Did you catch the mini cupcake episode of "Throwdown With Bobby Flay?" (I'm hooked on that show -- I think I've seen every episode since it began.) Those mini cupcakes looked so cute that I wanted to try making them the first chance I got. I made them for a dinner party that happened just before Valentine's Day.
When I checked out Bobby Flay's mini cupcake recipe, it looked like a lot of bother. Plus, I had people coming and the house needed cleaning! I turned to the recipe that served me well with the Big Top Cupcake. I figured if it worked well for a big cupcake, it would also work well small. And it did, for the most part.
The only problem I had was that I have three different mini muffin pans (I pick them up when I see them at a garage sale or thrift shop). Each pan is a little different.
When I checked out Bobby Flay's mini cupcake recipe, it looked like a lot of bother. Plus, I had people coming and the house needed cleaning! I turned to the recipe that served me well with the Big Top Cupcake. I figured if it worked well for a big cupcake, it would also work well small. And it did, for the most part.
The only problem I had was that I have three different mini muffin pans (I pick them up when I see them at a garage sale or thrift shop). Each pan is a little different.
The one on the top left was the deepest, and the liner nestled down in the cup. The pan on the right had the widest cups, so there was wiggle room around the liners. The one on the bottom left was shallow, so the liners extended above the top of the pan. They baked at different rates, so I had to take each pan out of the oven at different times. Which came out best?
Bear in mind that the pans you see above accommodated half of the dough. I didn't want to make 96 mini cupcakes, so I made the other half of the batch into a dozen regular cupcakes, which we enjoyed on Valentines Day.
I frosted the cupcakes with a lightened cream cheese icing. It's an amalgamation of a recipe from The Best Light Recipe (my current favorite cookbook) and another I saw in Cooking Light. All the guys in the family were begging the lick the bowl -- shhhh, we won't tell them it's light.
If you're following Weight Watchers, each mini cupcake with a little dollop of cream cheese icing is 2 Points Plus.
Red Velvet Mini Cupcakes
(Makes 96 mini cupcakes - 1 Weight Watchers Points Plus each)
Vegetable spray
1 18.25-oz. pkg. red velvet cake mix
1 cup milk (I used 2%. If you're not watching your weight, whole tastes best.)
8 tbsp. (1 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look well blended.
Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
(Frosts 96 mini cupcakes - 1 Weight Watchers Points Plus per serving)
18 ounces Neufchatel (1/3 less fat) cream cheese, softened but still cool (This is a weird amount -- a bit over 2 packages -- because I increased the recipe by 1 1/2. You probably could get by with 2 packages, which is 16 oz.)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups (9 ounces) confectioners (powdered) sugar
Combine cream cheese and vanilla in a stand mixer bowl. Mix on stir until just combined. Add sugar and mix until combined but still lumpy. Finish stirring with a rubber spatula. (If you mix too much with the stand mixer, it will become too soupy).
I frosted with pastry bag and large star tip (Wilton 6B).
For tons and tons of other sweets ideas, check out this post, from Sweet as Sugar Cookies.