Summer BBQ

I went to my first BBQ of the summer last night with some old co-workers. The weather was perfect as the sun was out, but there was a nice breeze to keep everyone cool. We sat outside and ate BBQ'd burger, hot dogs, and all the other usual BBQ fixings. It was great to see my old co-workers and catch up on life. We also made time to play some games, which is always entertaining, especially when you have competitive team mates.

Two of us were tasked with bringing something sweet. I decided to make some Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing (see below for pics and recipe), but the best dessert there was the Plum Cobbler. I'm not usually a fan of cobblers, as I often find them too tart or acidic, but this one was delicious. Be sure to click on the link above to get the recipe.

While I was making the cupcakes, I wondered why they were called Red Velvet (other than the obvious fact that it's red) since it's colored with food coloring anyways, why not Blue Velvet or Green Velvet. Based on some information I found on Wikipedia, I found out that while foods were rationed during World War II, bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes. I actually attempted to make a Red Velvet Cake using beet juice instead of food coloring earlier this year for my co-workers birthday, but it turned out to be more of a dusty rose color than red.

It was a great night of friends, fun, and plenty of food!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

Cake Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:

1 pound cream cheese, softened

2 sticks butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar*

Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

*My icing was runny which made it difficult to pipe onto the cupcakes. I'll probably remove 1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar from the frosting the next time I make it.

Cake Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

3. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy

Recipe from FoodNetwork.com

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