Red Velvet Cupcakes
There’s no better way to celebrate your love than with delicious red velvet cupcakes! These cupcakes are super moist and topped with a fluffy chocolate cream cheese frosting. They’re so easy to make and make an impressive dessert fitting for any occasion.
Why This Recipe Works
- soft, moist and fluffy texture
- Perfectly flavored with hints of cocoa and vanilla
- Quick and easy to prepare
- A great make-ahead recipe
- Topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Hand-held individual servings
- Portable
If you love red velvet cupcakes, be sure to check out this Red Velvet Cream Cheese Bundt Cake recipe!
Ingredient Notes
- Espresso powder – this is completely optional, but it adds a great aroma to the cupcakes while enhancing the flavor of the cocoa. You can use either espresso powder or instant coffee.
- Buttermilk – if you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by using milk and an acid. Stir 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice into ⅔ cup of milk. Allow it to sit for 5 minutes so that the milk can curdle and resemble buttermilk.
- Red food coloring – in this recipe, I used a gel food coloring which gives the cupcakes a bright red color. You can replace it with an equal amount of liquid food coloring for a deeper red color.
- Cream cheese – use full-fat cream cheese for the best results. If you use a low fat cream cheese, the frosting will not be as rich or creamy.
Pro tip: For best results and accuracy when baking, I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure out ingredients. Using a kitchen scale not only guarantees baking success, it makes it easier to scale recipes, and it’s less to clean up (no measuring cups required!).
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1 – Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, beat the sugar and eggs together on medium high speed until pale, thick, and creamy. This will take about 5 minutes.
With the mixer running on low speed, slowly pour in the oil.
Step 2 – In a glass measuring cup, whisk together the buttermilk, red food color, vanilla extract, and white vinegar.
In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder).
Step 3 – Add half of the dry ingredients into the sugar/egg mixture and mix to combine. Then, mix in the liquids, and finally, the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix on medium speed until the batter is smooth and there are no more dry spots of flour. Be careful not to over mix!
Step 4 – Line your cupcake pan with liners and fill each liner ⅔ full with the batter. Bake for 17-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
Remove the cupcakes from the oven and allow them to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 5 – While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter on high speed for 2 minutes until they are fully incorporated and fluffy. Sift the cocoa powder and confectioner’s sugar and then mix into the cream cheese/butter mixture.
If the frosting seems too thick, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk along with the vanilla extract to thin it out. Beat the frosting on high speed for an additional 2 minutes until it is fluffy and smooth.
Step 6 – Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes and decorate!
Quick tip: To get a “ruffled” frosting look, use a 2D piping tip.
Expert Tips
- Accuracy: For best results when baking, use a kitchen scale to measure out ingredients.
- Room temperature ingredients: Make sure any refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before beginning making the cupcakes or the frosting. Room temperature ingredients are key to smooth and velvety batter and a fluffy frosting.
- Do not overmix: Mixing the batter develops the gluten proteins found in flour. Over mixing results in dense and dry cupcakes. Stop mixing as soon as there are no more clumps or dry spots of flour.
- Gel vs. liquid food coloring: If you like the look of bright red velvet cupcakes, use gel food color. If you prefer a deep, more concentrated red hue, opt in for the liquid kind.
- Piping frosting: To get a “ruffled” frosting look, use a 2D piping tip.
Frequently Asked Questions
Red velvet cupcakes have a very distinct flavor. It’s not quite vanilla and there isn’t enough cocoa to be a chocolate cake.
Red velvet is slightly acidic from the buttermilk, vinegar, and cream cheese frosting. The acidity is balanced out by the sweetness of the cake with hints vanilla and a touch of cocoa.
After you taste it, you won’t say it’s chocolate or vanilla, but red velvet!
Dry cupcakes can be caused by too much of a dry ingredient, over mixing, and over baking.
Weigh all of your ingredients for accurate measurements. Too much flour or cocoa powder will produce dry cupcakes.
Over mixing the batter will develop the gluten proteins in the flour. This will make the cupcakes dense and dry.
Use a timer to time the baking time. Test your cupcakes at the shortest recommended baking time by inserting a toothpick or wooden skewer into the center of a cupcake. If the tester comes out clean or with just a couple of moist crumbs, the baking is complete. If the cupcakes need more baking, bake in 2 minute intervals until the tester indicated they are baked.
Buttermilk is a staple ingredient in red velvet cake and cupcakes. It contributes to the distinct red velvet flavor. Buttermilk also makes baked goods tender and moist, and it activates the baking soda which leavens the cakes.
Yes! To make gluten free red velvet cupcakes, substitute the flour with a 1:1 gluten free baking flour. I always have great success with Bob’s Red Mill gluten free baking flour.
Related Recipes
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Equipment
- Muffin pan
- Cupcake liners
- Kitchen scale
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
- Piping bag
- Piping tip
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp instant coffee or ½ tsp espresso powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup oil
- ⅔ cup buttermilk
- 1 ¼ tsp red food coloring gel
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp vinegar
Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup butter, room temperature
- 2/3 cup cocoa powder
- 3 ⅓ cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tbsp milk or cream
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 12 cup muffin pan with cupcake liners. Line a second pan with 2-3 liners (this recipe makes 14-15 cupcakes). Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and eggs until pale, thick, and creamy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, drizzle in the oil until it is fully incorporated.
- Combine the buttermilk, coloring, vanilla, and vinegar in a glass measuring cup and set aside.
- Alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the batter (beginning and ending with flour mixture) in 3 different additions until combined. Do not over mix.
- Fill each liner ⅔ full and bake for 17-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow cupcakes to cool in pans for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Sift in the cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Beat to combine. Add milk/cream and the vanilla. Beat on high for another 2 minutes until fluffy and smooth.
- Pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes.
Notes
- Storing: Store leftover cupcakes covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Gluten free: To make this recipe gluten free, using a 1:1 gluten free baking flour. I always have great success with this one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Make ahead: Cupcakes can be made 1 day in advance. Cover tightly in an airtight container and store at room temperature. The frosting can also be made 1 day in advance, covered tightly, and stored in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Accuracy: For best results when baking, use a kitchen scale to measure out ingredients.
- Room temperature ingredients: Make sure any refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before beginning making the cupcakes or the frosting. Room temperature ingredients are key to smooth and velvety batter and a fluffy frosting.
- Do not over mix: Mixing the batter develops the gluten proteins found in flour. Over mixing results in dense and dry cupcakes. Stop mixing as soon as there are no more clumps or dry spots of flour.
- Gel vs. liquid food coloring: If you like the look of bright red velvet cupcakes, use gel food color. If you prefer a deep, more concentrated red hue, opt in for the liquid kind.
- Piping frosting: To get a “ruffled” frosting look, use a 2D piping tip.
People like.y cake and I would make again