us! Our twist? Ehh we just tried to play with colors. We also halved the recipe. Nothing too crazy. The color actually turned out grossss. We were going for purple but... not so much hehe. So then we tried to bring them back to red.


So it made 12 cupcakes, and I got yelled at. After Maria and I let our families try them, they all kept saying, "Why didn't you make more?!?!?" My mom and sister were quite upset with me! I think that's a compliment? But yeah everyone really enjoyed them. So, try these!


Martha Stewart's Red Velvet Cupcakes
from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self- rising), sifted
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon red gel-paste food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together cake flour, cocoa, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, whisk together sugar and oil until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Mix in food color and vanilla.
3. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of buttermilk, and whisking well after each. Stir together the baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl (it will foam); add mixture to the batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds.
4. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
5. To finish, use a small offset spatula to spread cupcakes with frosting. Refrigerate up to 3 days in airtight containers; bring to room temperature before serving.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions
1. Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth. Frosting can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; before using, bring to room temperature, and beat until smooth.

This frosting was the "best I ever had". You wanna know why? I actually let my butter come to room temperature before beginning. Like it was super creamy and smooth. I adored it!

The Moistest Red Velvet Cake

I have been trying to make this for a while now. It's been about a little over a year since I've last had red velvet cake. That is wayyyy too long!

Moist, moist, moist. That's all I can say. Oh, and DELicIOUS. To quote my sister Amy, "This is the best cake I've ever eaten!" And it truly was. I am in no way a chocolate fan, but I loved the slightly cocoa taste in it.


The intensity of the red was just what I wanted. And with 2 fluid oz, what shouldn't it be?


What I loved about the frosting was how "cream-cheesey" it was. Normally, I love a sugary frosting, but for this I used about half the powdered sugar I normally would. And it was perfect! You could really savor the cream cheese flavor and not be overwhelmed by sugar.


Though I realize there's no cohesiveness to this post, just random blurbs of info, it's due to my lack of time=( So much has been happening these few weeks and it's craycray! I'll try to keep it together here but there's not much of a break for me coming up=/ But enjoy the mediocre pictures!

Oh, and I got this recipe from Pinch My Salt. I LOVE that blog. Fabulous pictures and easy, yet interesting recipes.

Red Velvet Cake
from Pinch My Salt
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour*
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
2 oz. red food coloring
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch round cake pans.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. In a small bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps; set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula.

4. Make sure you have cake pans buttered, floured, and nearby. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Yes, it will fizz! Add it to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Working quickly, divide batter evenly between the cake pans and place them in a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check early, cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.


5. Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. To remove the cakes from the pan, place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, then gently lift the pan. Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting. Frost with buttercream or cream cheese icing (recipe below).

Recipe Notes: *Sift cake flour once before measuring, then sift again with the other dry ingredients per recipe instructions. Wear an apron and be careful with the red food coloring. As you’re mixing the cake batter, use a spatula to scrape down the bowl frequently throughout the entire process.

Cream Cheese Frosting
16 oz. cream cheese (2 packages), softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick), softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

With an electric mixer, blend together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Turn mixer to low speed and blend in powdered sugar, salt and vanilla extract. Turn mixer on high and beat until light and fluffy. Use immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to use. If refrigerated, the frosting will need to be brought to room temperature before using (after frosting softens up, beat with mixer until smooth).

Recipe Notes: If you prefer a sweeter and/or stiffer frosting, more powdered sugar can be added (up to four cups). But remember, the more sugar you add, the less you’ll be able to taste the tangy cream cheese!


Sorry for having no personality in this post, but it's 12:05 AM and I'm a week late posting about this as it is. I feel bad enough=( But if you take one thing away from this post, remember this: BEST RED VELVET CAKE RECIPE RIGHT HURR!