Getting into some Purple Reign

Purple Peppermint Patties aka The Raven

Purple Reign

As you know by now, The Baltimore Ravens won the Superbowl. Seeing as though I live in Charm City, I hosted AFC and Superbowl parties in my home. As the hostess supreme, I had to come up with something purple and meaningful for the Ravens, so I came up with purple velvet cupcakes (Purple Reign) and purple peppermint patties (The Raven). Both were a hit; and quite lucky, if I do say so myself.  Cheers!

Take a look at the batter for the Purple Reign (velvet) cupcakes above. While the batter had a slight purple tinge to it, when baked, they turned brown. I used red and blue food coloring to color the batter. I do not recommend going that route. Instead, get some food coloring paste; that's what I used in the frosting. The difference in ease and coloring was astounding. 

I used the world famous Magnolia Bakery's Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe, found here, with one minor tweak: I used White Lilly flour instead of cake flour and had no issues. The cake was moist and as light as air. In fact, many people found themselves scarfing down more than one cupcake at a time, due to the airiness of the cake. Consider yourself warned.  

This icing, too, was as light as air. Again, I used White Lily flour, and I used 4-5 1/2 tablespoons of it; I literally lost count and hoped for the best. It turned out divinely and people raved about it. Also adding to the lightness of the icing was the use of skim milk.  That said, you can find the original recipe here. I wouldn't recommend using a butter cream frosting for this recipe; it may be too heavy.

Finished Product. Some have mini chocolate chips to add dimension. 

Icing tips to make piping easier.

The Raven

The minty filling of the Raven. Some were heart shaped; other were regularly formed. 

This recipe was originally scheduled to be a part of my holiday treat boxes, but when I got ill, they were shelved. That said, I had everything on hand to make this recipe; including the food coloring paste. I made a few tweaks to the recipe, to wit: 1/4 each of peppermint and vanilla extracts to the insides and  a hefty dash of peppermint extract in the chocolate coating ( I used regular chocolate chips for this). That said, this recipe is pretty fool proof and adjustable to your tastes. The original recipe is found here.  They keep nicely in the freezer, too. In fact, that is where I recommend that you store them. 

One last thing: Wondering what you should do with the remaining evaporated milk? Make my vanilla ice cream pudding! 

Take care and let your team spirit shine,

Erins