More Tiny Food: Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes

The very same night that I made the itty bitty burgers, I made other tiny food as well. It was like cute overload over here!

Last year, I donated 100 Cupcakes to the A to Z Literacy Movement’s annual fundraiser, and while they were well-recieved, there were tons left over. This year, I was asked to donate cupcakes again, and my friend Mal and I decided that minis were a much better option.

The A to Z Literacy Movement is a cause that I can believe in, and I’m honored that I was asked to provide the desserts for their fundraiser again. A to Z sends teachers, books, and money to needy villages in Zambia to help provide students there with the educational services they so desperately need. Baking a bunch of cupcakes for that cause seems like the least I can do.

My cupcake skills have come a long way since last year, and I was excited to show off a bit. And so, mini red velvet cupcakes were decided upon. Partially because everyone loves red velvet, and partially because of the proximity of the event to Valentine’s day.

I used a tried and true recipe from Smitten Kitchen and my very favorite buttercream frosting from Tasty Kitchen. While I thought about making up a cake recipe from my own brain, I needed to make sure there were enough cupcakes for the attendees of the benefit. I thought 75 would do it. This recipe made 6 dozen, so I was darn close.

The decorations were simple: little sparkly silver hearts and pink, red, and white nonpareils. Very cute, very festive, very Valentines-y. I got text messages throughout the night from people at the benefit as I was photographing Heidi & Matt’s Wedding with photos of cupcakes and empty cupcake trays. Needless to say, they were well-recieved.

I love how cute they were (obviously) but I also loved that they were two perfect bites of cake and frosting. They’re a perfect dessert to make for Valentine’s day. The recipe is extremely simple, and the chemistry of it is fascinating.

And did I mention they’re cute?

Tagged as: Baking, cupcakes, cute, fun, fundraiser