Shelly's Recipe

RED VELVET CUPCAKES WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Category: Cupcakes

Cupcakes
24 paper liners, for cupcake pans (2 1/2 -inch size)
1 pkg German chocolate cake mix (18.25 oz, plain)
1 pkg vanilla instant pudding mix (3.4 oz)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 bottle (1 oz) red food coloring
3 large eggs
1 cup chocolate chips (miniature semisweet)
Frosting
6 oz white chocolate, coarsely chopped
4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature (half an 8-oz pkg)
4 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 tsp peppermint extract
2 to 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted

Cupcakes: Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners. Set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, food coloring and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat two minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven. Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5 minutes.

Run a dinner knife around the edges of the cupcake liners, lift the cupcakes up from the bottoms of the cups using the end of the knife, and pick them out of the cups carefully with your fingertips. Place them on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes before frosting.

Meanwhile, prepare the White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting. When finished, place a heaping tbsp of frosting on each cupcake and swirl to spread with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover the tops completely.

Place these cupcakes, uncovered or in a cake server, in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. The cupcakes are ready to serve.

White Chocolate Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting
Place the white chocolate in a small glass bowl in the microwave oven on high power for one minute. Remove the bowl from the oven and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is smooth. Set the chocolate aside to cool.

Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the melted white chocolate and blend on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds.

Add the peppermint extract and two cups of the confectioners sugar and blend on low until the sugar is incorporated, 30 seconds more. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the frosting is fluffy, one minute more, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar if needed to make a spreadable consistency.

Feel free to fold in up to 1/2 cup crushed peppermint candy for a crunchy and creamy frosting!

To store: Store the cupcakes, in a cake saver or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to three days or in the refrigerator for up to one week. Or freeze them, wrapped in aluminum foil or in a cake saver, for up to six months. Thaw the cupcakes overnight in the refrigerator before serving.