Vegan Valentine Cupcakes - Red Velvet with Raspberry Buttercream

I had Thursday and Friday off last week. Thursday I ran errands, did laundry, took a nap, you know, the essentials. Friday, however, I found myself with some time on my hands and an urge to bake, since I haven't had a chance in a while. So after bumming around online for a while, I determined that I had a craving for red velvet cupcakes. It sounds like a strange desire, but I think they were just on my mind after seeing these and these. {I also saw these lovelies, but that's a different story.}

I remembered really liking the ones I made last year, so I went back to that recipe. For once, I also wanted to have a holiday treat posted well before the holiday in question so that you guys would have plenty of time to get yourselves together to make it.

So, red velvet cupcakes (which are chocolate, by the way) with....drumroll please.... raspberry buttercream! Yep, a classic combination rendered in vegan form. Chocolate + Raspberry = Delicious

 I used fresh raspberries for my frosting, but I think you could use frozen if you thaw and drain them first. Also, a note on the cupcake recipe: this time I used soy milk rather than almond milk and only vanilla extract (as opposed to part almond extract). They were still yummy, but I missed having the hint of almond I had last time. Also, if you have picky or ambivalent-about-vegan-baking eaters, Official Taster thinks he can taste/feel the graininess sometimes associated with soy milk. I didn't notice, but I wanted to let you know.

This time, I made a combination of heart shaped and mini cupcakes. For the hearts, I used some Reynolds heart baking cups I had on hand. I'm not sure if they still make them, or if they are a seasonal item, but this is what they look like.

Vegan Red Velvet Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

For cupcake recipe, please reread this post

For the frosting:
1/2 stick vegan butter
1/4 C fresh raspberries
splash of vanilla
2-3 C confectioners' sugar

In a small bowl, beat the butter until it's light and fluffy. Add the raspberries and vanilla and blend well. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until the frosting has become stiff enough to spread or pipe. Frost and enjoy!

Notes:
If you add the sugar slowly, the frosting blends beautifully and you avoid the slight graininess that occurs sometimes in quick buttercreams

If you use regular butter, I would also add a dash of salt.

Any other berry should work as well. Blackberries would make a pretty color!