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.
These cupcakes are delicious. I have never liked red velvet cake before until I tried your recipe. This recipe is a keeper definately. Thank you for sharing.
Hi there…
I was amazed by these cupcake pictures and am tempted to make them for my girl’s birthday. I don’t have much experience with cupcakes and I plan do try the recipe in advanced but was wondering if I can freeze them? Have you tried it before??
Thanx
Hi Juliana, You could freeze the baked cupcakes (unfrosted). Thaw and then frost before serving.
The cupcakes themselves came out perfectly and were delicious!
I didn’t like the frosting at all. Way too much vanilla, which gave it a horrible metallic taste and definitely overwhelmed the cupcake flavor. It was also incredibly soft and runny, despite extra powdered sugar. I’ll keep using the cupcake recipe, but I’ll be using my standard frosting from here on out.
I made these the other day and they turned out pretty good. The only thing is my cupcakes were pretty red with the amount of food coloring your recipe called for. Yours don’t look that red. What brand of food coloring did you use?
Hi Claudia, I used McCormick red (liquid) food coloring. Hope that helps!
Thank you so very much!! I will try that. I actually just bought a bottle of it so… excuse me while I go get my cupcake on ;)
Just made these- they are fantastic! Thanks for the recipe x
Hi! I made these and had extra frosting. Is there any recipe that I can use this for? Im thinking of cheesecake. Will it work?
Hi Maria, There are a lot of recipes here on the site that use cream cheese frosting, so you could try any of those. I don’t think I would put cream cheese frosting on top of a cheesecake, though.
I just finished baking these today! Its amaaazing!! Its my first time trying this out and I got it in one try! Thank you so much for the recipe!!! But I had a few “problems”. The cupcake liners seperated from the cupcake after cooling. The recipe for cream cheese is abit too much since I have excess now. And lastly I could only make 9 cupcakes and im using normal sized cupcake liners! Besides these the cupcakes taste amazing!
Im baking these today and I have a few questions!! How much exactly is 4 tablespoons of butter? Is there anyway I cam get thag measurement in grams?? If I’ve baked these today and frosted it how do I keep it overnight? Do I put it in a container or can I just out it in the fridge? Thank u
Hi Inez, 4 tablespoons of butter is about 57 grams. You can keep them overnight in an airtight container at room temperature if it’s not extremely hot/humid in your house. If it is, store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Thanks for your sharing! The recipe is just too good. I made it and everyone gave me a high compliment…:)
Btw, I cut half of the powdered sugar in the frosting..less sweet but taste is good still.
I tried these cupcakes today and they are amazing! Will definitely keep this recipe close by. These have recently become very popular in South Africa and I live in a small village far from town, so I made these without even eating one before and it was delicious! Thank you!
Made the red velvet cupcakes for my daughter’s 13th birthday (6/1/13) and they were a hit. All the girls were dying to try them so my beautiful display didn’t last long. Well worth it, not a crumb left.
Hi ! Im going to try out this recipe next week since there is so many good reviews about it. But i have a question to ask. How much does the cupcake rises or how much should i fill each cupcake up to?
I just divide the batter between all 12 cups. It comes about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way up to the top.
I am so glad to see this recipe on BEB, tried the mocha cupcakes and they turned out to be great! Can’t wait to try this recipe now, I have only made red velvet once before and they were pretty tasty but not moist enough! Making these for a friend’s babyshower tomorrow!
Oh my gosh, thank you for this recipe!! It was easy to make and probably the best cupcake I have ever eaten! I made these as well as your dark chocolate with peanut butter cupcakes following the recipes exactly and both were phenomenal. Only change I made was adding “Lindt” Chocolate balls to the cupcakes for an extra special Father’s Day treat. White chocolate balls in the red velvet and milk chocolate balls in the chocolate cupcakes, mmmmmmm heavenly.
Beautiful recipe. just out of curiousity, can the vinegar be substituted for something else acidic, like soda water for example? I would like to make these now but I’m put of vinegar and as it happens , out of a way to travel to the grocery store.
Hi Mary, I have never made that substitution. You could definitely try it if you have no other options; let me know how it turns out!
hi! These cupcakes are amazzingggg! made them at a family get together a couple weeks ago everyone loved them! But i have another party coming up on sunday and i wanted to know how to convert this recipie to get 2 – 9 inch circle cakes. Thanksss!!!
Simply double the recipe and slightly increase the baking time, making sure that the cakes are cooked the entire way through.
WOW! It was my first time making red velvet cupcakes today, and the cake itself is so yummy, a little chocolaty and very light!!
Cream cheese is delicious! Thanks for sharing this recipe with all of us! This won’t be the last time I’m making these delicious cupcakes.
I want to make cupcakes now for an anniversary party in June. Can I freeze the cupcakes and top with icing the day before the celebration? I will be sure the cupcakes are completely cooled before putting in the freezer.
Hi Loretta, Yes, you can do this, no problem.
I have a question.
I’ve followed the receipe to a T and my cupcakes are not turning out right, only if I add the vinegar. They swell up and then it’s like they kin of implode. When I go to remove them (I don’t check them until towards the end) the cup isn’t filled anymore and there’s batter all over the pan. I’ve lowered the heat, I’ve tried less vinegar and it all did the same. I got so frustrated I left the vinegar out after 5 full batches failing. The ones without vinegar didn’t implode but I know the vinegar is there for making them moist.
Oh and I also tried filling the cups up less and it still happened even when they were filled less than half way.
Sigh… I was so excited about making these for my Mother on Mother’s Day.. but mine ended up sinking… I don’t understand why. I’m just going to turn them into mini ones now though because the taste is great and I’d hate to just throw them away.
I’m going to cut the excess cupcake paper off and use what’s left and put the frosting on. Then use the other pieces to sprinkle on top of the frosting. :D Thanks for sharing though!
Hi Michelle, i Am baking this for the first time.
I want to maKe about 36 cupcakes, should I triple the recipe?
Or stick to the recipe and repeat it 3 different times?
Thank you!
Hi Kathryn, I’ve seen some feedback from folks who have doubled and tripled this recipe for success (although I have never tried it), so I think you’ll be okay!
And what do I need to do if I want to use beet instead of red food coloring?
I have never used beets for food coloring, so I’m not sure how the liquid could affect the texture of the cupcake, or how much you would need for the desired color.
Can I substitute white wine vinegar with rice vinegar?
Hi Gabriella, Actually you would want to use white distilled vinegar, not white wine. If you don’t have white distilled, I think using rice vinegar would be fine.
This is just a general cupcake question…..what is the easiest way to fill cupcake tins?
Hi Carrie, I use a cookie scoop to scoop up batter and drop it into the cupcake tin. Super easy and keeps mess to a minimum.
Thank-you for the recipe. I am going to be cooking up a meal for my mom and aunts this Mother’s Day and I think these would be the perfect dessert.
I made these cupcakes a few days ago for my daughter’s birthday. They turned out SO good. Thank you so much for allowing me to find this awesome recipe! I did however make a few minor modifications. I only had 2 tablespoons of the liquid red food coloring, so I added a few drop of red gel and a tablespoon of water. The color turned out just like the photos. Also, I had read in Cooks Illustrated that natural cocoa powder must be used for Red Velvet because Dutch-processed cocoa will not rise or yield the proper color. Hershey’s natural unsweetened cocoa powder is what I used. I didn’t have white vinegar so I used apple cider vinegar. Lastly, I used 1 tsp of vanilla bean paste instead of extract. I will definitely keep this recipe and am thinking of making a 2-layer cake. Do you think I should just double the recipe to fill each pan? Any ideas on how long that would bake for? I was thinking 25 minutes.
Hi Christina, Thank you for the wonderful feedback and sharing your modifications! You could double this recipe and make a two-layer 8″ or 9″ cake. It will take 25 to 30 minutes to bake.
Just made these cupcakes, I baked them for 18 minutes they came out SO fluffy and delicious and paired so well with the cream cheese icing. Delicious. :)
Made red velvet cupcakes for the first time ever, and they came out soooo good and moist :) I didn’t have buttermilk so used curds and whey instead ( yoghurt) and they still came out absolutely delicious. By the way, do u have any eggless cake or cupcake recipes! When I make for my daughters school, they specifically ask for eggless and wholewheat cup cakes. Not vegan though :)
I just love your blog and recipes :)
Hi Rashmi, I’m so happy you enjoyed the cupcakes! Unfortunately, I do not have any eggless recipes.
Total disaster, went so flat and I couldn’t get them out of the tin, six went into the bin in crumbs, the other six were flat and looked awful but the actual cake was delicious!
Hi michelle!!!! I have a few questions about this recipe. I’ve done it before and this are (by far) the best red velvet cupcakes i’ve ever had!! So right now i’m in Spain visiting my sister who just had a baby (yay!!) and i wanted to bake this amazing cupcakes for her, but what’s my surprise??? Here in Spain they don’t use white destiled vinegar, they don’t even know what that is! They have a lot of different kinds of vinegar, but white. So i contacted with a local baking supplies store and they told me they use grappe vinegar, white wine vinegar or apple vinegar (they believe that is “white vinegar”….) would it be ok if i use one of the above???. I also was told that maybe at a colombians local store i could find regular white vinegar, but not destiled. Will that work? I guess it could be better than grappe, white wine or Apple vinegar. What do you think?.
Also, in here they don’t use liquid food coloring, they only have gel. I was told that liquid food coloring could be found in the market but it wasn’t good because it doesn’t give the proper color. Would it be ok to use gel?
Thanks in advance!!!!! Love your blog and your recipes :) xoxo
Hi Anaisa, I am not familiar with grappe vinegar, but the plain white would probably work if you can get that; if not, use the apple vinegar. As for the food coloring, you can use gel; I find liquid to be easier to incorporate into the batter, but gel will work too. You may need to play around with the quantities of the gel, as you may not need as much.