Hellll-o, horror fans! My name is Natalie and I am psyched to introduce the very first edition of Slash & Dine to you all. My baking blog, Bake and Destroy has been called “Martha meets Motorhead” and here on BrutalasHell.com I’ll be channeling my brand of demented domestics to bring you a monthly pairing of a great recipe with a great (or sometimes, not-so-great) movie. I’d like to kick 2009 off on a sweet note with my Redrum Velvet Cupcakes. In honor of the Overlook Hotel’s perpetual haunted New Year’s party in The Shining, I’ve put together an alcohol-fused sugar bomb that’s sure to cure even the most murderous case of cabin fever. A little butter, a little sugar and a whole lot of over-acting and you’ve got yourself one devilish dessert.

To make just over a dozen cupcakes you’ll need:

 

1 & 3/4 cups cake flour

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 & 1/4 cups sugar

2 large eggs

3 Tbs dark rum

1 Tbs + 1 1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

3/4 tsp cider vinegar

3/4 tsp baking soda

Red food coloring*

 

* I recommend Americolor Super Red for the goriest possible color.

 

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. (You’ll probably get 18 cupcakes from this recipe, so line two pans while you’re at it.)

 

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until very light and fluffy, About 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

In a small bowl, whisk together the dark rum, cocoa and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well. Add red food coloring until it’s a nice, bloody red.

 

 

In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the cake flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not over beat. (You might break someone’s arm.)

 

In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well-blended and the batter is smooth.

 

Fill cups 2/3 full (these are high-risers) and bake 20-25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when you gently touch them, Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely.

 

All cake and no frosting makes Natalie a dull girl – so lucky for you I happen to have the perfect cream cheese frosting for these beasts!

 

You’ll need:

 

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

A pinch of salt

2 & 1/4 cups confectioner’s sugar

 

In a bowl, with your electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat together cream cheese, butter and salt until creamy. Beat it like Jack beats his family. Ouch! With mixer on low speed, make 1/2 cup additions of sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Increase the speed of your mixer between each addition.

 

I should note that this recipe can just as easily be made sans-alcohol. Honestly, the rum doesn’t add much more than a laugh to the finished product. Just don’t tell Jack.

 

That’s all for this month, kids! Join me next week for a recipe that’s sure to bring out the romantic in even the coldest, blackest heart. It’ll be a bloody Valentine from my kitchen to yours! –Natalie