Red Velvet Sparkle Star Mini Cakes - Hill Reeves

I've been "working at home" since Christmas Eve and so has Dan meaning that I have had no reason to leave my house other than to walk the dogs. We have Christmas leftovers to last a lifetime, my crappy internet just got seriously upgraded, and Candice lives like two blocks away for when I need to interact with other humans. As a result I have not not worn yoga pants and/or pajamas for 6 days straight.

Exhibit A.

Speaking of indulging your less attractive qualities, I was a total greedy goose before Christmas and couldn't resist buying myself a few presents as I scoured the city for a shaving mug for Dan on the 23rd. Roaming around looking for a wide, ceramic mug is a dangerous game for Hillary's credit card because I wound up browsing all my favorite stores: Eataly, Whisk, Flying Tiger, and finally Fish's Eddy.

I left the store with a $8 mug for Dan, and then star-shaped cake molds, fancy coffee beans, some candles, and these *incredible* Amy Sedaris sprinkles for me.

Exhibit B.

So, yes, I have been "working from home" with all of these new toys tempting me and I may have taken an extra long lunch break to make these adorable cakes. They're really dense, sturdy cakes, which I enjoy, especially when washed down with a strong cuppa tea.

(Oh, and Happy New Year to you! I resolve to wear real pants more often.)

Red Velvet Sparkle Star Mini Cakes

For the Cakes

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 tsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
pinch salt
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cocoa powder
20 drops liquid red food coloring

For the Icing

2 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup confectioner's sugar
splash vanilla extract
1 Tbsp milk

Cooking Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add oil and stir to combine. Add eggs, one at a time, beating each as you add. Add in vinegar, vanilla, and buttermilk. Stir wet ingredients to combine.
In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients (salt, flour, baking soda, cocoa powder). Add in 1/3 of dry ingredients and beat to combine. Add in second 1/3 and repeat. Finally add last 1/3 and food coloring. Beat until just combined. Add more red food coloring if desired!
Lay silicon cake mold on top of a baking sheet to stabilize. Pour batter into silicon mini cake molds of your choice, about 3/4 of the way. (If not using silicon, make sure to grease your molds first!)
Place baking sheet and molds in oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove cakes from an oven and let cool slightly. If the cake has risen over the edges of the mold, use a sharp knife to trim off excess cake.
Flip out cakes and continue to cool on a cooling rack. Meanwhile, whisk together icing ingredients with your electric mixer. Drizzle cakes with icing and then cover with sprinkles!