||| Kinky Red Velvet (& black lace) Cupcakes |||

Red Velvet is the latest craze in the cupcake world! I don't know what has always kept me back from trying them out, maybe cause I never believed that they could taste as good as they look. I was wrong! With a special Hen's Night coming up I just knew I had to make these gorgeous cupcakes for the occasion. 

Ingredients:

• 120g butter/margarine at room temperature
• 300g sugar 
• 2 eggs
• 20g good quality cocoa powder (I used Perugina)
• 1 1/2 tbsp red food colouring
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 240ml yoghurt
• 300g plain flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 3 tsps white wine vinegar

Cream cheese frosting:

• 300g icing sugar
• 50g butter
• 200g light cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• Sweets/sprinkles of choice for decoration
• Narrow black lace (optional)

Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Turn the mixer up to high speed and slowly add the eggs and beat until everything is well incorporated. Add the cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla extract and mix until the mixture is evenly coloured. 

Gently mix in around 1/3 of the yoghurt and then around 1/3 of the flour and beat well. Continue by alternately adding these two ingredients until all yogurt and flour has been added. Beat until you have a smooth mixture. 

Lastly add the salt, bicarbonate of soda and vinegar. Beat until everything is well mixed.

Line 2 x 12-cupcakes trays with some lovely cupcake cases. I used red metallic ones for this occasion. Fill the cases until two-thirds full and bake in a preheated oven of 150 degrees (with fan) for 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. 

Now for the icing. Beat the icing sugar and butter together on low speed until the mixture comes together. Add the cream cheese and vanilla extract and beat well until smooth and fluffy. Refrigerate mixture until you are ready to use it.

Once the cupcakes are totally cooled off you can start frosting them. You can decorate them any way your heart desires. I used heart-shaped sweets, butterfly sweets and some silver sugar balls. 

I took these cupcakes to another level by decorating them with black lace. I lined the circumference of the cupcake case with lace and secured it with a dot of glue. IMPORTANT not to get any glue on your cupcakes!