Green Velvet cupcakes

Happy Saint Patrick day!

Here’s my little homage to the Irish.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh!

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 ½ cups oil
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 Tablespoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tsps. green food coloring

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 package of softened cream cheese
• ¼ cup softened butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 bag powdered sugar (2 lb. bag)
• Milk as needed

Green buttercream icing

• ½ cup (125 mL) butter, softened
• 2 cups (500 mL) icing sugar
• 1 tsp. (5 mL) vanilla
• 2 tbsp. (30 mL) milk or cream
• Green food coloring (preferably paste type)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 ºF (180 ºC) Line a muffin pan with paper liners.

Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with a wire whisk. Add remaining liquid ingredients and stir together with whisk until blended. Set aside.

Place all the dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together really good with another wire whisk.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or until completely combined.

Pour into cupcake pan and then drop the pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

After about ten minutes, remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before applying the frosting.

I made two types of frosting, the classic Cream Cheese Frosting that always accompany the red velvet and a simple green buttercream icing, which my children prefer.

For the cream cheese frosting, cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.  Gradually add in powdered sugar and continue mixing.   I add in milk as needed to get to the desired consistency.

For the green buttercream icing, beat the butter in a large bowl until creamy. Add the icing sugar gradually, in 3 or 4 additions, beating very well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Add the milk or cream, 1 tbsp. at a time, beating well, until the icing is creamy and spreadable. Add the food coloring, beating it in gradually until the icing is tinted the way you like it.

These cute party tags were designed by The Tom Kat Studio. They are totally free to download by the way.

Source: Love from the oven

Enjoy!