Red Velvet Cupcakes are the recipe that Maria makes every Valentine’s Day and every Christmas and every occasion that calls for the most completely beautiful and deeply red individual dessert that makes every person who receives one feel genuinely and personally celebrated.
She creams the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, adds the egg and egg yolk and vanilla until smooth and light, alternates the Dutch process cocoa and flour mixture with buttermilk for the most tender and moist crumb, folds in just enough red gel food coloring to produce the most dramatically deep and vibrant crimson, and pipes a tall and silky swirl of cream cheese frosting so generous and so beautifully shaped that every cupcake looks like it came directly from the most professional and beautiful bakery she has ever visited.
Red Velvet Cupcakes are the most moist and gorgeously deep red cupcakes made with Dutch process cocoa butter buttermilk and egg yolk for the most tender crumb topped with the most silky and tangy cream cheese frosting of cold cream cheese beaten with butter and powdered sugar for the most completely perfect and elegant celebration cupcake. Come follow us on Pinterest where we share beautiful cupcake recipes and elegant celebration baking favorites from our kitchen every single week.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
This Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe is the celebration cupcake that earns the most completely deserved praise from every person who tastes one because it delivers the most deeply moist and perfectly textured red velvet crumb alongside the most silky and tangy cream cheese frosting in a proportion and balance that makes every single bite completely and utterly extraordinary. The combination of egg and extra egg yolk rather than two whole eggs is the specific technique that produces the most richly moist and tender crumb without making the cupcake too dense or too heavy.
The Dutch process cocoa is the ingredient that makes the most significant difference in both the color and the flavor of these cupcakes compared to natural cocoa powder versions. Dutch process cocoa has been alkalized to neutralize its natural acidity and produces a darker and more richly chocolate-flavored result with a more muted acidic note that allows the gel food coloring to produce the most genuinely deep and vibrant red hue. Our Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes make a beautifully vibrant and equally individually elegant companion for a complete and stunning celebration cupcake collection spread.
Ingredients Needed for This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
For the Red Velvet Cupcakes:
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp (141g) All-Purpose Flour, spooned and leveled
- 1½ tbsp (8g) Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
- ¾ tsp Baking Powder
- ⅛ tsp Baking Soda
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 5 tbsp (70g) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
- ¾ cup (150g) Granulated White Sugar
- 1 large Egg, room temperature
- 1 large Egg Yolk, room temperature
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup (120ml) Buttermilk, room temperature
- 1½ tsp Red Gel Food Coloring
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup (112g) Unsalted Butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz (114g) Full-Fat Cream Cheese, COLD
- 2 cups (260g) Powdered Sugar, sifted
- Sprinkles for decorating (optional)
How to Make This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, Dutch process cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the room-temperature softened butter and granulated sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed for 1 to 2 minutes until genuinely fluffy and pale. Add the room-temperature egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and mix on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes until pale in color and completely smooth.
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the room-temperature buttermilk to the butter mixture on low speed until all is just combined and the batter is smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Do not overmix once the flour is incorporated, cara mia.
Fold in the red gel food coloring until just combined and evenly distributed. The gel rather than liquid food coloring produces the most deeply vivid and saturated red color without adding unnecessary liquid to the batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the 12 prepared liners, filling each approximately three quarters full. Bake for 17 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out completely clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the cream cheese frosting, beat the room-temperature softened butter with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 to 10 minutes until genuinely pale in color and very fluffy. Add the cold cream cheese and mix on medium-high until combined. The cold cream cheese is the specific temperature that makes this frosting hold its shape and pipe beautifully rather than becoming soft and collapsing. Sift in the powdered sugar one cup at a time and mix on low then high until smooth and fluffy.
When the cupcakes are completely cool, transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a decorative star or round tip. Pipe a generous and tall swirl onto each cupcake. Decorate with sprinkles if desired.
How to Serve This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Serve at room temperature for the most completely perfect frosting texture and the most vibrant red velvet flavor experience. Arrange on a beautiful tiered cupcake stand or a white platter for the most dramatic and completely beautiful celebration dessert display. The deep crimson color of the cupcake tops visible around the swirled white cream cheese frosting is genuinely one of the most striking and immediately recognizable celebration dessert presentations.
For Valentine’s Day, garnish with red or pink heart-shaped sprinkles for the most completely charming and festive finishing touch. Our Dole Whip Cupcakes with Pineapple Filling make a beautifully tropical and equally individually gorgeous companion for a complete and vibrant celebration cupcake collection.
How to Store This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before serving for the most pleasant frosting texture and the most vibrant cupcake flavor expression. The cupcakes are best at room temperature rather than directly from the cold refrigerator.
Tips to Make This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Use cold cream cheese and room-temperature butter for the frosting. This is the specific temperature combination that produces the most perfectly stable and pipeable cream cheese frosting that holds its shape beautifully at room temperature without becoming soft or collapsing. Cream cheese at room temperature makes the frosting too soft to pipe with defined peaks.
Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method. Scooping the measuring cup directly into the flour bag packs too much flour and produces dry and dense cupcakes rather than the most moist and tender result the recipe is designed to deliver.
Helpful Notes for This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
All wet ingredients including the butter, egg, egg yolk, and buttermilk must be at genuine room temperature before beginning. Cold ingredients do not incorporate smoothly and can produce a curdled or gummy batter that results in less tender and less evenly textured cupcakes. Set ingredients out at least 1 hour before baking.
Red gel food coloring is essential for the most vibrant and deeply red result. Liquid food coloring does not provide the same pigment concentration and produces a much less dramatic and less beautiful red hue. One and a half teaspoons of high-quality red gel food coloring is the quantity that produces the most genuinely striking deep crimson red velvet color.
Variation of This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Maria made a version adding a teaspoon of freshly grated orange zest to the cream cheese frosting alongside the powdered sugar for an orange cream cheese frosting that was deeply fragrant and completely extraordinary against the deep red velvet base. Teresa tried adding a teaspoon of espresso powder to the dry ingredients alongside the cocoa for a mocha red velvet cupcake with a more complex and deeply sophisticated chocolate coffee depth.
For a white chocolate cream cheese frosting version, melt 2 ounces of high-quality white chocolate and fold through the completed cream cheese frosting for the most indulgently creamy and beautifully sweet white chocolate cream cheese red velvet cupcake. Our Vegan Mini Rose Pistachio Cupcakes make a beautifully elegant and equally individually stunning companion for a complete and vibrant celebration cupcake collection spread.
FAQs About This Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
What makes red velvet cupcakes different from chocolate cupcakes?
Red velvet cupcakes use only a small quantity of cocoa powder, typically 1 to 2 tablespoons, which provides a subtle chocolate note rather than a dominant chocolate flavor. The buttermilk and vinegar in the batter react with the cocoa and baking soda to produce the most characteristic slightly tangy and distinctively red velvet flavor that is completely unlike a conventional chocolate cupcake.
Why is Dutch process cocoa recommended over natural cocoa?
Dutch process cocoa produces a darker and richer chocolate flavor and allows red food coloring to achieve a more deeply vibrant and genuinely red hue. Natural unsweetened cocoa is more acidic and reacts with baking soda to produce a slightly more reddish-brown color, but the finished result is less vibrant and the chocolate flavor is less rich than with Dutch process.
Why should I use cold cream cheese for the frosting?
Cold cream cheese straight from the refrigerator has a significantly firmer structure than room-temperature cream cheese and produces a frosting that pipes with the most beautifully defined peaks and holds its shape at room temperature for the entire serving period. Room-temperature cream cheese makes the frosting too soft to pipe cleanly and it may begin to collapse or melt within a short time of piping.
Conclusion
These Red Velvet Cupcakes are the most completely beautiful and deeply satisfying celebration cupcake that makes every Valentine’s Day gathering and every Christmas party and every special occasion dessert table feel genuinely and completely extraordinary through the most dramatic deep red and creamy white presentation in every single silky and moist and perfectly cream-cheese-frosted individual cupcake bite. We hope they bring the same deeply celebratory beauty and the same completely satisfied gathering to your kitchen that they have always brought to ours. Make them, share them, and come back to tell us all about it. With all our love, Maria, Lucia, and Teresa.
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Red Velvet Cupcakes The Most Moist and Beautiful Cream Cheese Frosting Cupcake You Will Bake
- Total Time: 1 hour including cooling
- Yield: 12 cupcakes 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
The most moist and beautiful Red Velvet Cupcakes made with Dutch process cocoa powder all-purpose flour baking powder baking soda salt softened butter granulated sugar room temperature egg and egg yolk vanilla and buttermilk alternated with dry ingredients then folded with red gel food coloring baked at 350°F for 17 to 20 minutes topped with a silky tangy cream cheese frosting of softened butter cold cream cheese and powdered sugar piped in a generous swirl. A completely perfect celebration cupcake recipe.
Ingredients
1 cup plus 2 tbsp 141g All-Purpose Flour spooned and leveled
1 1/2 tbsp 8g Dutch Process Cocoa Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/8 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt
5 tbsp 70g Unsalted Butter softened to room temperature
3/4 cup 150g Granulated White Sugar
1 large Egg room temperature
1 large Egg Yolk room temperature
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/2 cup 120ml Buttermilk room temperature
1 1/2 tsp Red Gel Food Coloring
1/2 cup 112g Unsalted Butter softened for frosting
4 oz 114g Full-Fat Cream Cheese COLD
2 cups 260g Powdered Sugar sifted
Sprinkles optional
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12-cup pan with liners.
2. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream softened butter and sugar on high 1 to 2 minutes until pale and fluffy.
4. Add egg, egg yolk, and vanilla. Mix medium 1 to 2 minutes until pale and smooth.
5. Alternate dry ingredients and buttermilk on low until just combined and smooth. Scrape bowl.
6. Fold in red gel food coloring until just combined.
7. Fill each liner 3/4 full.
8. Bake 17 to 20 minutes until toothpick clean.
9. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack. Cool completely.
10. Beat softened butter on high 5 to 10 minutes until pale and very fluffy.
11. Add cold cream cheese. Mix medium-high until combined.
12. Sift in powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Mix low then high until smooth and fluffy.
13. Pipe generous tall swirl onto each cooled cupcake.
14. Decorate with sprinkles if desired.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert, Cupcakes
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cupcake
- Calories: 385
- Sugar: 32g
- Sodium: 145mg
- Fat: 20g
- Saturated Fat: 12g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 92mg
Keywords: red velvet cupcakes, moist red velvet cupcakes cream cheese frosting recipe, best red velvet cupcakes buttermilk, easy red velvet cupcakes Valentine’s Day
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