Red Velvet Cupcakes

As beautiful as they are delicious, Red Velvet Cupcakes are my favorite way to enjoy Red Velvet Cake. Soft, moist, and easy to make, you’ll want them for Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July or anytime of year!

If you love cupcakes, our Skinny Pineapple Cupcakes are always a hit. Packed with flavor, not calories! Or give our decadent Tiramisu Cupcakes a try for dessert tonight!

Red velvet cupcakes on a wire cooling rack topped with a swirl of cream cheese frosting.


Why this Recipe Works

What flavor is red velvet? Red Velvet Cupcakes are essentially  chocolate cupcakes that get their flavor and deep scarlet color from cocoa powder and a few drops of red food coloring. 

I’ve seen some red velvet cake recipes that use beetroot or other natural colorants too, but here I kept things simple and just used a small amount of the red coloring I had on hand in my cupboard. 

The flavor is phenomenal–but you know what my favorite thing about Red Velvet Cupcakes is? The texture.

These cupcakes live up to the “velvet” in their name. Every bite is moist and almost silky smooth. No dried out crumbly cupcakes here!

Ingredient Notes

To create delicious red velvet cupcakes you need a few key ingredients (scroll all the way to recipe card for measurements).

  • Buttermilk & Oil- To create cupcakes with the perfect amount of moisture, we use vegetable oil and our buttermilk substitute.
  • Vinegar- white vinegar is needed to activate and enhance the red color of these cupcakes.
  • Flour- We use all-purpose flour for todays cupcake recipe. We found cake flour to be too light to hold up to the coloring and buttermilk.
  • Cocoa Powder- Provides a slight flavor, but also helps give these cupcakes their rich red hue!

Step by Step Instructions

Step by step photo collage on how to make red velvet cupcakes.
  • Whisk together the dry ingredients. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt. 
  • Combine wet ingredients. In a mixer, blend oil, milk, eggs, vanilla extract, vinegar and food coloring until combined. Slowly add in the dry ingredients, combining as you go. 
  • Add to cupcake liners. Pour batter into a muffin tin lined with cupcake liners. We use a large cookie scoop to do this step!
  • Bake at 350 F for 18 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

Red velvet cupcakes on a cooling rack.

Making cream cheese frosting for red velvet cupcakes couldn’t be easier.

Whip together cream cheese with powdered sugar, butter and vanilla extract. Use a little bit of milk to thin out the frosting to desired consistency.

This kind of icing is my favorite for topping on so many desserts, not just cupcakes. If you like it on these, you might also want to the frosting on my Gingerbread Cookie Bars.

A moist and lightly chocolate-y cupcake paired with rich cream cheese frosting is my idea of the perfect food. So go ahead. Take a bite. It looks yummy, right?

Cupcake Baking Tips

Want to make sure your RED VELVET CUPCAKES turn out as pretty and tasty as possible? Check out these tips and tricks:

  • Make sure to SIFT your dry ingredients first! I know, I know. I usually skip this step too. But I promise it makes a world of difference for these cupcakes. They’re supposed to be velvety–and getting rid of any lumps of flour or cocoa powder is essential to achieve that texture. Just trust me on this one and sift away. It only takes an extra minute or two! 
  • Use gel food coloring in this recipe. It is more concentrated than the liquid versions so you get that deep red color without needing to dump a ton of food dye into your cupcakes. Bonus: it’s way more cost effective!
  • After mixing the wet ingredients together, add the dry ingredients very slowly. If you add them too quickly you’ll be forced to mix the batter more. Over mixing the batter results in a tougher cupcake. Add more food coloring to reach desired color.
  • Don’t overfill your muffin tins! You want to fill them just about ⅔ of the way to the top. I use a ladle or measuring cup for controlling how much batter goes into each cup. When in doubt, be modest with your pour. You can always add more if you under fill.
  • Don’t have any buttermilk? It’s easy to make your own at home for this recipe:  try my homemade buttermilk substitute. 
  • Craving Cookies? Try our easy, 4 ingredient Red Velvet Cake Mix Cookie recipe!
Red velvet cupcakes on a white cake plate with swirls of cream cheese frosting.

More Easy Dessert Recipes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

4.58 from 7 votes
By: Aimee
As beautiful as they are delicious, Red Velvet Cupcakes are my favorite way to enjoy Red Velvet Cake. Make them for Valentine's Day, Fourth of July or anytime of year!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 38 minutes
Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients 

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1 ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 ¼ cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • red gel food coloring
  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

For the Frosting:

  • 8 ounce cream cheese softened
  • ½ cup unsalted butter softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
Save this Recipe?
Enter your email and we’ll send the recipe straight to your inbox!

Instructions 

  • For the cupcakes, sift dry ingredients. I don’t usually follow that step in other recipes, but it’s important in this one!
  • In mixer, blend oil, milk, eggs, vanilla, vinegar and food coloring until combined. Slowly add in dry ingredients. Add enough red food coloring to your desired color level!
  • Pour 2/3rd full into cupcake liners. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 18 minutes (or 10 minutes for mini muffin, or 30 minutes for two-9inch cakes).
  • For the frosting, beat butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add in remaining ingredients and beat until creamy and desired consistency. Add in more milk if needed.

Notes

  • Make sure to SIFT your dry ingredients first! I know, I know. I usually skip this step too. But I promise it makes a world of difference for these cupcakes. They’re supposed to be velvety–and getting rid of any lumps of flour or cocoa powder is essential to achieve that texture. Just trust me on this one and sift away. It only takes an extra minute or two! 
  • Use gel food coloring in this recipe. It is more concentrated than the liquid versions so you get that deep red color without needing to dump a ton of food dye into your cupcakes. Bonus: it’s way more cost effective! Always add a little more than you think, as they bake, the color fades slightly.
  • After mixing the wet ingredients together, add the dry ingredients very slowly. If you add them too quickly you’ll be forced to mix the batter more. Over mixing the batter results in a tougher cupcake. Add more food coloring to reach desired color.
  • Don’t overfill your muffin tins! You want to fill them just about ⅔ of the way to the top. I use a ladle or measuring cup for controlling how much batter goes into each cup. When in doubt, be modest with your pour. You can always add more if you under fill.
  • Don’t have any buttermilk? It’s easy to make your own at home for this recipe:  try my homemade buttermilk substitute

Nutrition

Calories: 333kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g, Cholesterol: 36mg, Sodium: 240mg, Sugar: 27g
Course: Cupcake
Cuisine: American
Did you make this recipe?Mention @shugarysweets or tag #shugarysweets!

Easy, beautiful Red Velvet Cupcakes are moist and delicious. Topped with perfect Cream Cheese Frosting.



Avatar photo

About Aimee

Aimee is a dessert lover (specifically rice krispie treats), workout enthusiast, self-taught foodie, and recipe creator.

Learn more about Aimee.

Affiliate Disclosure:**There may be affiliate links in this post! By clicking on them, or purchasing recommended items I may receive a small compensation. However, I only recommend products I love! Thank you for supporting Shugary Sweets! See my disclosure policy for more info**

Learn How To Become a Better Home Baker
Sign up for the Shugary Sweets FREE Email Course Today—soon you’ll say, "I made it from scratch!"

Categories:


Posted on February 24, 2020

Comments & Reviews

  1. What delicious looking cupcakes! Red velvet is good any time of the year…pinned!

  2. My friend asked for red velvet cupcakes for her birthday and I remembered that you had shared your recipe on “A Little Birdie Told Me…” a while back. I pulled up the feature, printed your recipe, and now have the cupcakes in the oven. Thanks again so much !

    Jenn

  3. Oh my, these look delicious! Love the addition of the buttermilk.

    You’re more than welcome to link this and any other cupcake related post you have at the month long Cupcake Link Party!

    Cheers,
    Tracy

  4. I’m with you — never really been a huge fan of Red Velvet cake, largely because of the massive quantities of red food coloring. Some recipes call for 1 to 2 bottles! Eeek! Your recipe sounds great! Love the buttermilk and the scant amount of gel food color.

  5. Red velvet is a favorite in my family. Those look awesome. Thanks for linking up to Sweets for a Saturday.

  6. Great looking recipe. Perfect for the 4th. I love cupcakes. They are my new thing!

  7. Hi! These look so good! I am a new follower!I would love it if you stopped by blog, take a look around and if you like what you see, follow me back! Thanks!
    Have a great holiday!
    Kirsten

    www.mushkiloves.blogspot.com

  8. Love red velvet cake – even better in portable form! Thanks for linking to Fat Camp Friday, see you next week!

  9. Love your red velvet cupcakes. So pretty and festive. Thanks for sharing on A Well-Seasoned Life’s Sweet Indulgences Sunday.

  10. My name is Ali and I am from Child Protection Services.

    I was alerted by a reader that your children have ingested food coloring. Did you know the risks …..

    KIDDING!!!

    :O)

  11. I’m not a big fan of red velvet, but these cupcakes are adorable! And my sister loves red velvet cake…maybe I can surprise her with these for her birthday. 🙂

  12. Super festive for the 4th. I found you from Paisley Passions linky. I hope you can swing by Momtrends and share this treat.

    http://www.momtrends.com/2011/07/friday-food-recipe-linky/

  13. 🙂 laughing…me too, the thought of so much red food coloring has always kind of made me shy away from red velvet cake. But those look amazing! I think I’ll give them a try!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating