Red Velvet Cupcakes

'Red Velvet'? Never heard of it. Never had it. So I decided to try it. That was years ago!
I stayed away from making Red Velvet from scratch and cheated with the pre-mix. The first time I made it from scratch it went horribly wrong. I can make a perfect chocolate cake. But not red velvet. Why? No idea! Until recently I worked up my courage and decided to try to make another Red Velvet from scratch because someone mentioned to me that it was their favorite cake. And dear me! It was heavenly! and wonderfully moist!
Tip: Don't wear your favorite outfit or white. No matter how hard I tried, I ended up with red food color on my shirt, fingers, arms, and legs. Yes, you read correctly. Legs!
If the cupcakes are under-baked or too moist, the lining will pull away from the cupcake. I notice it happen to my mini cupcakes only. The regular one were fine.
I got the recipe from the back of a cake flour box and modified it. The original recipe didn't call for yogurt but I had yogurt sitting in the fridge and decided to add it in the batter.
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1.5 oz red food color
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes, at room temperature
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, cool (almost room temperature but not cold)
6 oz plain yogurt, optional
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line muffin pan.

2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl then set it aside.

3. In another small bowl, mix food color and cocoa powder to form a paste. Mix until there are no lumps. Set it aside until later.

4. Beat the butter, shortening, and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, add the vanilla and the red cocoa paste (Remember to scrape down the bowl with a spatula as you go).

5. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk and yogurt. Add another third of flour mixture, then the rest of the buttermilk and yogurt. Add the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined.

6. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Gently stir it in the batter. Do not beat.

7. Pour batter in the prepared muffin pans (about 3/4 full) and bake for 15-17 minutes (for the bite size cupcakes) or 20 to 25 minutes (for the regular size cupcakes) or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.