Mahogany Red Velvet Cupcakes

Okay, so these guys are not exactly what you might think of when you hear Red Velvet cupcake.  You are probably envisioning a big, bright, red cupcake.
Nope, not this natural guy.
What it is though, is a historically accurate red velvet cupcake.
You might start shrugging your shoulders that a cupcake even has a history, right?

The fact is, the origin of the red in the cupcake, came from the acid of the buttermilk, reacting with the cocoa.  Before cocoa was "dutch processed", it was an alkaline substance and the cake chemically would take on a red appearance from the acid and the alkaline substances coming together.
The initial red was really a reddish brown.
It wasn't until later on that people got excited by that color red in their cakes, and bakers began adding food coloring to even further enhance the red shade.

Jumping forward to this decade....you can walk into any Starbucks or supermarket and see a ferociously red cupcake in their display cases.

You know what I think?  Yuck.
I am not sure why people want to eat something so obviously artificial and exaggerated.
I only know that I don't want to.
Even that name...Red Dye #3.  Yuck again.

So, here is my cupcake's story.
I used raw cacao powder and "buttermilk", which in the land of vegan, is non-dairy milk and a type of acid ( I used rice milk and apple cider vinegar).
I helped the natural chemistry with a little bit of India Tree's natural red food coloring, which comes from beet extract. The color is not bright.  It is a subtle, smooth red that I like to call mahogany. The flavor and texture of this cupcake is right on with an original red velvet.  Moist, fluffy and sweet, with just a hint of cocoa.
I topped mine with vegan buttercream frosting.
No Yuck...just Yum!

Mahogany Red Velvet Cupcake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

Makes 12 cupcakes

In a medium bowl, sift together:

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons raw organic cacao powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

In another bowl, cream with a hand mixer:

1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread at room temperature

3/4 cup organic sugar (evaporated cane juice)

Beat for a minute or until fluffy.

Add in:

3/4 cup (1 6oz. container) vanilla rice yogurt or soy

1 cup rice milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Add:

1 teaspoon best quality vanilla

2 tablespoons natural red food coloring  (I use India Tree, found at the below link, or Whole Foods Market)

Add the dry ingredients to the wet, slowly, in two or three batches.

Blend together for about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl until well combined. 

Pour batter into prepared cupcake pan, filling each evenly, about 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 16-19 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Remove from oven and allow cupcakes to rest in pan for 5 minutes.  Remove from pan and let them cool on a wire rack completely before frosting.  See below for yummy buttercream frosting recipe.

Buttercream Frosting:

With an electric hand mixer beat until smooth:

1/2 cup Earth Balance natural buttery spread at room temperature

Then switch to low speed and add:

2 cups organic confectioner's sugar sifted

2 teaspoons best quality vanilla extract

1 tablespoon rice milk room temperature

1 tablespoon So Delicious  original coconut creamer 

Beat on high speed until the frosting is creamy and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  You may need to add one or two more tablespoons of rice milk/creamer, to get your desired consistency.  

Note: If there is a coconut allergy, it is fine to use your non-dairy milk of choice completely.

You can cover this frosting in an airtight container and it will stay in the refrigerator for two weeks.

You will want to re-whip it before using.

Enough for 12 cupcakes.