Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Copycat Recipe

If you've ever tried a Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake then I have the feeling you are really going to love this post. My family is obsessed with Sprinkles Cupcakes. Their Red Velvet Cupcake is simply irresistible. It is one cupcake that is truly hard to compete with, but I was definitely up for the challenge. On my recent vacation to Southern California I was sure to stop by Sprinkles in Newport Beach so I could refresh my memory on just exactly what that rich, sweet and even velvety cupcake tasted like so I could come home and create my own Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcake Copycat recipe. I LOVE making copycat recipes at home. It gives me such a fun challenge in the kitchen. Everyone who tried these cupcakes said they tasted just like Sprinkles! If you don't believe them, try for yourself. These are without a doubt melt in your mouth amazing! Not low fat by any means but worth it, I loaded the butter in these babies (just like I assume Sprinkles does). Enjoy and share (if you wish =)!

Sprinkles Red Velvet Cupcakes 
Yields 15 insanely delicious cupcakes

Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup salted butter, firm but not cold*
1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 Tbsp red food coloring
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole milk
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, set aside. In a separate large mixing bowl, with an electric hand mixer on medium speed, whip together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add in eggs one at a time stirring after each addition. (Now stand back and change out of any nice shirt you have on and) Add red food coloring and vanilla extract and mix until combine. In a small mixing bowl (or in the measuring cup you used to measure milk), combine milk and 1 tsp vinegar. Add milk mixture and flour mixture to cupcake mixture, alternating in two separate batches, mixing until combine after each addition. Divide batter evenly among 15 paper lined muffin cups, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Bake in preheated oven 18-21 minutes until toothpick inserted into center of 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 just helps them retain more moisture). Once cooled completely, spread generously with Cream Cheese Frosting (just as sprinkles does, lots of frosting!).

*I warmed the butter in the microwave for about 9-10 seconds on HIGH power in a small microwave safe bowl, basically you don't want it softened but not cold either. Just in between the two. Also, alternately you could use unsalted butter and add 1/4 tsp salt to the recipe. I just always keep salted butter on hand so I wanted the recipe to use salted. So if you use salted you don't need to add any salt to the recipe.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salted butter, firm but not cold (if using unsalted add 1/8 tsp salt)
6 oz cream cheese, cold (I recommend using Philadelphia brand in this recipe)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Red and blue food coloring, for decor (optional)

Directions:
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. If doing optional infamous Sprinkles Cupcakes dot on top then scoop out a few tablespoons frosting into two separate bowls and tint with food coloring (lots of red in the one and barely any blue in the other). Spread a small circle of red on top followed by a small light blue, use a toothpick to spread if needed (it helped me get a more circular shape around the edges with its finer point).

Recipe Source: Cooking Classy

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Coconut French Toast with Coconut Syrup

Hello Breakfast! Ordinary French toast gets a major upgrade with a few exciting coconut additions. This fluffy french toast is made with creamy coconut milk and then it gets more real coconut flavor from pure coconut extract. Then it's cooked until perfectly golden and drenched with an irresistible, deliciously sweet coconut syrup (which again is full of real coconut flavor from coconut milk and extract) and to finish it's sprinkled with what more but the real thing, shredded sweetened coconut. 
I listed below additional ideas for this french toast which I cannot wait to make in the future. This recipe is definitely going into my breakfast (and dinner) rotation! Enjoy and share!

Coconut French Toast
Yields 10 slices (about 5 servings)


Ingredients:
1/2 cup canned coconut milk, well shaken
1/2 cup milk
5 large eggs
1/2 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
10 1" slices day or two old French Bread
Coconut Syrup, for serving, recipe follows
Sweetened shredded coconut, for serving, optional


Directions:
Preheat a non-stick electric griddle to 350 degrees. In a blender, combine coconut milk, milk, eggs, coconut extract, vanilla extract, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Blend on low speed about 10 seconds until well blended. Pour mixture into a shallow bowl. Butter preheated griddle and dip bread slices into egg mixture and allow bread several seconds to absorb the mixture (I like to gently squeeze it like a sponge to make sure it gets soaked all the way through) then allow some of the excess to drip off. Cook on buttered griddle until golden on bottom, then lift bread with a spatula and butter griddle again. Then flip french toast to opposite side and cook opposite side until golden brown. Serve warm with coconut syrup and sprinkle with optional sweetened shredded coconut.


So I haven't tried this yet but I need to very soon, this french toast would be excellent if each slice were coated in a combination crushed cornflakes and ground sweetened shredded coconut (after you dip it in the egg mixture) and then cooked on a buttered griddle as directed. And to go one step further you could slice each piece of bread down the center stuff it with bananas with a little bit of brown sugar or crushed pineapple, diced mangoes or diced strawberries with sugar.


Coconut Syrup


Ingredients:
6 Tbsp butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup canned coconut milk, well shaken
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coconut extract


Directions:
Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Stir in sugar, coconut milk and salt. Bring mixture just to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and stir in baking soda and coconut extract, whisk mixture for about 10 seconds until frothy. Serve warm. Store in refrigerator up to one week in an airtight container.


Recipe Source: Cooking Classy (adapted slightly from my Buttermilk French Toast and Vanilla Cream Syrup)

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Strawberry Coffee Cake

I tell you no lie when I say this Strawberry Coffee Cake is the best coffee cake I've ever eaten! I love it! It makes sense that I like it so much because I adapted the recipe slightly from my favorite ever blueberry muffins recipe. I had some fresh strawberries in the fridge I needed to use up and I've been wanting to make a coffee cake recipe for some time so I decided why not strawberry? The combination of flavors in this cake is irresistible! You get a melt in your mouth, deliciously flavorful, buttery cake that sandwiches a layer of fresh, sweetened, juicy strawberries then to finish it off it's crowned with a generous amount of an incredible crumb topping (I've said it before, please don't substitute the Turbinado sugar, I think it's a must). Everyone was coming back for more of this heavenly cake. Make it for dessert or a breakfast treat (I mean really what better way to start the day =), either way I have the feeling you're going to love this recipe. Enjoy and share!

Strawberry Coffee Cake
Yields about 12 servings


Ingredients:
Strawberry Filling
8 oz. fresh strawberries, diced (about 1 1/3 cups)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp cold water
1 tsp lemon juice


Crumb topping
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp butter, chilled and diced into cubes
1 1/2 Tbsp Raw Turbinado Sugar


Cake:
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbsp butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup buttermilk


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


To prepare strawberry filling: in a medium saucepan whisk together 1/4 cup granulated sugar and cornstarch. Stir in cold water and lemon juice. Add in strawberries. Bring mixture just to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Once mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.


To prepare crumb topping: add 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar and 2 1/2 Tbsp butter to a small food processor. Pulse mixture just a few seconds until combine (it should still be fluffy, if you pulse to long it will become too dense). Pour crumb mixture into a small bowl and whisk in Turbinado Sugar, set aside.


To prepare cake: in a mixing bowl: whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip together 7 Tbsp softened butter and 1 cup granulated sugar until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Stir in egg and vanilla. Mix in sour cream. Add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk in two separate batches and mix just until combine.


To assemble cake: pour and evenly spread 1/2 of the cake batter into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Spread strawberry mixture evenly over batter layer. Dollop remaining batter by the spoonfuls over strawberry mixture and gently spread batter into an even layer. Sprinkle top evenly with crumb topping. Bake in preheated oven 50-55 minutes until golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before cutting (if you can =).




Recipe Source: Cooking Classy (adapted slightly from my Blueberry Muffins)

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