Egg-Free Red Velvet Cupcakes

The wait is over! It's finally here! I figured out how to make egg-free red velvet cupcakes just in time for Valentine's Day.  And they taste just like my regular red velvet cupcakes. Woohoo!
I've been working on this recipe for a while now.  I was actually hoping to post this last year, but I just couldn't get it right.  I already lost count how many times I've tried and failed, but I knew if I just kept at it eventually it'll work.  I'm so excited to share this with you.

I made these for my son's kindergarten class :-)

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!

Egg-free Red Velvet Cupcakes
Makes about 24 cupcakes
Allergy note: contains dairy and wheat ingredients

cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 Tbs. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter, melted
2 cups whole milk, room temperature
2 Tbs. vinegar
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbs. corn syrup or honey
1 Tbs. no-taste red food coloring gel or paste (i.e. Wilton icing colors)

frosting:
8 oz. bar cream cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 cups powdered (confectioner's) sugar, measured then sifted

heart decorations:
24 oz. package Wilton rolled fondant
Wilton icing colors in pink, orange, violet, green and yellow
heart cookie cutter or fondant cut-out
red food coloring pen or red food coloring and a fine tip brush
fondant rolling pin
powdered sugar for rolling

To make the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Line two muffin pans with baking cups. Sift together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  In a separate bowl, mix together milk and vinegar.  Set aside for one minute then add butter, sugar, vanilla extract, corn syrup (or honey) and red food coloring. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.  Pour the batter into the lined muffin pan to 2/3 full. Tip: use an ice cream scooper to portion out the batter evenly and neatly. Bake for 15 to 20 or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting and decorating.

To make the frosting:
With the mixer on a low speed, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract until blended. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time. Once all the powdered sugar is added, increase to a higher speed to whip up the frosting till light and fluffy. Use a large round piping tip to pipe the frosting onto each cupcake.

To make the heart decorations:
Divide the fondant in five equal pieces and tint them pink, purple, green, yellow and orange. Dust a flat surface with powdered sugar and roll the fondant to 1/4-inch thick.  Cut heart shapes using cookie cutter or fondant cut-out. Write out sayings (Be Mine, Love, Hug Me etc.) using red food coloring pen.

Please note: I am not a paid endorser nor did I accept any freebies of the brands or products mentioned in this post.  I just love them and wanted to share it with you :-)