Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

I was going back through my blogger and found a few drafts of posts that I forgot were still in here! I wanted to get this recipe up from cupcakes I made for the bakesale. They were red velvet with cream cheese frosting. I love cream cheese frosting, it's so creamy and delicious, and the red velvet is so moist and, well... velvety!

Red Velvet Cupcakes by Paula Deen

with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cupcakes:

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

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

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 packages of cream cheese, at room temp.

1 stick of butter at room temp.

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

3 lbs. of powdered sugar

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add salt and vanilla. Add powdered sugar 1/2 c. at a time. If icing is too thick, add a splash of milk to thin, if it's too thin, add more powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.