Razorback Velvet Cupcakes

This is the second part of the Baseball Tailgating Story. If you aren't quite up for trying Margarita Cupcakes, this is a much more traditional recipe! Don't worry it's still delicious.

This is a recipe that is inspired by Paula Deen's cupcakes. A few posts ago I discussed that I was an Ina Garten lover, the only person I cheat on Ina with is Paula. I mean, how can you not? Maybe it's because she factors into the kind of grandma I want to be some day or maybe it's because we share a love of butter and deep frying and both have a thick Southern drawl... I believe this combination is due to the idea that Ina inspires my entertaining, upscale side, while Paula satisfies my comfortable, down-home side.

Since these little guys were for a baseball tailgate, I decided to make them into little baseballs!  In order to do so, just use a decorating gel on a cupcake with a white frosting.

I will now confess that Mr. Cowboy helped me pipe all of these little baseballs to save me some time. Isn't he handy? I'm gradually converting him into my full time Sous Chef! But shhh, don't tell.

Also, if you haven't caught on yet, Razorback Velvet is simply Red Velvet with adorned with school pride!

Notes:

• Using a regular sized muffin, this will make about 24. With a mini cupcake it will make about 70. For the mini cupcakes, the cooking time is reduced to 10-12 minutes.
• Depending on what you intend to use the icing for, you may require a stiffer icing.  Simply continue adding powdered sugar until you reach the desired consistency or reduce the vanilla for a very stiff icing.Also, depending on how much of a cream cheese fan you are, you can adjust the powdered sugar to cream cheese ratio to suite your taste.
• This is very, very important!! Notice in the icing recipe, I have noted to add small quantities of powdered sugar into the icing mixture on low speed... If you do not heed these words of wisdom, you will have a powdered sugar covered kitchen and body. Trust me, powdered sugar facials isn't the secret the a perfect complexion.

Razorback Velvet Cupcakes

• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 c. sugar
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 3 T cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 1 c. buttermilk, room temperature
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 t white distilled vinegar
• 3 t vanilla extract
• 2 T red food coloring

Cream Cheese Icing:

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pans with liners.

In  a medium bowl, sift together flour, sugar, soda, salt, and cocoa.

In a large bowl, beat the oil, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla with a mixer. Carefully mix in the food coloring. Add the dry ingredients in gradually, mixing until thoroughly combined and smooth.

Divide the batter into the muffin tins, about 2/3 of the way full. Bake for about 20 minutes (until the cupcakes pass the toothpick test), turning the muffin pan halfway through. Cool in the pans for about 5 minutes and then remove.

Once the cupcakes have cooled, make the icing. In (or with) a mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Gradually add the powdered sugar into the mixer on low speed in small batches. Once all of the sugar is incorporated, increase the speed to high and mix until fluffy and light.

Pipe or spread a liberal amount of icing onto the cupcakes.

A few more event cupcake shots for you...

Update: I've been getting a lot of hits for how to make razorback cupcakes, and since these are titled Razorback Velvet Cupcakes, you end up here! Well I'm happy to have you, so I'll show you a couple options you have for decorating razorback cupcakes. Use the recipe and directions above with the following decoration ideas! Disclaimer: these cupcakes are not mine (they're hers)! I pulled this picture from a Google search because the last time I made cupcakes that were decorated like this, I did not have a food blog and the pictures have been long lost. BUT I will walk you through the process of how I would decorate these.

1. You will need to separate your icing into three separate containers to color them. Make the majority of the icing red, and a little bit of black and white. Do NOT try to use the food coloring from the grocery store - you will end up with pink piggies instead of razorback red beauties! Go to Hobby Lobby or a specialty food store and purchase concentrated gel food coloring.
2. You will need one very large round tip and one to three small round tips (depending on how much cleanup / reusing you want to do in between shapes). The sizes will depend on how large you want your decorated cupcakes to be. Place the various frostings into pastry bags. You should have (if you don't reuse at all):
• Red / large tip
• Red / small tip
• White / Small tip
• Black Small tip
3. Using the red with a large tip, make one large mound of icing to make the face of the Hog. Level it out with a icing spatula if needed. Where his snout should be, make another smaller mound (or two very thin mounds). You can also pipe thin (height speaking) spirals around the cupcake, ending at the snout with more height if that is easier for you (where you would normally have more height in the middle of the cupcake in normal piping).
4. Using the white, black, and red with small tips, go back and add the nostril lines, brows, eyes, ears, and tusks. In order to make things pointed, squeeze more of the frosting at the bottom of the shape and then gradually let off the pressure of the icing and quickly remove the tip to make a point.

Decorating Tip: Practice before you commit to taking these somewhere. Decorating cakes looks much easier than it actually is! The frosting should be very stiff to hold shape for these. If you want to practice, store bought icing on wax paper is a good start! But once you get the hang of basic decorating techniques they are very simple!