Blue Velvet Cupcakes

I don't know how many of you are familiar with the velvet cupcakes, but I simply adore them.
So far I have only seen 4 of them and they are all amazing . You can find them in red, pink, blue and green.

Every time I have seen a velvet cupcake I was so impressed and now,  finally, I decided to try one of them.

I have to tell you that my favorite it's red velvet and I think that this is the most known.
This is the one I was planning to try first, but because  my order from amazon with my new food dye was delayed, I had to go for blue, cause this was the only one I had at that moment.

The recipe is truly amazing. It's definitely going in top 5 for me!
I found it on this site www.sprinklebakes.com

Of course that I have adapted it like I do every time :D
For this one I have replaced the buttermilk with yogurt and I put less sugar (as usual).

Advice:  If you decide to try this cupcake recipe,  buy the best food  dye in order to have a great bright color. It will guarantee you a real success.

As you can see in my photos, because I used dye powder,  the color of the cupcakes is not too bright. Although I liked it, I will definitely try it again with the new dye to see the differences.


Ingredients 


For cupcakes:
2 cups sugar
½ pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon royal blue gel food coloring
1 small dab of violet gel food coloring
2½  cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon vinegar


For frosting: 

I made this frosting http://lovecupcakesrecipes.blogspot.ch/2013/03/buttercream-frosting-recipe.html

But instead of vanilla extract, I used almond extract. The result is great and makes the hole cupcake more special. 

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F / 180 C. 

Prepare cupcake pans with paper liners.
In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter, mix until light and fluffy. 

Add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. 

Mix cocoa and food coloring together to form a paste, and then add to sugar mixture; mix well.

Sift together flour and salt.

Add flour mixture to the creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk.

Blend in vanilla.

In a small bowl, combine baking soda and vinegar and add to mixture. 

Batter will be thick! 

Pour batter into cupcake papers. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. 

 Envoy!