They weren’t. I had made red velvet cake with both items before but never at the same time, with the same recipe. The beets made the chocolate more brown but it was drier. The red food dye did what it was supposed to do. For both of the recipes I adapted the Red Velvet Cake recipe in The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook.  So, much as I want to say that natural is better… I can’t. If you want red velvet cake, and you want it to be red and good..you are going to need to do the old fashioned thing and go with dye.

Now, the rest of it…imagine biting into rich red velvet cupcake and finding orange cheesecake. The combination of chocolate and orange is fantastic anyway, and the tangy citrus and cream cheese cuts the sweetness of the cream cheese frosting and red velvet cake perfectly. I loved these. My family loved these. You are going to love these!

Be careful not to overbake. You want the cheesecake to remain creamy…and it will cook for a little bit as it cools.

I usually use silicone baking cups, but since I was doing a double batch I didnt have enough. I used paper ones…but I turned the water off when I brushed my teeth and  I didn’t rinse…so it evens out.

The list of directions looks long, but it is really quick and easy. These are so awesome and they take no more time than a regular cupcake. Yum!

Red Velvet & Cheesecake Marbled Cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 325F and put muffin papers or silicone cups in 12 muffin cups.

Orange Cheesecake

• 1 four oz package of cream cheese (not low fat)
• 2 tablespoons of  freshly grated orange peel
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Beat together until creamy and well blended. Do not whip because you don’t want to incorporate air.

Red Velvet Cake

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa
• 4 tablespoons food grade red food color
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup whole milk buttermilk (do not get skim or low fat)
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons white  vinegar (it has less flavor than any other type)

1. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well.
3. Use a rubber scraper to pull any remaining butter mixture off the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl. Mix again until well blended.
4. In a separate bowl mix the food color and the cocoa until it makes a paste.
5. Add the cocoa mixture to the butter mixture and mix until it is evenly blended. Spoon through to check for streaks.
6. Add 1/4 cup of the buttermilk and beat on low speed until blended.
7. Add half of the flour and blend.
8. Add the remaining buttermilk, blend and then add the remaining flour. Now stir in the baking soda and vinegar until blended.

Assemble

1. Fill muffin cups about 3/4 the way with the red velvet batter.
2. Add a tablespoon or so of cheesecake batter to the top.
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until cupcakes are firm to the touch. Don’t overbake.
4. Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/3 cup  unsalted butter
• 8 oz cream cheese
• Pinch of salt

1. Mix butter, salt, and confectioners sugar until cumbly.
2. Add the cream cheese and beat until creamy, add a little cream if you need to to get the right consistency.
3. Swirl a good layer atop the cooled cupcakes.
4. Sprinkle with cocoa, edible glitter, or orange zest.
5. Keep any remaining cupcakes (as if!) in the refrigerator.

Makes 12

images:marye audet

Post from: Baking Delights

However, the taste was great and I am going to continue to work on it..and, as an added bonus…I am making bread pudding with the cupcakes…and saving the frosting for a Princess Tea I will do next week for Kyrie.

Let that encourage you. Everyone messes up. I always liked the part in Toy Story where Buzz Lightyear finds out he is not flying..he is just falling creatively. Learn to fall creatively in your cooking and baking. It is the mark of a good cook.

The cupcakes taste like those spicy orange clove gumdrops. If you decide to make them make them in a jelly roll pan and set aside for tomorrow because I am going to post the rest of the story..Orange Clove Bread Pudding.

Here then is the entry for BOTH Cupcake Hero, and Boobie Bake-off.

The flavor of the month for Cupcake Hero is clove. I love cloves. You can probably cut the measurement in half if you like..but really then it wouln’t be clove would it?

Orange Clove Cupcakes

2 1/4 c cake flour

2 tsp cloves. yes 2

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

grated peel of one orange

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 c unsalted butter

1 1/2 c sugar

3 eggs

1 tsp cinnamon flavoring

1/3 c orange juice concentrate, thawed.

1/3 c milk

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Rain. Add flour mixed with the rest of the dry ingredients, and milk/orange juice/cinnamon flavoring mixture alternately starting and ending with flour .

Turn into muffin cups and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Cool. Frost with Orange frosting. (in this case, tinted neon pink)

1/4 softened butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3-1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (sift if lumpy)
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1/2 tsp cinnamon flavor

Mix butter, flavoring, 1 cup sugar, and orange peel. Add orange juice and rest of sugar alternately; mix until smooth and creamy.
Add more sugar to thicken or juice to thin frosting, if needed.

Post from: Baking Delights

This are fantastic. My 11 year old wanted to bake yesterday and she asked if she could experiment a bit. Of course,the answer was yes, so she used the dark chocolate chips I had just picked up..There were some oranges left in the fruit bowl (a total miracle in our house) and I suggested she try some orange in with it. The results were an absolutely intensely flavored cookie..the dark chocolate was complimented by the orange in an absolutely sophitcated synergy of sweet/intense/tangy.

One on a stormy afternoon with a cup of earl grey would be a perfect *me* moment.

1/2 c butter
1/2 c butter flavor shortening
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c light brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp mexican vanilla
grated rind from one orange
juice from one orange
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.
Silpat cookie sheets, use parchment, or grease lightly
Cream the butter, shortening, brown sugar, white sugar, orange juice, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.Combine the dry ingredients and the orange peel and stir in to the creamed mixture. fold in chocolate chips lightly and chill for 20 minutes or so.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls on baking sheet and bake 8-10 minutes until light golden brown and still soft, but set in the middle. Let cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes and then remove to cooling rack or counter. 3-4 dozen cookies.

Post from: Baking Delights