A Southern Grace: smell that?

December 10, 2012

smell that?

Yum



Christmas is coming. I know this because the (cold, cold, cold) air is permeated with the scents of pine, peppermint, and baking spices. Food blogs are peppered with cookies (and sometimes, they're peppered with peppered nut cookies!)(isn't Pfeffernüsse a fun word?!).


Upon leaving a building, my nose promptly turns pink and simultaneously decides to run and stuff up. Plus, I can't even go to the grocery store without hearing "Santa Baby" (no...just no), "Christmas Shoes" (probably my absolute least favo[u]rite), or "Redneck 12 Days of Christmas" (which you may not have to suffer through if you don't live in the Land of Rednecks)(be thankful for that).*

*Before you call me out for being a grinch, I should say that I can tolerate just about any Christmas song, just not before the beginning of December, please and thank you.

Don't get me wrong--I love the holiday season! Almost everyone is more kind and generous and it seems like I see my family more than in December than three or four other months combined. For some reason unbeknownst to me, the colo[u]rs red and green have come to symbolize this particular holiday, making red velvet cake a very appropriate dessert choice!


If you're looking for a good recipe for red velvet cupcakes, look no further. Those lovely Brits are at it again--Baking Mad has a terrific recipe via Eric Lanlard. If fluffy, chocolatey red velvet ain't yo thang, there are plenty of other recipes for cupcakes and Christmas recipes (even mince pies!). Sure, you have to do a little converting, but we mustn't let our brains (or conversion calculators...) go to waste!

I should note that I made one addition--red food colo[u]ring! I like my red velvet cake to be vibrantly red, more so than the colo[u]r yielded from the reaction of the baking soda with the vinegar. I also carved out the center of each cupcake and filled it with green-tinted sweetened whipped cream and used cream cheese frosting on top. To each her own!

There's still time to enter my $50 NOVICA gift card giveaway, you know, if free stuff is of interest to you.

16 comments:

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

Christmas is in the air!!!!

Cheers,

Rosa

pam said...

I haven't even heard a single Christmas song yet! And it's warm here. Didn't even wear a jacket yesterday. Those these cupcakes could get me in the mood.

I WIlkerson said...

And the little pinch of green in the center of the icing is really cute!

Joanne said...

Is it bad that I'm ALREADY sick of Christmas carols...and I haven't even heard any yet? LOL. But I do love holiday baking flavors. These cupcakes look like perfection!

Juliana said...

I love the Christmas surprise in the cupcake...a nice touch of the holiday.
Have a great week Grace!

kellypea said...

I am so with you on anything Christmas before the 1st of December. But I'm a Scrooge like that. Yanno, these cute little things would probably slide right down at our family holiday party. Hmmm...Haven't made Red Velvet anything in, oh, I'd say about six years. I'm sure there are laws against such neglect.

Von said...

I love Christmas....and Christmas celebrations at any time of the year ;) There's not much of a Christmasy vibe around here where I live though-perhaps you should take a holiday over to this side of the world before the 1st of December :D haha.... Love the surprise in this cupcake!! :D Very Christamsy indeed :)

scrambledhenfruit said...

Beautiful, and perfect for Christmas! Love the little green surprise inside. :)

Blond Duck said...

It just got cold here...I'm so delighted!

Lynda said...

Yes to Red Velvet...love the green surprise in the middle too! And red velvet needs red food coloring, and cream cheese frosting, so I approve Grace! :)
I'm wishing you a very Merry Christmas season, a Holly, Jolly Christmas, maybe even a White Christmas! And enjoy your family.

Choc Chip Uru @ Go Bake Yourself said...

Spirit of Christmas is everywhere :)

Cheers
Choc Chip Uru

Not Quite Nigella said...

OK I'm going to have to look up that Redneck song now! :P

Katerina said...

Yes, Christmas is here already! These are absolutely appropriate for the season!

lisa is cooking said...

Yes, thank you, Christmas music must wait until December, and then I'm happy to hear it. And, red velvet is so perfect for Christmas. Love the touch of green in the middle.

Hungry Dog said...

Red velvet cake is very festive indeed--I've never made it myself but perhaps this is the year to do it!

Savor The Baking said...

I love red velvet cakes and the green feeling is a nice surprise.