Red Velvet Cupcakes

Here is a short and sweet, only slightly belated Valentine’s Day post! These red velvet cupcakes were a simple treat to bring into the office and share with co-workers for a holiday potluck. Luckily, red velvet is always a hit, so you can make these any time of the year!

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Cupcakes
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons red food coloring
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar in a mixer for a few minutes until nice and fluffy.  Add in the eggs one at a time and beat for 30 seconds.  Mix in the sour cream, milk, food coloring and vanilla.  (Yeah, it gets a “little” red.  Don’t worry, the cocoa in the flour mixture will calm it down later.  You can add more food coloring if you like the classic red velvet look or less if you just want a hint of red.)  Now, mix in the flour mixture and beat slowly until just incorporated; don’t over beat the mixture.

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Note: While making this batch, I thought I had sour cream, but alas, I was all out.  So I poured 1 1/2 cups of milk in a glass bowl, added 1 tablespoon of vinegar, and let it set for about 10 minutes.  I used this 1 1/2 cups of sour milk in place of the 1/2 cup milk and 1 cup sour cream.  Still tasted great!

Place paper cupcake inserts into a muffin pan. Fill each cup about 2/3 full with the batter.

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Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes.  Test to see if a tooth pick comes out clean or if the top bounces back. Let the cupcakes cool for about 2 minutes in the pan. Then, remove them from the muffin pan and let them cool on cooling racks.  Make sure you let the cupcakes cool to room temperature before frosting.

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Frosting
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Mix the cream cheese, butter, sour cream and vanilla and beat until fluffy – about 3 minutes.  Add in the confectioners sugar and beat another 5 minutes, until it is nice and smooth.

I like to pipe the frosting on the cupcakes to get a nice thick layer, or in this case, in the shape of a heart.  Add some red sprinkles and you’re good to go!

Almond Biscotti

Sarah snuck that short rib post in here, but I hope you didn’t put your stand mixer away for too long. Let’s return to the sweeter side of life, with one of my most requested and perfected recipes – biscotti!

I can’t think of anything more relaxing than sitting inside on a cold day with a nice cup of coffee or tea and one or two kinds of biscotti…or maybe three or four…

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I decided to crank up the biscotti machine today (wouldn’t that be cool if there was such a device?) and make four different flavors. My wife thinks a quadruple biscotti day is a little insane, but once I get on a roll, I just keep on baking:)

Each cookie deserves its own post, so let’s start here with my quintessential recipe that sparked by biscotti obsession – almond!

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Korean Braised Short Ribs

My dad and I prefer to collaborate over truffles and trifles than roast or risotto. That’s why our little blog is called Baking Genes:) Quality control is so much more fun when lots of butter and sugar are involved… not to mention chocolate!

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But from time to time, I get the urge to experiment with savory dishes. This particular recipe has been well-received on multiple (exactly 3) occasions and I am proud to share it with you. Here, I present my Korean braised short ribs.

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Orange Scones

After making and storing multiple batches of my orange marmalade, can you believe I still had plenty of citrus left over? I heartily support the local marching band’s citrus fundraiser and enjoy having fresh fruit around the house, especially in the winter. It not only allows me to drink fresh-squeezed juice in the morning but also gives me an excuse to bake with seasonal produce!

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With all of the cold and snowy weather we’ve been surrounded by, it seems like its a great time to whip up a batch of orange scones and warm up the house!

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