SpaghettiOs Red Velvet Cupcakes

That classic red sauce makes for one colorful cupcake. (Courtesy SpaghettiOs)

Not your typical cupcake recipe. Celebrate 50 years of SpaghettiOs with this unique twist on a traditional red velvet cake. Moist, fluffy, and not too sweet-- you won't believe what pasta can do for a cupcake.

Cook Time:25 min

Prep Time:20 min

Total Time:45 min

Servings: 24

Ingredients:

All-Purpose Flour 2 ½ cups

Sugar 1 ½ cups

Baking Soda 1 tsp

Salt 1 tsp

Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 1 tsp

Vegetable Oil 1 ½ cups

SpaghettiOs Sauce (strained) 1 cup

Eggs 2 each

Red Food Color 1 Tbsp

White Vinegar 1 tsp

Vanilla Extract 1 tsp

Egg Whites 3/4 cup

Sugar 2 1/4 cups

Water 1/2 cup

Unsalted Butter (softened) 2 lbs

Vanilla Extract 1 Tbsp

Fresh Strawberries (Hulled) 1 lb

Cornstarch 1 Tbsp

Water 2 Tbsp

Sugar 1/4 cup

SpaghettiOs Pasta 1 1/4 cup

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with liners.

Open two cans of SpaghettiOs and strain out thepasta reserving the liquid. Keep the pasta for thestrawberry topping.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt andcocoa powder into a bowl and set aside. In a separatebowl, whisk together the oil, SpaghettiOs sauce, eggs,food coloring, vinegar and vanilla.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients justuntil combined and smooth batter is formed.

Using an ice cream scoop (or piping bag), divide thecake batter evenly into the cupcake papers.

Place the pans on a middle oven rack and bake for 15minutes or until a cake tester (or toothpick) inserted inthe center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Be sure torotate the pans halfway through.

Remove the pans from the oven and let stand for 5minutes. Then remove the cupcakes from the pans andcool completely on a cooling rack.

Place egg whites in a bowl of a standing mixer fittedwith a whisk attachment.

Place the sugar and water in a small saucepan overmedium high heat. Stir until the mixture comes toa boil. As the mixture is boiling, use a pastry brushand water to wipe down the sides of the pot to makesure all sugar crystals have been dissolved. Place acandy thermometer in the syrup and cook until thetemperature reaches 230˚F. At that point, turn the heatoff and remove the thermometer.

Begin whisking the egg whites on medium speed untilfoamy. Slowly stream the hot sugar syrup into thefoaming egg whites. Once the syrup has been pouredinto the egg whites, place the mixer on high speed andwhisk until cooled to room temperature.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium low and startadding the softened butter one stick at a time beingsure the butter is fully incorporated before adding thenext stick. Also, be sure to scrape down the sides of thebowl. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mixbriefly until fluffy.

Store in the refrigerator until mixture has slightlystiffened before using. May be stored refrigerated forup to 3 days.

Place the fresh strawberries into a food processor andprocess until smooth. Then strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve to remove all the seeds and pulp.

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 2tablespoons of cold water and set aside.

Place the strawberry puree, sugar and pasta into a smallsaucepan and bring to a boil.

Once the mixture reaches a boil, stir in the cornstarchslurry and boil for 1 minute or until the mixture hasthickened. Remove from the heat.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and place into the refrigeratorto cool to at least room temperature before using. May bestored refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Place the frosting into a piping bag fitted with a roundpastry tip. Starting at the perimeter of the cupcake,pipe a spiral of frosting.

Then, using a small offset spatula, create a “bowl” in the center of the frosting making sure not to expose any of the cake. Remove the strawberry filling from the refrigerator.

Place a small amount of filling in each frosting “bowl”. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes. Place the finished cupcakes into the refrigerator until ready to serve.