Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

What better way to celebrate a birthday than with cupcakes?  Tomorrow happens to be mine :)  I have been wanting to make these red velvet cupcakes for months now and I finally found the occasion to do it!  

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 30 cupcakes

Ingredients:
3 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Madagascar bourbon vanilla bean paste (trust me, it's worth it - get the good stuff! Nielsen Massey - or if you don't want to splurge, use vanilla extract)
1 1-oz. bottle red food coloring (2 tbsp.) (I only used about half of this amount)
1 1/2 cups buttermilk (I make my own with 1 TBS of lemon juice to every 1 cup of milk)
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions:
1. Let eggs and butter stand 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare cupcake tins by spraying with pan spray and dusting with flour or use paper liners.
2. In medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, and salt; set aside.  In large mixing bowl beat butter on medium-high 30 seconds.  Add sugar and vanilla;beat until comined. One at a time, add eggs; beat on medium after each.  Beat in food coloring on low.
3. Alternately add flour mixture and buttermilk to egg mixtrue, beat on low to medium after each, just until comined.  Stir together baking soda and vinegar.  Add to batter; beat just until combined.  Don't over mix!
4. Divide evenly into muffin tins.  Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean.  Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes.  Remove from pans; cool.   Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting recipe below.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla bean paste (the real vanilla bean makes pretty little specks in the frosting! :))
1 tsp. lemon juice
Pinch of salt
6 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, vanilla and salt on low until smooth.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth.  Spread frosting over cooled cupcakes.