"I would drape myself in velvet if it were socially acceptable."

Oh, George. You amuse me so. I never tire of your antics, regardless of how many times I see them.*


*My Seinfeld reference doesn't come out of nowhere. Bear with me.

Confession: I don't see Valentine's Day as a holiday, but rather as an excuse to unashamedly wear pastel pink and consume copious goodies.

In trying to decide what to bake for our monthly office potluck (a newly-instituted occasion), I considered lots of things and finally narrowed it down to red velvet cheesecake and red velvet cupcakes. The easier of the two won out (plus, the thought of pale pink cream cheese frosting excited me greatly), but I do see a red velvet cheesecake in my future.


I opted to use less than an entire bottle of food coloring, so the cupcakes turned out more pinkish-brown than red. Never fear--the frosting was lovely and effectively covered and masked the less-than-stellar hue of the cake. Who cares about color anyway? They tasted great, with just a little bit of chocolate sneaking through the tangy cream cheese. Very excellent, and gobbled up quickly. Happy Valentine's Day indeed.

Pink Velvet Cupcakes
(altered a tad from these)

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg, room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk (I used 1/2 cup milk + 2 teaspoons lemon juice)
15 drops red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon vinegar

1/4 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a muffin tray with liners.
Beat the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat until fully incorporated.
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring.
Add half of the dry ingredients and mix, then add half of the wet. Repeat.
Spoon into cupcake liners, about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full (I went too far and ended up with mushrooms...). Bake for 18-22 minutes for regular-sized cupcakes, 15-18 minutes for miniature cupcakes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.

For the frosting, cream the butter and cream cheese together, add the vanilla extract, and mix. Add the powdered sugar until the ideal sweetness and consistency is reached.

Now, if you're the kind of person who gets into Valentine's Day and want some great ideas, check out Tiffany's Tapas on her blog The Garden Apartment...


...and Amy's Valentine's Breakfast at Eggs on Sunday:


They'll take good care of ya.

And hey, last reminder--the deadline for sending me your contribution to the celebration of all things cinnamon is Friday night. The more, the merrier.