Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe Made From Scratch
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There’s nothing better than my red velvet cupcakes recipe made from scratch with cream cheese frosting. Every bite is moist, tender, and deliciously sweet.
This wonderful cake is usually made around the holidays but since it’s gone mainstream I’ve seen red velvet cakes everywhere all year long. From those fancy-schmancy cupcake joints with the four-inch high icing to frozen yogurt flavors and it’s even showing up in snack cakes! Still, I usually only make it around Christmastime at home out of well…habit, tradition…and a little bit of “well it never occurred to me to make it any other time of year!”
Now let me tell you something, I LOVE cake mixes and use them often. They are a lot of fun and a whole lot more convenient. HOWEVER, this from scratch red velvet cupcake recipe is above and beyond anything a cake mix could possibly produce so make time for a few extra minutes of work because I promise it will be well worth it! The combination of buttermilk and oil makes these red velvet cupcakes so unbelievably soft and moist.
Let’s get cookin’ some red velvet cupcakes!
Recipe Ingredients
- Baking soda
- Sugar
- Salt
- Eggs
- Red food coloring (you can also use beet powder for this as well)
- All-purpose flour
- Vegetable oil
- Buttermilk
- Vinegar
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla extract
- Cupcake papers
Place your flour in a medium bowl. Add the salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Mix that up!
In a separate bowl, pour in the buttermilk, then add in the oil, sugar, vinegar, and eggs.
Stir that up really well.
Until it is kinda like this.
Now dump the wet ingredients into a large bowl and then dump your on top of them.
Mix with an electric mixer until smooth and blended (about two minutes).
Add the red food coloring (0r beet powder) and vanilla extract.
Mix that up really well with the electric mixer again until it is deep red and fully blended.
Pour the cupcake batter into the cupcake papers in a muffin tin. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full.
This red velvet cupcakes recipe will make about 18 cupcakes or so.
Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed with a finger in the center.
Allow them to cool before adding the cream cheese frosting.
The recipe and instructions for the cream cheese frosting are below in the recipe card, and it’s really easy.
You just dump everything in a bowl and beat the mess out of it until it’s smooth and creamy :). If you want to see how I make cream cheese icing, you can visit my chocolate velvet cake post for photos.
Don’t feel like you have to put the icing on pretty as I did here. Although all I did was use a piping bag, I promise.
Anyway, just slather the icing on each with a knife and just don’t worry about it. ENJOY!
Storage
Store the red velvet frosted cupcakes in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can leave them at room temperature but if it’s warm where you live, pop them in the fridge so the frosting doesn’t melt. Alternatively, freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 3 months and thaw overnight before adding frosting.
Recipe Notes
- You can use this recipe to make mini red velvet cupcakes if you prefer. All you need is mini cupcake liners in a mini cupcake pan. Bake for 12 to 13 minutes.
- Use this homemade recipe to make a red velvet cake instead. Pour the cake batter into a cake tin and bake for around 30 minutes instead.
- If you need to make your own buttermilk, add a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar to 1 cup of milk and let it stand for 10 minutes.
Check out my other red velvet recipe ideas:
Red Velvet Cookies From Cake Mix
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 bottle red food coloring you can use beet root powder as well
Cream Cheese Icing
- 1 package cream cheese 8 ounces, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
- 1 pound confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt
- In a separate large bowl, mix together the sugar, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vinegar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on medium speed until well blended.1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vinegar
- Add the vanilla and the entire bottle of red food coloring to the cake batter and mix again on low speed until well blended and uniform in color.1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 bottle red food coloring
- Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with papers. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full with the cake batter. You will end up with 18-20 cupcakes.
- Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until the center springs back when pressed lightly with your finger. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing.
For Cream Cheese Frosting
- Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides as needed. Ice the cooled cupcakes.1 package cream cheese, 1 pound confectioner's sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 cup butter
- Can be left at room temperature but I prefer them refrigerated!
Nutrition
Oh wow! Here is a thought with an impact! Can you imagine?
“How would your life be different if…You walked away from gossip and verbal defamation? Let today be the day…You speak only the good you know of other people and encourage others to do the same.”
― Steve Maraboli
Hi! I’m an Alabama girl too, but transplanted in Florida. Why do you add vinegar? Is it because of the food color? Thanks! P.S. I’ve been spreading the news about your book and web site:)
Hey Karen! Vinegar causes a chemical reaction with the baking soda in this recipe to help the cake rise:) You can’t taste it but it sure does make the cake good!
Christy, after seeing these as cake pops at StarBucks, I tried a mini whoopie pie recipe I found in a magazine with cream cheese frosting. Of course, I didn’t use this frosting, I used the frosting my Granny always used, a coconut-pecan (think German Chocolate cake) tinted green! She always told us it was a secret family recipe handed down for generations and was upset to learn it was being made in a NY hotel restaurant. LOL Before you “turn your nose up” as most people do when they see this “armadillo looking” cake, it is absolutely delicious and everyone agrees! So, I made my whoopie pies with this green filling for my Christmas cookie trays and it was a winning hint!!! It is delicious and I hope someday you will give it a try. I love your website and your book and it is my favorite gift to give! I only wish my Granny were still living, she would love to hear your stories and then she could share some more of hers with me. Thank you for sharing your stories, I swear we must be related somewhere back in our family tree and nothing spells comfort food better than Southern food!!!
Lordy, these look amazing. I’m drooling right now at work (I should not be on this website right now!). I just love your recipes as does my husband and children. Everything I have tried so far has been wonderful and I have a family with discerning taste. Just last weekend, I made your macaroni and cheese. Thanks for sharing all of your great recipes with us!
I’m going to try these with a gluten-free flour blend – I’ll let you know how they turn out. My daughter’s sorority recruitment is next week and one of the things she misses on a gluten-free diet (she is a Celiac sufferer) is the yummy desserts that they serve at the sorority house. If this works, you can bet I’ll be passing it along so the chefs have it to use at the house. Alpha Chi Omega’s colors are red and olive green – she’s an AXΩ at Texas A&M.
p.s. Our Mom told us if we ever came home with a tattoo, she’d remove it with a Brillo pad – that thought has been in my mind for over 35 years (although we did own and ride motorcycles thanks to a free-wheeling Dad) Cheers!
Hi Ya Christy,
Just wanted to let you know about the glitch on the Taste of South magazine and wonder if anyone else had this problem.
I ordered the magazine thinking I would get the one with you on the cover – nope.
The magazine people took six weeks to send my first copy and it was the August issue. So now I’m not sure I want to continue the subscription.
I realize they are really busy but thought six weeks was a long time to wait.
Christy,
Thanks so much for the post! I didn’t get a chance to read until this morning, and it was a great way to start the day! I haven’t heard the “dying duck fit” expression in forever and it was so fun to hear. I hate to tell you but the “you know how to do XYZ?” comment doesn’t ever go away … sigh. I have two teens and still hear it on a regular basis :-):-) Rad Velvet in our house is reserved for Christmas too, but I just might have to make yours to compare recipes, right? I mean, we have to know before Christmas which one is better now don’t we, no sense waiting till the last minute …:-):-)
Christy
I am like your daughter and I have never had Red Velvet Cake. It looks beautiful, sounds delicious and I love cream cheese icing. So I think I am going to have to make your Grandmammas recipe. My mom taught us girls the same things as yours and like you we don’t have any tattos but I disobeyed and I ride a motorcycle and love it.