I couldn't let Halloween come and go without getting in the kitchen and getting a little creative. I made black velvet cupcakes with gray icing this year and they were quite delicious. I want to share the how-to and recipe with you.
Let's start with the icing this time. I remember Sally Field playing the part of M'Lynn Eatenton in Steel Magnolias saying "It's got gray icin'. I can't even begin to think how you make gray icin'" when referring to the armadillo grooms cake that Jackson's aunt Fern was making. Well, M'Lynn, it's really not that difficult.
Start by blending 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, four cups of confectioners' sugar, eight ounces of cream cheese, cold, cut into cubes, one teaspoon pure vanilla extract and a pinch of salt until combined, about two minutes. I did not mix in stages. I just put everything in the bowl and blended it with a hand mixer and it turned out perfect.
After about two minutes, this is what I had. Beautiful and tasty cream cheese frosting.
I scraped down the sides of the bowl to make sure I gathered all the frosting.
Then it was time to starting adding the tint. I found this box of Betty Crocker food colors at Walmart. I was mostly interested in the black color for this project. The dark blue and brown will be used another time. And the white is a mystery to me. Frosting is white to begin with. Maybe they add that in case you add too much of a color and need to bring it down a little. You cold add a few drops of white.
The tubes of food color are stamped with each color so there is no mistaking which tube to use. It would be rather silly not to label them. Then you would have to open each tube to see what color was inside.
I started adding the black coloring to the cream cheese frosting. Then I used the electric mixer to combine it.
It turned gray, but I wanted a darker shade. So I added a few more drops.
I continued adding a few drops of black food coloring and mixing it in with the electric mixer until I had the shade of gray I wanted. I cannot tell you exactly how much black coloring to add. This is something you must experiment with until you reach the shade of gray you like. I can give you the instructions on how to make the frosting, but the gray coloring you must figure out for yourself.
Before starting on the batter, I found the cupcake tin.
Each well got a black cupcake liner.
To the bowl, add three-quarters cup of cane sugar.
Add one-quarter cup unsalted butter at room temperature.
Two tablespoons vegetable oil.
Two teaspoons black, gel food color.
Two teaspoons pure vanilla extract. Use the best vanilla you can find. Pay a little extra if need be. It will be well worth the added expense.
One-half teaspoon kosher salt. Using an electric mixer, blend all ingredients on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add one egg at room temperature and mix until just incorporated. (I forgot to get a picture of the egg, but you will remember it when you print out the recipe from the recipe page.)
In a separate bowl, we are going to mix together our dry ingredients. We will begin with one and one-quarter cups King Arthur unbleached cake flour. This is my preferred flour for this recipe. If you do not use this, then use all-purpose flour, not self-rising flour. However, if you can find King Arthur flour you should really try to use it for this recipe.
To the flour we will add three tablespoons dark Dutch-Processed cocoa powder.
Sift the flour and the cocoa powder together. Just put them both in a sieve and sift into a glass bowl.
This is what you will have once they have been sifted together.
Add one-third of the dry ingredients to the sugar and egg mixture and blend until just combined.
Then add one-half cup of buttermilk. It should be at room temperature. Alternate until all of the dry ingredients and buttermilk have been added.
Combine one-half teaspoon white vinegar and one-quarter teaspoon baking soda.
Add this to the cupcake batter and mix until incorporated. Now it is time to divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Fill about three-quarters full and bake in preheated oven for about 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
A little while later you will have a cupcake tray which looks just like this.
The most beautiful black velvet cupcakes you have ever seen. Be certain to let them cool completely before applying the icing. Otherwise, if you start to ice while they are still warm, you will end up with melted icing all over the place and you don't want that.
Once the cupcakes were sufficiently cooled, it was time to apply the icing. I used my large Wilton bag with a large star tip. I transferred the icing from the bowl to the bag using a large spatula. Then applied a healthy swirl of frosting on each.
I suppose these could have been served like this. But that just wouldn't do.
I had a jar of Halloween sprinkles in the pantry and I put them to use. Actually, I like the way they looked with the Halloween sprinkles. They were quite pretty on this cute little black cardboard cupcake stand.
For the office crew, I packed up a box and put them in the kitchen.
These did not last long. Everyone was most happy to enjoy a delicious homemade cupcake with their morning coffee.
These cupcake are not only extremely cute, but quite tasty. You will not be disappointed if you make them for your ghouls and goblins.
Let's start with the icing this time. I remember Sally Field playing the part of M'Lynn Eatenton in Steel Magnolias saying "It's got gray icin'. I can't even begin to think how you make gray icin'" when referring to the armadillo grooms cake that Jackson's aunt Fern was making. Well, M'Lynn, it's really not that difficult.
First thing to do is to get all your ingredients ready to mix.
Start by blending 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, four cups of confectioners' sugar, eight ounces of cream cheese, cold, cut into cubes, one teaspoon pure vanilla extract and a pinch of salt until combined, about two minutes. I did not mix in stages. I just put everything in the bowl and blended it with a hand mixer and it turned out perfect.
After about two minutes, this is what I had. Beautiful and tasty cream cheese frosting.
I scraped down the sides of the bowl to make sure I gathered all the frosting.
Then it was time to starting adding the tint. I found this box of Betty Crocker food colors at Walmart. I was mostly interested in the black color for this project. The dark blue and brown will be used another time. And the white is a mystery to me. Frosting is white to begin with. Maybe they add that in case you add too much of a color and need to bring it down a little. You cold add a few drops of white.
The tubes of food color are stamped with each color so there is no mistaking which tube to use. It would be rather silly not to label them. Then you would have to open each tube to see what color was inside.
I started adding the black coloring to the cream cheese frosting. Then I used the electric mixer to combine it.
It turned gray, but I wanted a darker shade. So I added a few more drops.
I continued adding a few drops of black food coloring and mixing it in with the electric mixer until I had the shade of gray I wanted. I cannot tell you exactly how much black coloring to add. This is something you must experiment with until you reach the shade of gray you like. I can give you the instructions on how to make the frosting, but the gray coloring you must figure out for yourself.
The icing made, I set that aside and got started on the cupcake batter.
* * * *
Before starting on the batter, I found the cupcake tin.
Each well got a black cupcake liner.
You can pick these up most anywhere, especially this time of year. Again, these came from Walmart. So, let's get started with the cupcake batter. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
To the bowl, add three-quarters cup of cane sugar.
Add one-quarter cup unsalted butter at room temperature.
Two tablespoons vegetable oil.
Two teaspoons black, gel food color.
Two teaspoons pure vanilla extract. Use the best vanilla you can find. Pay a little extra if need be. It will be well worth the added expense.
One-half teaspoon kosher salt. Using an electric mixer, blend all ingredients on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add one egg at room temperature and mix until just incorporated. (I forgot to get a picture of the egg, but you will remember it when you print out the recipe from the recipe page.)
In a separate bowl, we are going to mix together our dry ingredients. We will begin with one and one-quarter cups King Arthur unbleached cake flour. This is my preferred flour for this recipe. If you do not use this, then use all-purpose flour, not self-rising flour. However, if you can find King Arthur flour you should really try to use it for this recipe.
To the flour we will add three tablespoons dark Dutch-Processed cocoa powder.
Sift the flour and the cocoa powder together. Just put them both in a sieve and sift into a glass bowl.
This is what you will have once they have been sifted together.
Add one-third of the dry ingredients to the sugar and egg mixture and blend until just combined.
Then add one-half cup of buttermilk. It should be at room temperature. Alternate until all of the dry ingredients and buttermilk have been added.
Combine one-half teaspoon white vinegar and one-quarter teaspoon baking soda.
Add this to the cupcake batter and mix until incorporated. Now it is time to divide the batter among the cupcake liners. Fill about three-quarters full and bake in preheated oven for about 22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
A little while later you will have a cupcake tray which looks just like this.
The most beautiful black velvet cupcakes you have ever seen. Be certain to let them cool completely before applying the icing. Otherwise, if you start to ice while they are still warm, you will end up with melted icing all over the place and you don't want that.
Once the cupcakes were sufficiently cooled, it was time to apply the icing. I used my large Wilton bag with a large star tip. I transferred the icing from the bowl to the bag using a large spatula. Then applied a healthy swirl of frosting on each.
I suppose these could have been served like this. But that just wouldn't do.
I had a jar of Halloween sprinkles in the pantry and I put them to use. Actually, I like the way they looked with the Halloween sprinkles. They were quite pretty on this cute little black cardboard cupcake stand.
For the office crew, I packed up a box and put them in the kitchen.
These did not last long. Everyone was most happy to enjoy a delicious homemade cupcake with their morning coffee.
These cupcake are not only extremely cute, but quite tasty. You will not be disappointed if you make them for your ghouls and goblins.
