'Tis the Season (for Red Velvet)

I can't think of a better time of year to make red velvet. If you're looking for some holiday baking inspiration, I've included links to some fun red velvet recipes. I haven't been able to try them all, but can certainly vouch for the sources: from Southern Living, Paula Deen and a few of my favorite baking bloggers. These recipes are sure to get you right into the holiday spirit:

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett

Red Velvet Brownies
Red Velvet Bread Pudding
Red Velvet Soufflés w/ Whipped Sour Cream
Red Velvet Trifle
Red Velvet Torte w/ White Truffle Frosting
Red Velvet Cheesecake
Red Velvet Fudge
Red Velvet Peppermint Cake
Red Velvet Angel Food Cake

But say you don't feel like baking. How about cozying up next to the fire with a warm cup of Red Velvet Hot Cocoa?

Or maybe you're having guests over for breakfast and want to whip up a simple holiday inspired treat? Just make a batch of my red velvet pancakes and buy a few of these cute little mitten pancake molds from Crate&Barrel (for less than $5 each). Pipe some cream cheese frosting onto the bottom of the mittens, and voila: red velvet pancake mittens!

Baking Away the Calories (Plus a Giveaway)

In what seems like eons ago in the blogosphere, I aksed my readers what I should bake next and red velvet donuts were the clear winner.

I started with these cute little mini donut pans from Amazon and figured that by using them I would avoid burning myself with grease (highly probable) and dodge any excess, unnecessary calories. I quickly learned, however, that the calories are in fact my favorite part of the donut.

So I am posting this recipe with a caveat: if you are really craving a donut, I suggest eating a real doughnut (yes, different spelling). Preferably one with actual dough that has been submerged and deep fat fried in a massive vat of grease. Yes, it won't be the healthiest thing, but it can't be much worse than eating 12 baked mini donuts in a single sitting. Right?

But now onto the fun stuff! To apologize for being such a slacker on my postings of late, I've decided to give away two brand-new mini donut pans so all you health conscious folks can make baked donuts of your own! To enter, simply comment on this post with the name of your favorite holiday dessert (and it doesn't have to be red velvet). Deadline to enter is 5pm EST on December 13th has passed. One lucky winner will be chosen at random using random.org and announced on this post.

And the lucky winner is: Jainy! She was the third person to comment on this post with the name of her favorite holiday dessert. Jainy, please send an email to christina@velveteenbaker.com with your full name and mailing address.

 








Baked Red Velvet Donuts
Modified from Sprinkle Bakes

Donut batter:
2 c all purpose flour, sifted
3/4 c granulated sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 c buttermilk
1 t vanilla extract
1 t red food coloring
1 T natural cocoa powder, not dutch-processed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray donut pan with nonstick cooking spray. In large mixing bowl, sift together all purpose flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Make a paste with the cocoa and red food coloring. Add buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract, butter and red paste mixture and beat until just combined.

Fill each donut cup approximately 3/4 of the way full. Bake 5-8 minutes or until the top of the donuts spring back when touched. Let cool in pan for 4–5 minutes before removing. Finish donuts with vanilla glaze. Donuts are best served fresh.

Vanilla glaze:

2 T hot water
2 c confectioner’ s sugar
1 T milk (I substituted buttermilk since it was all I had)
½ t vanilla extract

In small bowl, stir together all ingredients until sugar is completely dissolved. Use immediately to glaze donuts. You can either toss them in or dip just the tops. If the glaze starts to harden you can add more hot water.

Red Velvet Fever

DSCN0005, originally uploaded by Velveteen Baker.

At what point should I start worrying about my red velvet addiction? Truth be told, I actually considered buying two boxes of these.