I inquired about the food coloring and surprisingly, the staff spilled the beans. I first started using it after I saw some eye-popping red cakes at a local restaurant. I often get asked what kind of red food color I use for my red velvet cakes, and Durkee brand is my top choice. Overfilling them will result in some verrrry interesting-looking (okay, ugly) cupcakes. I always make sure to fill cupcake liners only 2/3 full, but it’s especially important when using the brioche molds. Sifting the flour is important for a light texture in these cupcakes. They are made of super sturdy paper and they can stand alone on a baking sheet instead of in the cavities of a cupcake tin (I used the cupcake tin because it was handy at the time). I think they suit these red velvet beauties well. I occasionally use these brioche molds from King Arthur Flour to make my cupcakes look extra special. This recipe makes about 2 dozen cupcakes, or a 9-inch double layer cake. It is made as any good red velvet cake should be, using buttermilk, baking soda, vinegar, a little cocoa powder and red food color. But I consider this recipe to be the gold standard of red velvet cakes unaltered and directly from my course textbook. You can find two of my favorites here and here – and even my blue velvet cupcake recipe from years ago when I first started blogging. This blog has no shortage of red velvet cake recipes. I thought it might be fun to share a few approachable, classic recipes straight from my syllabus.

It’s been fun and I’ve learned a lot, especially in the bread baking courses (I’m looking at you, baguettes). Earlier this year I decided to enroll in a culinary program to learn more about the foundations of baking and pastry.

Restaurant classics cupcake baker