Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
These red velvet cupcakes are a gorgeous red color, moist and fluffy, have the most amazing flavor, and are topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. An easy recipe that is great year-round!
I found long ago that getting a really, really good red velvet cupcake could be totally elusive. Some are dry, some are TOO red. It propelled me to make a great version at home.
I did some reading, I looked at a lot of recipes, and in the end I decided to try this one, which originated at the Hummingbird Bakery. And I'm so glad I did, because I don't think a better one could exist.
If you are looking for a super moist red velvet cupcake recipe, this is IT! They are everything you could hope for - moist, fluffy, a tiny bit chocolatey, and a perfect vehicle for a heaping pile of cream cheese frosting!
Don’t save these just for Valentine’s Day; they are great at Christmas, birthdays, or as an everyday treat!
Key Ingredient Notes
While we use some pantry staples like flour, sugar, and vanilla extract, below are notes on the essential ingredients for our red velvet cake recipe:
- Cocoa Powder – Use unsweetened, natural cocoa powder here. We want to avoid Dutched since it has already been alkalized.
- Vinegar – The reaction of the vinegar with the buttermilk helps to pull out the red hue in the cocoa powder. For this recipe, we use white vinegar, but you could also substitute apple cider vinegar.
- Buttermilk – Using soured milk is a key component to red velvet cakebatter, as the acidic liquid is needed to combine with the baking soda and cocoa powder to get the rise and texture right.
- Baking Soda – This works magic with the cocoa powder and buttermilk to get a beautiful rise and tender crumb.
- Red Food Coloring – We want to boost that beautiful red color! You can use either 2 tablespoons of liquid food coloring or 5 to 6 drops of gel food coloring.
How to Make Red Velvet Cupcakes
Step #1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.
Step #2: Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the egg and beat until well incorporated.
Step #3: In a separate bowl, combine the cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and red food coloring, which will make a thick paste. Add it to the batter and mix until combined.
Step #4: On low speed, alternate adding the buttermilk and flour, then beat on high until smooth.
Step #5: On low speed again, add the salt, baking soda, and vinegar. Beat on high until the mixture is completely combined and smooth.
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Step #6: Divide the cupcake batter evenly between the liners and bake for about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before adding the frosting.
Decorating the Cupcakes
I love to pair red velvet with my favorite cream cheese frosting; it’s so thick and luscious, plus the slight tang is a great contrast to the sweetness of the cupcake. However, you could also use a seven-minute frosting, vanilla frosting, or even a chocolate frosting!
Some decorating options:
- Use an offset spatula to spread the frosting on the cupcakes.
- Place frosting in a piping bag and use piping tips to pile the frosting high! My favorite tip for those pretty swirls on the top of cupcakes is a Wilton 1M or Ateco #826 open star tip.
- The most traditional garnishment for red velvet cupcakes is to crumble one cupcake and use the cupcake crumbs to decorate the other cupcakes.
- Or use your favorite sprinkles, popular options are heart sprinkles or red, white, and pink jimmies!
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Buttermilk Substitute: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, use this at-home substitution – Pour 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup. Add enough milk (I recommend 2% or whole) to measure 1 cup total. Stir together and let it sit for 5 minutes, then use it as directed in the recipe below.
- Adjusting to Make a Whole Cake: This recipe can be doubled to yield two 9-inch cake layers (bake time 25 to 30 minutes), or a 9×13-inch cake (bake time about 30 minutes).
- Mixer: This recipe can be successfully made using either a stand mixer or a hand mixer; either one will work!
Storage & Freezing Instructions
- Unfrosted Cupcakes – Unfrosted cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. They can also be frozen for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container or bag; thaw at room temperature (should take 30 minutes to 1 hour).
- Cream Cheese Frosting – The frosting itself can be made and stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 1 week. It can also be frozen in a freezer-safe container or bag for up to 3 months; thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Frosted Cupcakes – Frosted red velvet cupcakes can be kept in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 1 week. I do not recommend freezing the frosted cupcakes.
More Red Velvet Recipes to Try:
- Red Velvet Cheesecake
- Red Velvet Poke Cake
- Red Velvet Roll Cake with White Chocolate-Cream Cheese Filling
- Red Velvet Whoopie Pies
- Red Velvet Ice Cream
Watch the Recipe Video:
If you make these red velvet cupcakes and love them, remember to stop back and give them a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 4 tablespoons (57 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (149 g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2½ tablespoons (13 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk
- 1 cup (125 g) + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons distilled white vinegar
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (227 g) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, chilled and cut into 8 pieces
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a standard muffin/cupcake pan with liners.
- On medium-high speed, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to high and add the egg. Scrape down the bowl and beat until well incorporated.
- In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, vanilla extract and red food coloring to make a thick paste. Add to the batter and mix on medium speed until completely combined. You may need to stop the mixer to scrape the bottom of the bowl, making sure that all the batter gets color.
- Reduce the mixer speed to low and slowly add half of the buttermilk. Add half of the flour and mix until combined. Scrape the bowl and repeat the process with the remaining milk and flour. Beat on high until smooth.
- Again, reduce the mixer speed to low and add the salt, baking soda and vinegar. Turn to high and beat for another couple of minutes until completely combined and smooth.
- Divide the batter evenly between the cupcake liners and bake for about 20 minutes, or until a thin knife or skewer inserted into the center of the largest cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes and then remove cupcakes from the pan and place them on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- Make the Frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt on low speed until smooth, then mix for an additional 2 minutes, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Increase the speed to medium-low and add the cream cheese one piece at a time and mix until smooth, then mix for an additional 2 minutes.
Notes
- This recipe can be doubled to make an 8 or 9-inch layer cake.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
This recipe was originally published on November 8, 2010.
Photography by Dee Frances.
I just made these RV cupcakes. they baked pretty and had a nice color however, I did not like the taste and felt that it left my taste buds with an after tastes. I followed the reciepe to the tee. everything turned out great except the most important, the taste. Since I just tasted RV cake last saturday for the first time, I did not get the same chocolate tast. I will take them to work and have my co workers critic my cupcakes. thank you for the reciepe. I must try again.
I agree. It tasted weird to me and was not moist at all. I could not finish one cupcake. That’s how much I hated the taste, and I’ve had plenty red velvet cakes and cupcakes before at other places. Something is wrong with this recipe.
Hello! I’m currently on a baking high and I’m hoping to make these for my friends at school though I do have a question & I’m not sure if it’s stupid or not: does it matter to use cake flour v.s. all purpose flour? I just don’t want to make any mistakes that would make my mum refer allowing me to do this haha.
please & thanks for the help!
Hi Katie, Yes you’ll want to use all-purpose flour; cake flour will alter the texture of the cupcake. Enjoy!
Hi Michelle! I tried out this recipe and they were great. They’re moist and they taste awesome. However, the tops look weird. They sort of cracked which made them look like muffins. I don’t know what I did wrong. At least it tasted fine. Great recipe!
I just made these for my office Valentine’s Day party! They came out really good, but what tip number did you use for the icing? Mine didn’t stand nearly as high as yours?
Hi Jenny, Glad that they were a hit! I used a Wilton 1M tip.
Hadn’t understood the red velvet craze either, until now. I made these on V Day simply to be festive and am SO HAPPY I DID! These cupcakes were not only spectacular to look at (I, too, appreciated the not too red color), they were moist and light, flavorful and well balanced with the delicious frosting. So many cream cheese frostings are too sweet in my opinion. This one was, no, IS, perfect! Thank you so much! Keep all the good ones comin’!!!
i made these yesturday! they turned out AWESOME!! my first time EVER making cupcakes from scratch! thank you thank you for your easy to follow steps! p.s. i heart the 1M tip now!!!
The cupcakes were absolutely delicious, moist and delectable! My new go-to recipe for red velvet! Cream cheese icing always makes it better : )
I made them tonight. Not the best recipe The cocoa taste was too strong, not subtle like it’s supposed to be. They were pretty, but didn”t taste like they are supposed to.
My five-year-old and I just finished baking these cupcakes – they look beautiful. To practice her writing skills, my daughter wrote all the ingredients we needed to buy down. However, we had a hard time crossing red food coloring off the list. After visiting three different grocery stores, all with an empty shelf where the red food coloring was before the Valentine’s rush, we finally found two bottles left at the fourth store. We can’t wait to frost these and enjoy them tonight!
same thing happened to me, the first store didnt have any they even checked in the back for me, then the next store i stood on my tippy toes and climbed on the bottom shelf to see up on the top shelf and there was one box in the wayyy back knocked over and thank goodness it was red!
I made these these in preparation for Valentine’s Day but I’m not sure they are going to make it. These were amazing, light, fluffy and delicious.
I’ve made a few things from your site and they have all been a great success.
Thank you and I look forward to making many more.
Hi! I may want to try making these into mini cupcakes, how long should I bake them for?
Thanks!
I would start checking them around 7 or 8 minutes.
How do you think these would be if I made them Friday night and left them over night covered and then frosted them on Sat. I have a party for Sat night and I want to make these but I need to do them Fri night. You think they would still be moist??
Hi Jarrelle, making them on Friday and then frosting them on Saturday would be just fine. Just let them cool completely after baking and store in an airtight container at room temperature until you’re ready to frost them. Enjoy!
Hi, Not sure where u are, but here in Canada @ the Bulk Barn, u can get a richer(higher fat content) cocoa called ruby-red; has a deeper darker reddish appearance. Costs a bit more but so worth it.
Hello! I loved your recipes for chocolate cupcakes and chocolate buttercream frosting. DIVINE! I tried these red velvet cupcakes a few days ago and ran into two issues: (1) I saw what I would call striations of cocoa in the baked cupcakes, which seemed odd because the batter was so smooth. Are you familiar with this effect? (2) When I added the vanilla, the frosting became loose and, well, exceedingly vanilla-y. I was unable to pipe it to any good effect, as it just spread over the top of the cupcake. I made the frosting again, with the same result. I don’t know what went wrong, but I wonder if the quantity of vanilla is correct. THANK YOU!
Hi Karen, (1) I’m thinking that the striations could be from egg that wasn’t completely combined into the batter and that some cocoa clung to; (2) the amount of vanilla is correct. I always use 1 tablespoon in my frosting recipes. I’m not sure why it would be so soft unless perhaps the butter or cream cheese was softened way too much? I hope you’ll give them another try!
Hi, Michelle. Thank you so much for your response. I will definitely try again. :)
These look so good! :D
Question: What else could I use in place of the distilled white vinegar?
Thanks :)
Hi Dana, The white vinegar is actually a crucial component to the cupcakes due to its chemical reaction with the buttermilk and cocoa powder. I wouldn’t recommend substituting.
And why baking soda…? inst that what u use to clean stuff?
Baking soda is used for cleaning, but it’s a very common baking ingredient, along with baking powder – they are leaveners.
Hi Michelle, can i use regular butter instead of unsalted? and can i use self- raising flour?
love this site!
blessings
Hi Wilma, You can use salted butter, just omit the salt in the recipe. Definitely a no on the self-rising flour though – it contains leavening ingredients, which will mess with the amounts that are already in the recipe. Stick with all-purpose flour and use the baking soda called for above.
I just made these and they came out flat topped….any suggestions as to why this happened? Please let me know. I want to make these for Valentine’s Day and this was a trial run for tasting, etc.
Hi Caroline, Cupcakes can end up with flat tops for a few reasons – if the pan gets tapped against the counter or oven rack and air escapes the batter, they can deflate. Also, if the oven temperature is lower than called for it can also result in flat top cupcakes. And, if the cups weren’t filled far enough up with batter it could cause the cupcakes to not rise high enough. Hope that helps!
Just made these yesterday and they were wonderful! I had been using Rachael Ray’s recipe for years but it had been inconsistent at best… I wanted a new recipe that used butter instead of oil and so decided to try yours. They were a big hit! Thanks — love your site.
I made these yesterday, and found 20 minutes of baking to be too long. They were pretty dry and overbaked by that time. I’d suggest you start testing them @ the 15 minute mark. Wish I had thought of that before….
hmm made these, but from the Hummingbird book and they exploded in the oven, this has never happened before. let me say that I have cooked a lot of cakes without failure so I am suspicious of this recipe as it stems from that dreadful book – several other recipes in the book fail and probably because they couldn’t be bothered to properly test the recipes, shame on them! – So I love your recipes normally can you confirm that this is sufficiently adapted not to explode in the oven?!
Hi Rosalind, I’m not sure that I can absolutely, 100% guarantee that you won’t have problems with these, as every oven is different, but I can tell you that I had no problem whatsoever. They baked up just fine!
I looked at a few recipes and what people had to say about them and took what they liked about those and changed this recipe so I made these but I used 1/4 c canola oil with the butter, added more cocoa and they turned out really great, light fluffy, moist and airy. I didn’t have any fancy pastry bag and used just a ziploc bag to frost them. They turned out perfect with a light dusting of cocoa powder and oh so pretty.This will make a fabulous layer cake too ^.^
Much like you, I have been searching for the perfect recipe for Red Velvet cake. The last recipe I tried was from The Cake Boss. The recipe was featured on Oprah’s magazing so I thought…Why not? I ended up throwing out half of the cake because it was just too dry. Yours looks so moist and yummy! I wanted to ask you what tip your using for the frosting? I love your cupcake swirls! I will keep u posted on the cuppies…lol! Thanks! ;)
Hi Carolyn! A tip is to not use to much! I have done that before and its a definite overkill!
so excited to try these for christmas!! i have a question though, does this recipe make enough icing to ice all 12 cupcakes with a nice sized dollop as yours are? just wondering if i should double the icing recipe or not, i like a nice jumbo swirl on top like you
Yep! I made a single batch of frosting and had enough to frost all of the cupcakes like you see in the pictures.
I was about to ask the same thing, but for an opposite reason–I plan to double the cupcakes, but that looks like WAY too much frosting for me.
Delicious! I made these as mini cupcakes for a work party and ended up having to make more for my family. They’re amazingly moist and oh so yummy. Excellent recipe!
I would like to try this recipe as a layer cake instead of the cupcakes. Would there need to be any change in the ingredient amounts?
Hi Linda, To make an 8 or 9-inch layer cake, simply double the recipe. Enjoy! :)
Thank you Michelle – will be trying this for Christmas!
What about a 9X13 pan?
Should I just double the recipe?
Hi Valerie, Yes, for a 9×13-inch cake you would also double the recipe.
Your red velvet cupcakes look so perfect. I tried making them once and failed. Haven’t looked back. I’m going to try your recipe and see how I do. What type of tools did you use to frost? I never mastered that skill.
Hi Gabby, I used a disposable pastry bag and a Wilton 1M decorating tip (you can find both at Michael’s). Enjoy the cupcakes!
I made these yesterday and they were perfect! I looked at several red velvet recipes and I chose this one because it used less butter/oil than all the other recipes I found. It was more work than I anticipated, but it was worth it. They tasted like the ones that I buy from a bakery, but with less fat I’m sure!
I haven’t ever been overwhelmed with a red velvet cake either, but your recipes have never let me down so I can’t wait to try my hand at these!
I just made these yesterday for a client who was taking them to their staff Christmas party. I double the recipe and they turned out awesome. They were moist and red but not over the top in color and they tasted fabulous. I had been looking for a good recipe for these for awhile and this one is definitely a keeper. BTW my client was very happy also. Thanks!
Yay! Love success stories!
Hi, these look so good! I’m going to make them this Saturday but I have a couple of questions. Your pictures are so pretty!: I don’t have frosting material, would a ziploc bag with a corner cut off work? Also, I don’t think I have any buttermilk, is there are substitute for it? Thanks so much!
Hi Harriette, I’m sorry I’m a little late. A ziploc bag with a corner snipped off would be fine for decorating. You could also pile the icing on and just smooth it with an offset spatula.
There really isn’t a substitute for buttermilk in this recipe because of the chemical reaction it has with baking soda and the cocoa powder. You can, however, make your own. Place 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the 1-cup line. Let stand for 5 minutes, and then use as much as the recipe calls for.
I have tried the recipe and it turned out good; However, the best so far is Magnolia’s Red Velvet cupcake. Amazing taste and brilliant color.
Thank you for your recipe.
You’re welcome; will have to give Magnolia’s a try sometime!