Easy Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe
Whether you're searching for a festive holiday dessert or a fun treat to serve for Valentine's Day, you can't go wrong with this easy red velvet cupcake recipe! A moist and tender cake topped with tangy cream cheese buttercream and chocolate snowflakes on top, this colorful snack is the perfect option for just about any occasion! With this simple recipe, you can prepare a bakery-style treat to impress your friends and family with just a few minutes of prep work.
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What Do I Need to Make This Easy Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe?
With this easy dessert recipe, you get all the moisture, texture, vibrant hue, and subtle cocoa flavor as a full-size cake - all in an easy to eat treat! And the best part is that you can whip them up with just a few simple pantry ingredients. To make these festive Christmas cupcakes, you'll need:
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Cocoa powder
- Sugar
- Butter
- Red gel food coloring
- Buttermilk
- Oil
- Cream cheese
- Powdered sugar
- White chocolate (optional)
- Blue chocolate chips (optional)
How Do I Make This Easy Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe?
Making homemade cupcakes for the holidays is easier than you think! With this simple recipe for red velvet treats, you can prepare a colorful dessert to impress your guests. All you have to do is follow these quick and easy steps.
Step One: Mix the Dry Ingredients
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then line a cupcake pan with liners. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to a medium bowl. Whisk the ingredients together until all the dry ingredients are well blended, then set the bowl aside.
Step Two: Prep the Wet Ingredients
In a separate bowl, beat the room-temperature butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Next, add the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Try not to overmix the batter, scraping the sides as needed while mixing. Once all the wet ingredients are combined, add the red gel food coloring, one drop at a time, until the desired color is reached. Continue mixing until no streaks appear.
Step Three: Combine the Wet and Dry Ingredients
Pour half the dry ingredients into a sifter and sift them into the butter mixture and half of the milk. Beat the ingredients together until well mixed, then sift the remaining dry ingredients into the batter with the remaining milk. Beat until smooth and well combined. Finish by adding the oil and beating until mixed.
Step Four: Bake the Cupcakes
Once all the ingredients have been added, spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling each cup around ⅔ of the way full. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the cake springs back to the touch. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
Step Five: Prepare the Icing
While the cupcakes are cooling, make the cream cheese frosting by creaming the butter quickly for around two minutes until it's light and fluffy. Add the room-temperature cream cheese, vanilla extract, and salt to the butter. Beat the ingredients until they're well combined, then scrape down the bowl. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing until the icing is light and fluffy.
Step Six: Make the Chocolate Snowflakes
Melt the chocolate in 20-second intervals in the microwave, stirring between intervals. Transfer the melted chocolate to a piping bag and cut off the top of the bag to pipe a design. Pipe the chocolate into snowflake shapes using a snowflake stencil or drawing under parchment paper. Place the chocolate snowflakes in the freezer for 20 minutes to set, then carefully remove with a spatula.
Step Seven: Decorate the Cupcakes
When the cupcakes are fully cooled, pipe the cream cheese icing over the top of each cake. Place the chocolate snowflakes on top of the cupcakes before serving.
Can I Replace the Buttermilk?
The creamy texture and sour taste of buttermilk is what gives red velvet cake its classic flavor. That means it's not a good idea to leave it out of your recipe. Luckily, it's easy to make your own buttermilk if you don't have any on hand!
To make your buttermilk, simply combine 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice with one cup of whole milk. Whisk the ingredients together, then allow them to sit at room temperature for a few minutes until the milk begins to curdle.
Can I Make Red Velvet Cupcakes in Advance?
These delicious treats are perfect for so many occasions. And one of the best parts about this recipe is that it can easily be made in advance. You can bake and decorate your cupcakes up to one day ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve them.
If you want to prep the desserts more than one day in advance, you can bake the cupcakes up to three days ahead of time and store them in an airtight container. Then, decorate the baked cupcakes just before serving.
How Do You Store Red Velvet Cupcakes?
Since the cupcakes are decorated with cream cheese frosting, they should be stored in the refrigerator. You can keep your leftovers in the fridge for up to one week. Store them in an airtight container to keep the icing and cake from drying out.
The uniced cupcakes can also be stored in the freezer for up to three months. Transfer them to a freezer-safe container to prevent freezer burn. When you're ready to serve the cupcakes, allow them to thaw at room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before adding the icing.
Easy Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 11 Tablespoons butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Red gel coloring
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
Frosting
- 1 ¼ cups cream cheese softened
- 14 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 ⅔ cups powdered sugar
Chocolate Snowflakes (optional)
- ¼ cup white chocolate melts
- ¼ cup light blue chocolate melts or blue food gel
Instructions
Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the cupcake liners in the cupcake pans.
- In a medium bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda together. Add the salt and give it a whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, add the room temperature butter and sugar. Mix with an electric mixer until combined and the butter is smooth.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, and continue with the vanilla. Mix until combined. Try not to overmix, scraping the bowl down as needed.
- Mix in the red gel coloring one drop at a time until the desired color is reached.
- Sift in half of the dry ingredients and add in the half of the milk. Mix until combined and then continue by sifting the rest of the dry ingredients and pour in the rest of the milk. Mix again until combined.
- Add in the oil and mix, scraping the bowl down as needed.
- Distribute the batter evenly into cupcake papers, filling each paper about ⅔ full.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until it springs back to the touch. Let cool for a few minutes in the pans then remove and cool completely on a wire rack.
Frosting:
- In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter on medium speed until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Add the room temperature cream cheese, vanilla, and salt to the creamed butter. Beat together on medium speed until well combined. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time. Mix until combined.
- Transfer the buttercream to a piping bag fitted with a round tip and pipe large dollops on top of each cooled cupcake.
- Optional:
Chocolate Snowflakes: (optional)
- Take a snowflake stencil or drawing and place it under parchment paper.
- Gently melt the chocolate in 20 second intervals in the microwave. Make sure it doesn’t burn.
- Pipe the chocolate onto the template.
- Place in the freezer for at least 20 minutes to set. Remove with a spatula carefully and set on the cupcakes.
