These Red Velvet Marble Cupcakes with Strawberry Frosting are quite simple to whip up. I would know because I made them at 1 am last night when my previous two recipes flopped.  There is no creaming of butter, no using every bowl in your kitchen and then having a dirty dish pile in your sink that hits the ceiling. All it takes is two bowls, to divide the batter, and a couple of ingredients you should have in your fridge. What you do need to be careful with though is the red dye.

I somehow managed to spill it over my hands, the floor and my sweatshirt.  It was a mess I don’t wish on anybody. Nonetheless, the strawberry frosting made my pink stained hands worth it.  Real chopped up strawberries are folded into the mixture, giving it a true strawberry flavor. None of that artificial crap here.  Then when you pile it on top of the Red Velvet Marble Cupcakes magic happens.  You’re taste buds sing and you have no idea how you gone so long without them. Enjoy!

Serves 6

Ingredients 

Cupcakes

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon red food dye

Frosting

• 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• about 4 medium fresh strawberries, pureed

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 12 cup muffin tin with 6 cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder and salt. In a larger bowl, combine the sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Add the dry to the wet and stir until just combined. Rinse out the bowl you used for the dry ingredients and add in 1/2 cup of batter plus one teaspoon of red dye.  Evenly distribute the batter into the cupcake liners. Start with vanilla, then the red velvet and end with vanilla. Gently run a knife through the batter to give them a swirl effect. Bake for about 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

When the cupcakes are baking, start working on the frosting.

In a bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter on medium high for 5 minutes. Turn to low and gradually add in the confectioners sugar. Add in the vanilla extract and the teaspoons of strawberry puree.

Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes.

Adapted from here and here