Moist and Delicious - Easy Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting!

RED VELVET CUPCAKES -

Normally I take a few recipes and put them together to make my own version, which I in-turn post.  This recipe is really too good to change.  I made a few little tweeks to make the cupcakes a little more goey, but this is straight from the internet.  And as a recipe review it really does get 5 stars.  I'm not even a cake eater, and I could not believe how delicious these cupcakes came out. 

This recipe is sure to make inlaws fall in love with you, friends accept apologies or even men propose.  They're really that good.

Ingredients

                    2 1/2 cups flour

                    1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I like to do a little more cocoa and a little less flour)
                    1 teaspoon baking soda
                    1/2 teaspoon salt
                    1 cup butter, softened
                    2 cups sugar
                    4 eggs
                    1 cup sour cream                    

                    1/2 cup milk

                     1 bottle or tube of hot pink Food Color (i use pink instead of red, I think it gives a                          nice color, but if you only have red go for it)
                    2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract

                    

                    Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:   (Don't you dare buy the frosting!)                   
                    1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
                    1/4 cup butter, softened
                    2 tablespoons sour cream
                    2 teaspoons McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract
                    1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar
                   Some of those really pretty sparkly crystals or pearls for decoration.  Also red frosting!

 Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Set aside.               

2. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into 30 paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.            
3. The recipe calls for 20-25 minutes, but this is entirely too long.  Cook regular sized cupcakes for 16 minutes, take them out and leavem them in the pan for 15 minutes.  This will help cook the outside of the cupcake still while leaving the middle moist and goey.  For the mini cupcakes 10 minutes was perfect.

4. While their cookin', mix the frosting.  Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and vanilla extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

4. Frost the cupcakes once they're completely cooled - Use the back side of a spoon to help smooth the frosting nicely over the cupcakes.  Add sparkly doodads! :)