The Best Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe! These Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes are moist, easy to make and so delicious!
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These red velvet cupcakes are easy to make in pracitcally no time! Whether you're looking for an easy dessert, or need a Valentine's Day treat - these are the best red velvet cupcakes!
With hints of chocolate and vanilla, they're moist and fluffy and topped with your favorite frosting.
Red Velvet Cupcakes can be enjoyed any time of the year, but if you're looking for other treats to make these Valentine's Day Sugar Cookie Bars and Chocolate Strawberry Cheesecake are both delish!
We think this is the Best Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe
- Delicious: This stunning treat is a delicious blend of chocolate and vanilla packed into a fluffy and moist cupcake.
- Cheap: With grocery store costs on the rise, this is a delicious, budget-friendly dessert! Most of the ingredients you'll already have in your pantry.
- Total Party Food: Show up with these showstopping cupcakes to your next gathering. With their popping red color, they'll surely be noticed.
Red Velvet Cupcakes Homemade Ingredients
For these red velvet cupcakes, you'll need
- White sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Unsalted butter
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- White flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Whole milk
- Red food coloring
How To Make Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Cream together your butter and sugar in a medium or large bowl until smooth.
- Add your eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture and whisk until the eggs are fully incorporated.
- Once the eggs and vanilla are fully incorporated into the batter, add the white flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Slowly mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until no clumps of flour remain.
- Add the whole milk and mix again. Finally, add the red food coloring and fold the batter until the food coloring is well distributed and fully incorporated into your batter.
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill each liner all the way with batter. Cook the cupcakes for 20 minutes.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding your favorite icing.
Red Velvet Cupcake Storage
Storing: Without the frosting, you can store these cupcakes on the counter in an airtight container for up to one week. However, if the cupcakes are frosted they will last 4-5 days in an airtight container.
Freezing: Allow your cupcakes to cool completely, for at least 1 hour, before attempting to freeze. You can wrap in plastic wrap, or press-n-seal wrap multiple cupcakes at a time or one at a time, then place them in a freezer bag.
To thaw, remove from the freezer and allow them to come to room temperate still wrapped. This will prevent any condensation build-up on the cake itself.
Substitutions for this Recipe:
Sugar: We don't recommend substituting white sugar unless you have to, but White sugar can be used interchangeably with brown sugar. You can add 1 teaspoon of molasses to white sugar to make brown sugar. Check out this post on Sugar Substitutes for Baking for other ideas.
Cocoa Powder: Yes, even though this cake recipe isn't traditionally chocolate, red velvet cake does contain cocoa powder, we don't recommend substituting.
Unsalted Butter: Butter is essential to this recipe. We haven't tried it with dairy-free butter but it might work!
Eggs: We don't recommend substituting eggs, but you can read this article on Egg Substitutions for Baking if you need to substitute. Try it at your own risk!
Vanilla Extract: Helps to add flavor, we don't recommend substituting.
All Purpose Flour: We don't recommend substituting the flour, but you can check out this article on Cake Flour vs. All-Purpose Flour or Substitutions for All-Purpose Flour
Baking Powder: Baking powder is essential for this recipe. Do NOT substitute with baking soda.
Salt: Helps to add flavor, we don't recommend substituting.
Milk: You can substitute milk with half and half, low-fat milk, or nondairy milk.
Red Food Coloring: Using gel food coloring will yield the best results without adding additional liquid to the recipe that liquid red food coloring would do.
Making a Dry Cake Moist: This is a very moist cake recipe, but if you have trouble with it, check out this post for How To Make A Dry Cake Moist
Tips for Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Room Temperature: Using room temperature ingredients will allow your cake batter to come together more smoothly. Take chilled ingredients out of the fridge 30 minutes before preparing this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips: For a non-traditional route, add chocolate chips to your cake batter.
- Measuring your flour: Measuring out your flour properly will help to avoid a dry cupcake. Using a kitchen scale will yield the best results.
- Use different frosting: This Strawberry Cream Cheese Frosting is delicious!
Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe FAQ
Red velvet cupcakes are a lovely combination of both chocolate and vanilla flavors. Other recipes have been known to add instant coffee for another layer of flavor.
Red velvet cake is typically paired with a tangy cream cheese frosting. The slight vanilla and chocolate flavor of the cake pair really well with the contrasting tangy flavor of the cream cheese.
Cream cheese frosting pairs wonderfully with these cupcakes. You can make this frosting at home with just one block of cream cheese, half a stick of softened unsalted butter, and two cups of confectioner’s sugar. Simply mix the ingredients together until the desired consistency is achieved. You can either use a knife or piping bag to add a creamy decadent layer of frosting to your cupcakes.
If your cupcakes always seem to come out of the oven dry or crumbly there is still hope! Adding half a cup of sour cream to your cupcake batter will help lock in the moisture during the cooking process and will leave you with deliciously moist cupcakes. This is a very moist cake recipe, but if you have trouble with it, check out this post for How To Make A Dry Cake Moist
You can make red velvet cupcakes without vinegar, but adding vinegar will help make your cake rise and be fluffy and moist.
You can actually use different kinds of vinegar. Apple cider vinegar is a popular favorite as the flavor is milder than white vinegar. If your recipe calls for vinegar and you don't have any available, lemon juice is a perfect substitute for vinegar.
More Cupcake Recipes You'll Love
Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cup white flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- 1.5 teaspoons red food coloring
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. While the oven is preheating, cream together your butter and sugar in a medium or large bowl until smooth.
- Add your eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture and whisk until the eggs are fully incorporated.
- Once the eggs and vanilla are fully incorporated into the batter, add the white flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Slowly mix the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until no clumps of flour remain.
- Add the whole milk and mix again. Finally, add the red food coloring and fold the batter until the food coloring is well distributed and fully incorporated into your batter.
- Line a cupcake pan with cupcake liners and fill each liner all the way with batter. Cook the cupcakes for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick can be removed without any dough.
- Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before adding your favorite icing.
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