Red Velvet Cupcakes
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These Red Velvet Cupcakes are so moist and tender with a light chocolate flavor. They’re topped with cream cheese frosting and some sprinkles. They’re the perfect holiday dessert for Valentine’s Day or Christmas!
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Red velvet cupcakes are a classic, beautiful flavored treat that is perfect for so many occasions. They’re amazing for decorating your Christmas table or for serving on Valentine’s day. Of course, they are also a very tasty treat for any special weekday. No one can ever say no to a tender, sweet red velvet cupcake!
Red Velvet Cupcake Ingredients
See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for all ingredients and quantities.
- Butter – I used unsalted butter for this recipe, but you can also use salted butter. You can reduce the salt to 1/2 teaspoon in the recipe if you’re afraid it’s going to be too salty with using salted butter.
- Red food coloring – I recommend using the no-taste red food coloring for this recipe. Sometimes the food coloring can have a bitter taste especially if you’re using as much as this recipe calls for.
- Cocoa Powder – Use your favorite brand of unsweetened cocoa powder. I gravitate towards Hershey’s.
- Buttermilk – This is a must for this recipe. You can also use soured milk instead which is 1 cup of whole milk to 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice.
- Vinegar – White vinegar should be used. Apple cider vinegar provides additional flavor that you won’t want in your red velvet cupcake recipe.
- Baking soda – This is a leavening agent that is mixed with the distilled vinegar and immediately added to the recipe since it’s instantly activated. I recommend baking the cupcakes immediately otherwise you could lose some of the rising that happens.
Red velvet cupcakes are typically iced with a cream cheese frosting. If you plan on topping your cupcakes with this sweet and tangy icing, you will also need cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and some more butter. You can opt to ice your cupcakes with a buttercream frosting such as my swiss meringue buttercream frosting too- it is up to you!
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Substitutions and Variations
- This recipe can be made into a 9×13 baking dish with a slightly longer bake time.
- You can substitute the red food coloring for any other food coloring or leave it out.
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, soured milk works great.
- If you don’t like cream cheese frosting, chocolate frosting or swiss meringue buttercream frosting may be options for you.
NOTE: This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: First, the butter and sugar are creamed together until they are light and fluffy.
Step 2: Then beat the eggs, vanilla extract, and red food coloring until combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl well, getting the butter and eggs blended together smoothly. The batter will be a bright red color at this point but don’t worry, it will become a deep red later on when the cocoa is added.
Step 3: Grab a clean glass mixing bowl and sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder together. Begin adding half of the dry ingredients to the batter.
Step 4: All of the buttermilk is added to the red butter mixture and beat until combined. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until smooth.
Step 5: The last step in making red velvet cupcakes is to combine the vinegar and baking soda. The mix will instantly bubble up and then can be added into your dark red batter. The purpose of this is to give the cake a little extra leavening power. Since the baking soda is activated when added to the batter, it will instantly start helping the cake batter rise. The result is those fluffy cupcakes that you love
Step 6: Scoop the cake batter into a lined cupcake tray and bake. Your perfect red velvet cupcakes are only minutes away. Not too hard, right? It’s all about following the steps and that fun vinegar trick at the end!
How to Store Red Velvet Cupcakes
Once the red velvet cupcakes are baked, you want them to stay fresh for as long as possible. If you have just baked the cake part of the cupcakes, you can wrap them in an airtight container and store them at room temperature for up to 5 days.
If you have added the cream cheese frosting to the cupcakes, they will need to be stored in the fridge. Place the cupcakes in an airtight container with a lid and keep the closed container in the fridge for up to a week. Take the cupcakes out of the fridge about an hour before you’d like to eat them in order to let the frosting soften.
Recipe FAQ’s
If your cupcakes look brown, you probably didn’t have enough food coloring. It takes a good amount of red dye to color the red velvet batter. Use gel food coloring which is more powerful than liquid food coloring.
Another reason why the red velvet cupcakes would be brown is if they are over cooked. Make sure to take the cupcakes out of the oven when the center of the cake springs back to the touch. The cupcakes get darker the longer they bake and that will diminish the pretty red color.
The last reason I can think of, if you’re using a different recipe other than this one, is that you’ve added too much cocoa powder to your red velvet cupcakes.
Buttermilk is creamy and tangy which adds to the flavor of your cupcakes. It also helps activate the baking soda. This makes the cakes rise faster and become fluffy and tender as they bake.
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Red Velvet Cupcakes
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Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1-2 teaspoons red gel food coloring * see notes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup butter room temperature
- 6-8 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract ** see notes
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place the cupcake liners in the cupcake pan.
- In a large bowl, add the butter and sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat on medium until light and fluffy
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and desired amount of food coloring. Beat until the eggs are incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder to a medium bowl. Whisk until incorporated.
- Gradually add dry ingredients and buttermilk, alternating between the two and starting and ending with flour. Beat each addition until well combined.
- Add the water to the batter and mix well.
- Add the vinegar and baking soda to a small bowl. Mix to combine.
- Add the vinegar mixture to the batter and beat until combined.
- Fill the cupcakes about halfway with the red velvet cake batter.
- Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Add the cream cheese to a mixing bowl and beat until smooth.
- Add in the butter and continue to beat until incorporated.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Beat until the frosting comes together and the powdered sugar is incorporated.
- Frost the cupcakes. To make tall swirls, add the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 1M tip and pipe tall swirls on top of the cupcakes, and sprinkle with festive sprinkles.
Notes
** To keep the frosting white, use clear vanilla extract. Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)
