Red Velvet Cupcakes

When did red velvet cupcakes take over New York City? They seemed all the rage when Jeanne and I were there for a food writers' conference. As we glided down Bleecker Street, we asked locals for directions to a great cupcake. They sent us to a nearby bakery, where the smiling wait staff claimed their best seller is the red velvet cupcake. I expressed deep concern. I thought red velvet was a Southern confection, but stories abound that the Waldorf has a signature version.

At the bakery, we had high hopes as we toasted each other in a bottom's up sort of way. We bit in to the creamy white icing, and to our dismay, it tasted like it had been made with Crisco. It had a slick texture and it wasn't sweet enough. We tossed it and vowed to find a better one.

You can read up on red velvet history in The New York Times, which had this to say on Valentine's Day in 2007:  "More than 20 bakeries now sell red velvet cake or cupcakes, threatening to end the long reign of the city’s traditional favorites, cheese cake and dark chocolate blackout." Oh my goodness, how did it do that? (And what is a dark chocolate blackout?)

The Times article mentions two bakeries, both of which we happened to visit. It's probably not big-hearted of me to say which one had the regrettable icing. Maybe we hit the place on a day when they needed an "extender" to ensure they had enough icing for all their cupcakes. I don't know.

Bethenny Frankel has a tasty version in her new book SkinnyGirl Dish. She uses beet juice in replacement for food coloring, but keep in mind you will not get that fabulous red color without a dye job. I made a batch so I could inform Jeanne of this new discovery in the cupcake quest.

You may have noticed that I placed my cupcake on top of an antique bulldog doorstop. Why, you ask? Are you looking for meaning or for folk art?

Hey, I just make up this life as it comes to me. It happens one delicious moment at a time.