Rail Trail Adventure Part 2: Red Velvet Cherry Ripe

Another bakery stop on our Rail Trail Adventure brought us to Goulburn Bakery. I couldn't resist trying their Red Velvet cake, which they called a Red Velvet Cheesecake (I'm guessing because of the cream cheese icing) but I wasn't expecting it to taste exactly like a Cherry Ripe! Eating it reminded me of childhood and I couldn't wait to try to make my own version at home.

I don't want it to sound like our rail trail trip was all about finding country bakeries, we did do our fair share of biking.

Though the bakeries were a nice reward! After cycling to Beechworth and then Bright we got back to traveling by car and headed back towards NSW but had a stop over in Canberra for a Questacon excursion, which was the highlight of the trip for the kids. 

It's taken me a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things after our vacation, but I've finally been able to find the time to try my own version of the Goulburn Bakery's Red Velvet cake. 

I've simply modified the Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe I've already posted here.

Ingredients

• 1 1/3 cups plain flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup + 2 Tbsp caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoon red food colouring
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cherry extract 
• 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (optional)
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (if you only have whole milk, add a teaspoon of lemon or lime juice and let rest for 10 minutes)

• Cream Cheese Frosting
• 250 grams unsalted butter, room temperature
• 250 grams cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar

• Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celsius or 350 degree Fahrenheit fan forced. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs and continue to mix on low until incorporated. Turn off mixer and add red food colouring and vanilla extract and mix until combine.
  
• In two alternating batches add the buttermilk and flour mixture to cupcake mixture. Mix until well incorporated. 
• Divide batter evenly among 12 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven for around 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the centre of a cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 2 minutes in muffin tin, then transfer to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to an airtight container to cool completely (this is essential for retaining moisture). Once cooled completely, pipe generously with Cream Cheese Frosting, then add heart sprinkles. 
Cream Cheese Frosting
• In a large mixing bowl, using and electric mixer, whip together butter and cream cheese until pale and fluffy (about 1 minute on high speed, then 3-4 minutes on medium high speed). Mix in vanilla extract. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. 
• Rose Piping 
• To pipe a rose top onto your cupcakes, use a 104 tip and pipe two small cone shapes one on top of the other in the centre of your cupcake (this will be the centre of the rose) then piping on a slight angle outwards, pipe three arches around the centre cones you made. Then continue to pipe arches around the centre cone, alternating the top of the arch with the ends of the row in front. You will need to pipe at least five rows around the centre for it to look like a rose. 
• Chocolate Butterfly
• To make the chocolate butterfly use half a bag of chocolate melts, so not real chocolate and melt them using a bain-marie. Once melted, transfer the chocolate to a piping bag and snip the bottom off (make sure you only snip a little off). Tear off a length of greaseproof baking paper and fold it in half. Pipe only half the butterfly (so just the right side) starting at crease line made by the fold (the line will be the centre of the butterfly's body). Once you've piped four or five butterflies, fold the baking paper in half and gently press the chocolate using your hand, this will make a mirror image of the right side of the butterfly that you piped. Carefully open the paper and voilà, chocolate butterflies. Just pipe some antennae and a line down the centre for the body. Allow to set until hard. These butterflies are very delicate, so be extra careful when taking them off the paper and be sure to make extra in case you have some breakages. If you need a video tutorial, I found this which explains it really well.
  
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• Happy Baking!
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