Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes and soft and moist with an incredible red color, made with sour cream and buttermilk, and ready in under 45 minutes!

We love making classic dessert recipes, and these cupcakes bring up all our favorite cake recipes including Easy Chocolate Cake, Vanilla Pound Cake and New York Cheesecake.

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Red Velvet Cupcakes are my all-time favorite dessert, made with buttermilk and sour cream for an unbelievably light and fluffy texture, topped with my homemade cream cheese frosting. This is my go-to when I need something to bring to a holiday party, and I even get special requests for this red velvet!

This red velvet cupcake recipe is also super kid-friendly because they’ll love decorating them for Valentine’s Day.

You can use a few drops of food coloring in the cream cheese frosting to make it pink, then top with red sprinkles or chocolate candies. Or you can make a layer cake with chocolate ganache, and a dusting of powdered sugar.

ARE RED VELVET CUPCAKES JUST CHOCOLATE?

Red velvet cupcakes are similar to chocolate cake, with less cocoa and the addition of red food coloring. You can make this cake without food coloring and it will taste the same, but it won’t turn out with the signature color that red food coloring brings.

But traditional red velvet cake recipes also use buttermilk and other acidic ingredients, like vinegar or sour cream, to give the cake a much richer taste and texture. This also used to provide a natural red color due to the ingredients reacting with each other.

HOW DO YOU MAKE RED VELVET CUPCAKES MOIST?

• Make sure your oven is cooking at the temperature you’re setting it to. You can do this by using an oven safe thermometer to double check. If it’s off, adjust your temp up or down accordingly.
• Set an oven timer for a few minutes less then you think the red velvet cupcakes will take to cook, just in case. Overcooking the red velvet will dry it out.
• This recipe already has ingredients that are naturally higher in acid, like buttermilk and sour cream, which helps make the red velvet texture moist and fluffy.
• You might want to refrigerate red velvet cake depending on what type of frosting you’re using, but bring it back to room temperature before serving.
• Make these cupcakes with half white sugar and half brown sugar to add some additional moisture to the cake.

HOW TO MAKE RED VELVET CUPCAKES WITHOUT BUTTERMILK

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use regular milk with 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice for red velvet cake. Let the milk sit with the lemon juice for a few minutes before using it. The acid in buttermilk plays an important role in a red velvet cake’s texture and rise, so we’re trying to mimic that acid with this substitute.

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WHAT TO DECORATE RED VELVET CUPCAKES WITH

• Cream cheese frosting
• Buttercream frosting
• Red sprinkles
• Chocolate ganache (then dust with powdered sugar)
• Crushed cookies
• Mini chocolate chips
• Berries
• Chocolate shavings

MORE DESSERT RECIPES

• Coconut Macaroons
• Easy Banana Bread (No Mixer!)
• Homemade Marshmallows
• Chocolate Truffles
• Chocolate Pudding

HOW TO STORE RED VELVET CUPCAKES

Red velvet cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container on the counter for 2-3 days. You can also freeze these cupcakes for 3-4 months. These will actually freeze better if you decorate them first because the frosting protects the cake.

If you decorate the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting or buttermilk frosting, I recommend refrigerating them. In the refrigerator, red velvet will keep for about a week.

TIPS FOR MAKING RED VELVET CUPCAKES

• Use an ice cream scoop with a release button to divide the red velvet batter into the cupcake tin. This will be faster, and ensure that all of the cupcakes are the same size.
• Red velvet is similar to devils food, with the difference being the use of cocoa powder and the addition of food coloring.
• This red velvet cupcakes recipe uses cake flour because it turns out lighter than all purpose flour, but you can substitute it with 1 cup (14 tablespoons) of all purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons cornstarch.
• You can grease your cupcake tin, but I like to use a paper-lined tin to prevent the red velvet from sticking, and make cleanup easier.
• Traditionally red velvet only appeared red because of a reaction between the buttermilk, vinegar, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Modern dutch-processed cocoa powder won’t have the same effect, and a red velvet cupcake recipe will call for red food coloring.
• Gel food coloring or liquid food coloring will both work for the red color in this recipe (the coloring itself provides no taste). Typically you will need less of the gel coloring then the liquid food coloring. You can also find recipes that use beetroot to color the cake instead of food coloring.
• Add more flavor to these cupcakes with a tablespoon of instant coffee or espresso powder.
• Make this velvet cupcake recipe low fat by substituting the butter with applesauce and using light sour cream. Keep in mind that this may affect the texture, as the fat adds a lot of moisture. You can also lower the fat in the cream cheese frosting by using Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese.
• These velvet cupcakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean. You can use this recipe to make cupcakes, or make a full cake by using round cake pans and increasing the cooking time slightly.

5 from 7 votes

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Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes and soft and moist with an incredible red color, made with sour cream and buttermilk, and ready in under 45 minutes!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword red velvet cupcakes

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 24 servings

Calories 431 kcal

Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups cake flour
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 ounce Red Food Color
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• Cream Cheese Frosting

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda into a large bowl and add the salt to it.

3. In a stand mixer whisk together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then add in the eggs one at a time.
4. Whisk in the sour cream, milk, red food coloring and vanilla then add in the flour until just barely mixed in (do not overmix).

5. Scoop with an ice cream scoop into cupcake liners, 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes, let cool completely and ice with cream cheese frosting.

Recipe Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition Facts

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Amount Per Serving

Calories 431 Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Fat 21g32%

Saturated Fat 12g75%

Cholesterol 106mg35%

Sodium 238mg10%

Potassium 127mg4%

Carbohydrates 54g18%

Fiber 1g4%

Sugar 34g38%

Protein 6g12%

Vitamin A 690IU14%

Vitamin C 0.2mg0%

Calcium 52mg5%

Iron 0.9mg5%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.