Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Nothing beats rich, moist red velvet cupcakes topped with luxurious cream cheese frosting. They just melt in the mouth. This simple, easy and effortless recipe will have you making these cupcakes more often than you planned. Lightly flavored with cocoa powder these are frosted with my cream cheese frosting.
Did you know that the red velvet cake was first made during world war II? I believe when food was rationed the bakers had to use boiled beet juice to enhance the color of their baked goods. There are still some traditional red velvet cakes that use beets in the recipe to keep them moist. Now we just call them chocolate beet cake or something similar not necessarily red velvet cupcakes.
Another interesting find for me was that although the red velvet original recipe is known to be American, it was actually not frosted with cream cheese frosting. Rather it was made with a French butter icing called roux icing, which is very time-consuming to make but really light and fluffy. The cream cheese frosting is just a modern variation that over the years has become the most associated with moist red velvet cupcakes or cakes. I often use Swiss Meringue Buttercream for my custom decorated red velvet cakes and cupcakes. It's a non-dairy alternative so it gives me more decorating time.
And although the name is red velvet, the color is not actually supposed to be red but more mahogany. You usually get this color when you mix red and brown together. That is why we have cocoa powder in red velvet. The purpose of the cocoa powder is to deepen the red.
About these red velvet cupcakes
Bright, red, rich, moist, light and fluffy with a hint of cocoa. These cupcakes have a soft crumb and work great with many different frosting.
The recipe is simple, easy and effortless. I use oil, vinegar, and buttermilk to create an alkaline reaction, which in turn gives a very light and fluffy texture to the cupcakes.
Today I have used the classic cream cheese frosting but often I will frost them with my no-butter cream cheese frosting. If you love rich cream cheese frosting I highly encourage you to try it out.
Let's talk ingredients and substitutes (Save /Pin)
- Cocoa powder - This is not a chocolate cupcake. The main purpose of the cocoa in this recipe is to enhance the red color. It makes the red deep, rich and dramatic. If you don't want to add cocoa powder - just add two drops of a brown color instead.
- Canola oil - Any cooking oil will work as long as it has no flavor. That way it won't affect the flavor of the cupcakes. For example, olive oil has a strong flavor and smell, which we definitely don't want.
- Buttermilk - You can make buttermilk at home and it takes just five minutes - here's how to make homemade buttermilk in 5 mins
- Red food color - You can use beetroot color for a more natural substitute. And yet, you would need more than 2 tbsp for the whole batter. I would recommend adding 1/4 cup beetroot juice that has been condensed by boiling for 15 to 20 mins. Simultaneously reduce the buttermilk to 1/4 cup as well. I use regular color gels for my cakes since they are more concentrated.
- Sugar - I prefer to use white sugar so it won't alter the color of my cupcakes. And yet, feel free to use the same amount of light brown sugar. I would not recommend dark brown sugar.
Useful Tips and Tools
- If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this buttercream go head and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet. And, you don't have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer works great too.
- Personally, I believe in weighing ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scaleone of the most valuable items when baking. The same goes for mymeasuring cups and measuring spoons. It's always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
- Also, it is important to buy cupcake linersfrom a trustworthy source to prevent peeling. There is nothing worse than to bake good cupcakes or muffins and then have all the liners peel off.
- Additionally, you can use a measuring cup to ensure you divide the batter evenly among all the cupcakes or muffins. That way all your cupcakes will be a similar size. Personally, I love using my cupcake scooper for that purpose.
- A good baking tray is always important. Try using a light colored baking trayBaking tray. Another option is to line the baking tray with Parchment Paper for easy clean up just in case of spillage.
- Every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In case of muffins and cupcakes, it’s often a good idea to rotate the baking tray mid-way the baking so they cook and rise evenly.
How to Make Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting Save/Pin
Method
Bake the Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
- Line your muffin pan with cupcake wrappers.
- Swift together - flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda & salt.
- Combine the red food color and vinegar with the buttermilk and stir well.
- Whisk together oil and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Followed by the buttermilk mix.
- Lastly, add in the flour mix.
- Once all the ingredients are in. Scrape the sides of the bowl and stir again making sure you have a deep red colored batter.
- Divide batter into the cupcake wrappers about 3/4 full.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 20 mins.
- Cool completely before you decorate.
Prepare Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a mixer bowl add the cream cheese and room temperature butter.
- Whip with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp of cream, salt, lemon juice and vanilla – whip another minute.
- Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until you’ve used 3 cups.
- Continue to whip on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes more.
- Check consistency – if necessary add more powdered sugar to stiffen or fresh cream to lighten.
- The more you whip the lighter this frosting will become.
Frost the cupcakes
- Prepare your frosting of choice from the recipes above.
- Prepare a piping bag with a large round tip ( I used no 12).
- Add any gel food color if you want to your frosting.
- Then add frosting into a piping bag with a spatula.
- Close the bag and pipe frosting.
- The design I have is just a simple squeeze until the blob reaches the edges of the cupcake.
- Then squeeze again to make a couple of such blobs each time picking the bag slightly higher until you reach a tip.
12 Tips for baking perfect cupcakes every single time
- Follow the recipe properly with minimum substitutions.
- Always use good quality ingredients.
- Make sure the ingredients are all at room temperature.
- Never over mix the batter.
- Use a scoop for baking similar size cupcakes.
- Always preheat the oven before baking - a hot oven works best for cupcakes.
- Bake cupcakes at the right temperature.
- Always bake cupcakes on the center rack one tray at a time.
- Never open the oven during baking - no peeking.
- Remove cupcakes from their pan no later than 7 to 10 minutes after baking.
- Store cupcakes properly after baking. Place them in an airtight container at room temperature. Cupcakes dry in the fridge unless wrapped properly with plastic wrap.
- Simple syrup the cupcakes if don't plan to eat them on the same day.
Frequently asked questions
Bake them until just done - over-baking can dry them out.
Use ingredients like sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, apple sauce that help keep the cupcakes moist.
Add simple syrup to cupcakes before frosting.
Baking perfect cupcakes is not hard to achieve if you follow the above 12 tips for perfect cupcakes.
Moist fluffy cupcakes are all about adding volume to your batter when mixing. Which means that knowing how to mix your batter is important.
Over mixing the batter can collapse cupcakes, thus taking away all that fluffiness. As a rule of thumb, cream butter and sugar until the sugar has almost melted - 2 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time - and make sure each one is well incorporated.
Then, add the flour and liquid - but mix until just incorporated. It is easy to over mix at this stage.
There are a few things you can do - we discussed it in this post -- how to avoid cupcake liners peeling after baking.
There are few things you can do to bake similar size cupcakes - we discussed that in detail here - How to bake same size cupcakes.
You can place cupcakes in the fridge for a few minutes to cool them quickly. I like to place them for just 5 to 7 minutes in the freezer.
Never leave cupcakes in the fridge open for long as they will dry out.
I like to bake at 160 - 170 C, or 310 to 325 F, or Gas mark 2 - 3.
Depending on how hot your oven temperature is, cupcakes usually take between 18 to 22 minutes. If your cupcakes bake quicker than 18 minutes or longer than 22 minutes, it's probably best to check if your oven needs calibration.
This will make a small 6-inch cake. If you want to make a red velvet cake I highly recommend using my tried and tested recipes for cakes.
Best Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting - Oil-based Cake
Moist Red Velvet Cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream - Butter-based Cake
Strawberry Red Velvet Cake with strawberry filling
What other buttercream or frosting can I use for these red velvet cupcakes?
Oh, these cupcakes are delicious with just about any frosting. I have shared with you more than 30 different buttercream flavors here on the blog but these are just a few suggestions.
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Moist Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Print Pin RateDescription
Ingredients
FOR THE CUPCAKES
- 1 1/4 cup (155 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tbsp Cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) Canola oil
- 3/4 cup (150 g) Sugar
- 2 Eggs large
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) Buttermilk
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Vanilla
- 2 tbsp Red food color or 1/2 tsp food gel color
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 8 oz (226 g) Cream cheese
- 4 oz (113 g) Butter (1 stick) unsalted, room temperature
- 4 cups (480 g) Powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp Whipping cream
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
BAKE THE CUPCAKES
- Preheat the oven to 160 C / 320 F.
- Line your muffin pan with cupcake wrappers.
- Swift together – flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda & salt.
- Combine the red food color and vinegar with the buttermilk and stir well.
- Whisk together oil and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Followed by the buttermilk mix.
- Lastly, add in flour mix.
- Once all the ingredients are in. Scrape the sides of the bowl and stir again making sure you have a deep red colored batter.
- Divide batter into the cupcake wrappers about 3/4 full.
- Bake in a preheated oven for about 18 to 20 mins.
- Cool completely before you decorate.
PREPARE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- In a mixer bowl add the cream cheese and room temperature butter.
- Whip with a paddle attachment until light and fluffy – about 3 minutes.
- Add 2 tbsp of cream, salt, lemon juice and vanilla – whip another minute.
- Add powdered sugar one cup at a time until you’ve used 3 cups.
- Continue to whip on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes more.
- Check consistency – if necessary add more powdered sugar to stiffen or fresh cream to lighten.
- The more you whip the lighter this frosting will become.
FROST THE CUPCAKES
- Place frosting into a piping bag with a round or star tip nozzle
- Pipe a dollop of frosting on each cupcake
- The design I have is just a simple squeeze until the blob reaches the edges of the cupcake.
- Then squeeze again to make a couple of such blobs each time picking the bag slightly higher until you reach a tip.
Recipe Notes
Equipment
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
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Marion
Veena, can i make these into blue velvet cupcakes. If yes, is it that I just use blue food colouring instead of red. Also, which food colouring do you use, out here I have the Wilton brand food colour gel
Veena Azmanov
Marion, don't use this for blue velvet, because the cocoa powder is also there. Instead, use my vanilla cupcakes and add blue color.
Marion
Veena, then would this be more like a vanilla cake which has been coloured blue, do let me know.
Veena Azmanov
Well, you can use the red velvet - replace the cocoa powder with flour and use blue color
Marion
okay will try this out - thanks Veena.
NEEL KAMAL KALIA
How many medium cupcakes can be formed using this recipe.
I want to bake 24. What will b the recipe for that. Please share
Veena Azmanov
Neel the recipe card says 12 cupcakes, just change that number to 24 cupcakes and it will automatically calculate the recipe for 24 cupcakes
Alexandra
Simply delicious - red velvet is my weakness, and this recipe does not disappoint! The cupcake is light and fluffy. Everyone loved it. The cream cheese frosting is the perfect addition, I could eat it on its own.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Alexandra. So happy you enjoyed it so much. Yes, the cream cheese frosting is a treat. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback.
Brian Jones
What a great recipe, super simple and really tasty, everyone loved them, thank you 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Brian. So happy you enjoyed this recipe so much. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback
Jeannette
I can never pass a red velvet cupcake recipe! Delicious and so satisfying! Thanks for sharing, Veena!
Veena Azmanov
Me too. Love red velvet cake.
Natalie
I love red velvet cake! These cupcakes look so delicious and moist ♥
Veena Azmanov
Thanks, Natalie. Yes, they are veery moist and delicious.
Traci
This recipe is going into my staple cupcake collection! Loving all the positive feedback on this post. Can't wait for everyone to try it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Traci. So happy to hear that.
Ada
This cupcake are from heaven, thanks so much for knowledge shared
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Ada. You are very welcome.
Valerie
Hi Veena! Can I use this recipe for a regilar cake? I am planning to use this recipe for a birthday, to be filled with cream cheese and covered with fondant. But I am concerned of the filling. How long does a cream cheese filled cakes lasts? Thank you.
Veena Azmanov
I have not used this as cake recipe but don't see why not. You may need to double the amounts. Cream cheese is perishable frosting so has to be kept in the fridge. id's say three days would be a good time for shelf life. You can use Swiss Meringue buttercream too if you want more working time.
sue | theviewfromgreatisland
ALL your cupcakes are so impressive, but there's something extra special about red velvet for the holidays!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Sue. Yes there is something extra special about red velvet during the holidays.
debi at Life Currents
Anything with cream cheese frosting is great in my book! And these cupcakes look awesome. A match made in heaven.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Debi. Red velvet and cream cheese are sure match made in heaven
Laura
Beautiful color and very interesting reading. Thank you for the history of the cake and the science behind it
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Laura. Glad you enjoyed reading it.
Emily
I love red velvet cakes, these cupcakes look delicious!
Veena Azmanov
Thank you Emily.
Cricket
These look so perfect! I think red velvet is a perfect Christmas dessert!
Veena Azmanov
Thanks Cricket. I tend to give them as holiday gifts.
Ambika Sood
Hi Veena, if I plan on using beetroot powder can I proceed with the recipe as is or do I need to make any changes? Apparently baking soda doesn't work well with the acidity of the beetroot, is that correct? TIA
Veena Azmanov
HI Ambika yes, I have not used beetroot powder in my red velvet cakes or cupcakes but I heard it does not work with baking powder or baking soda. Makes it a dark more brown color. You will have to omit the leavening agents in the recipe but then makes it a more dense cupcake.
To avoid a dense cupcake what you can do is separate the egg whites from the yolk. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks separately then fold it into the batter at the last step. I hope that makes sense. Feel free to ask questions. Thanks