The BEST Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting - I'm so excited to finally be sharing one of my absolute favorite cupcake recipes with you.
When I was young, I had never heard of, or seen, a red velvet cupcake. It wasn't until I was an adult when I first discovered red velvet cake. Honestly, I think I first saw a red velvet cake on an episode of Paula Deen on T.V. and I had to try this interesting cake right away.
From the moment I first tasted red velvet cake, it instantly became my favorite and is still, to this day, my favorite flavor of cake.
There was a time when I was making a new red velvet cake recipe every weekend. I had to make up for lost time, right? I tried recipe after recipe and none compared to this one. It is a light cake with a beautiful red color and a slight chocolate flavor with a little tang from the buttermilk. Red velvet cake is not meant to have a super strong chocolate flavor.
I top these cupcakes with my go-to cream cheese frosting recipe. I prefer my cream cheese frosting to have more butter than cream cheese, but if you like a super strong cream cheese flavor, you can double the cream cheese and cut the amount of butter called for in half.
This has been my go-to red velvet cupcake recipe for years and years and I'm sure it will become your favorite too.
The BEST Red Velvet Cupcakes
adapted from: Magnolia Bakery
- 3 1/3 c. cake flour (not self-rising)
- 3/4 c. (12 Tbl.) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 1/4 c. sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 Tbl. liquid red food coloring
- 3 Tbl. unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 c. buttermilk
- 1 1/2 tsp. white vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with paper liners and spray with cooking spray; set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar and mix on medium speed until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk the food coloring, cocoa powder and vanilla together; add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix well. Stir the salt into the buttermilk and add to the batter in three parts, alternating with the cake flour, starting and ending with flour. In a small bowl, stir together the vinegar and baking soda; add to the batter and mix well.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full with batter and bake in preheated oven for 17-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not over bake. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Cool completely and top with Cream Cheese Frosting. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cupcakes.
Read full recipe at eatcakefordinner.net