Raspberry Red Velvet Cupcakes

1. Preheat oven to 145ºC / 275ºF / Gas mark 1–2.
2. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar on high speed until mixture turns from yellow to off-white. This should be between 5 and 20 minutes, depending on softness of butter.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. Do not allow mixture to split. Mix until just combined. Do not overmix.
4. Sift flour and baking powder together. In a separate bowl, combine milk and vanilla bean paste. Add half the flour mixture, then the dutch cocoa powder and red powdered food colouring. Add half the milk mixture, raspberry puree and raspberries.
5. Add remaining flour mixture and remaining milk mixture.
6. Using an ice-cream scoop, spoon mixture into cupcake foils. Bake for 30 minutes, turning tray around after 15 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Whip butter until slightly pale and creamy. Add icing sugar and cream cheese and cream on high speed for further 5–10 minutes, depending on softness of butter.
2. Add egg whites, lemon juice, vanilla bean extract and salt. Cream an additional 3 minutes.
3. Spread on cooked cupcakes.

Decoration

1. Decorate with sugar shapes, lips and hearts, coloured red.

Sugar Shapes

1. Using Ready To Roll fondant (RTR), a rolling pin and some icing sugar or cornflour sprinkled to avoid sticking, roll RTR to several millimetres thickness.
2. RTR can be coloured to any shade, using food colouring. Your specialty cake decorating store will have a range of colours and strength of colour is determined by amount of colouring added.