Blue Velvet Cupcakes with Pecans

I think I have mentioned this before, but I really enjoy baking. I don’t do it often because my husband has a major sweet tooth and could eat a whole pan of brownies in a day. I had a hankering for something sweet and I really wanted to do a baking project with our 2 year old, Isaac. Hence these blue velvet cupcakes.

Here in Atlanta, there is a cupcake shop called Cami Cakes, which Phil and I both love. If you live here in Atlanta, and you haven’t been, you need to go, now! Their red velvet cupcakes are out of this world. Part of what makes their red velvet so good is that they use chopped pecans in the cream cheese frosting. It gives the frosting nice texture and flavor. I thought, wouldn’t it be nice to get our Cami Cakes fix right at home! This way Isaac could help and more importantly we would not be spending $3.50 for a cupcake (the struggle is real). As I was doing some research, I came across blue velvet cupcakes and knew Isaac would be all over this (his favorite color is blue). I wanted it to taste like a Cami Cakes cupcake and crazy enough, I found the recipe online. I had to modify/combine each recipe to get what I was looking for.

The combination of recipes was a success! They were delicious, Isaac had fun helping, and they looked great. The brown of the pecans, the ivory of the frosting and blue cake were a beautiful combination. I think these cupcakes are so pretty, they would be great for a special occasion like a baby shower or wedding shower. Definitely don’t wait for a special occasion to make these though!

5 from 1 reviews

Blue Velvet Cupcakes with Pecans

 

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Cook time

25 mins

Total time

25 mins

 

Adapted from Sprinkle Bakes and Cami Cakes

Author: Dominique Cook

Serves: 24

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1½ cups of sugar
• 2 sticks of butter (1/2 pound), room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp royal blue gel food coloring (I used Wilton)
• 1 small dab of violet gel food color (I used Wilton and the tip of a toothpick for the dab)
• 2½ cups cake flour, sifted
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp white distilled vinegar

Frosting:

• 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 2 sticks of butter (1/2 pound), room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
• ¼ cup finely chopped toasted pecans
• 24 whole pecans, for garnish

Instructions

Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°
2. Cream together the butter and sugar, until pale and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one.
3. In a small bowl, make a paste out of the food coloring and cocoa powder, mixing well. Then add to the sugar mixture and mix.
4. Sift together flour and salt, add alternatively with buttermilk, to the creamed mixture. Add about ⅓ of the flour to the creamed mixture, mix well. Then add half the buttermilk to the creamed mixture, mix well. Add another ⅓ of the flour to the creamed mixture, mix well. Add remainder of buttermilk to the creamed mixture, mix well. Finally, add the last ⅓ of the flour to the creamed mixture, mix well.
5. Add in vanilla to the batter. Then mix baking soda and vinegar in a small bow and then add to the batter and mix.
6. Place paper liners in 2 - 12 count muffin tins. Fill each cup with batter ⅔ of the way. The batter will be thick. Bake for 22-25 minutes (turn the pans once, halfway through baking), or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Frosting:

1. Beat together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth. Turn speed down to low, and slowly add in the sugar, mix until incorporated. Increase the speed and mix until light and fluffy. Stir in the chopped pecans.
2. Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pastry bag. If using a pastry bag, be sure the pecans are chopped small enough to fit through the piping tip. Garnish with whole pecans.

3.5.3226