Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet cupcakes are the love child of chocolate cupcakes and vanilla cupcakes! They’re soft, moist, and velvety with a slight cocoa flavor, which when paired with my tangy and not overly sweet Cream Cheese Frosting are a match made in heaven! No wonder these are my favorite cupcake recipe ever!

Red Velvet Cupcakes are a strikingly deep red color and taste the love child of a chocolate and vanilla cupcake. They’re simple and easy to make and decorate, but somehow command the attention of everyone in the room when they sit on your dessert table.

How to get bright red cupcakes!

Use liquid food dye! Don’t use food gel, it’s not strong enough. When combined with the cocoa powder in the dry ingredients, these come out a deep red color. For a brighter red color use only 1 tbsp of cocoa powder.

Ingredients To Make Red Velvet Cupcakes

• Buttermilk – I would recommend using store bought buttermilk for this recipe. The result is better than making your own. However I have some info on how to make your own at home if you don’t have access to store bought in the frequently asked questions section of this post.
• Vegetable oil – The oil in this recipe helps give these cupcakes added moisture. You can use either vegetable oil or sunflower oil.
• Eggs – I used large eggs.
• Vanilla Extract – Always use good quality vanilla extract when baking, it makes a huge difference. I have a great recipe here for it if you’d like to try your own!
• Liquid Red Food Dye – For this recipe, you need to use liquid food dye. Not food gel. To get that bright red color, you would have to use the entire bottle of red food gel. Trust me, I’ve tried it.
• White Vinegar – the white vinegar reacts with the bicarb soda and helps give the better an extra boost in the oven as it bakes resulting in a fluffy cupcake! You can’t taste the vinegar.
• Cake Flour – Cake flour will help give you a nice soft cake. If you’d like to learn how to make your own cake flour, check out my recipe here! Alternatively, you can use all-purpose flour instead.
• Cocoa powder – I used unsweetened cocoa powder.
• Baking powder – helps your cupcake batter rise.
• Bicarb soda – helps give these cupcakes a fluffy texture as they bake and react with the vinegar.
• Salt – I used fine salt.
• Caster sugar – Caster sugar, also known as superfine sugar, is a fine sugar often used for cakes which helps give you a finer and more delicate cake crumb. If you don’t have it, you can use granulated sugar.

How to make Red Velvet Cupcakes!

1. Add the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, eggs, red food dye and vinegar to a jug and whisk together.
2. Add the remaining ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a whisk to mix until no dry ingredients are showing.
4. Scoop the batter into your cupcake tin lined with white cupcake liners, filling them up 3/4 of the way. Bake for 40 minutes on 120C.

5. Once baked, allow to cool down. Use a round or open star tip to pipe with Cream Cheese Frosting.

PRO Tips and Tricks For Recipe Success!

• Use a hand whisk to mix this batter to avoid overmixing!
• When mixing this batter, make sure you scrape down the bottom and sides to make sure everything is mixed in evenly.
• Take care when filling the cupcake liners. No more than 3/4 of the way.
• Using an ice-cream scoop allows you to fill each cupcake liner the same amount which will mean they all bake at the same time.

Frequently Asked Questions about Red Velvet Cupcakes!

Are Red Velvet Cupcakes chocolate flavored?

Slightly. They have cocoa powder added in them to help them get that nice deep red color. But they’re only lightly chocolate flavored. The result is a unique vanilla and light cocoa flavor, which when paired with my cream cheese frosting are simply divine!

How do I store these cupcakes?

You can make them up to two days in advance and keep them unfrosted in a container with the lid slightly off. This will prevent them from going too moist and coming away from the cupcake liners.

Store the frosted cupcakes in an airtight container for up to two days from the day they’re baked, in the fridge. I would not recommend freezing these cupcakes.

Can I turn this into a cake?

Yes! This recipe will make one 8-inch cake which can be then trimmed into two cake layers. Bake for the same amount of time. Alternatively, I have a great red velvet cake recipe here!

Why have my cupcakes spilled over in the oven?

This can happen for two reasons

You’ve overfilled your cupcake liners. If they cupcake batter spills out you can still save your cupcakes! Turn the cupcakes upside down and place on your bench. Use a round cookie cutter slightly bigger than the cupcake top to cut away the excess cupcake and back into a round shape.

What happens when you overmix your batter?

You want to make sure you don’t overmix your batter. Mix only until no dry ingredients are showing. When you overmix your batter it can cause your cupcakes to:

• Shrink as they cool down, which can cause your cupcake liners to separate from the cupcakes
• Make your cupcakes chewy and dense.

What’s changed from the original recipe?

I’ve added white vinegar to help give these cupcakes a boost in the oven. I’ve also added more buttermilk to make these even more moist!

Why are these baked on such a low temperature?

I use the long and slow baking method. That means a low temperature for a longer amount of time. The result is a flat top cupcake which is easier to frost that doesn’t over-bake and remains moist for days!

Can I make my own buttermilk?

To make your own buttermilk combine 250g (vegan, plant based or cow’s milk) and 5g white vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice. Whisk them together and let it sit for 5 minutes before using. It will look slightly curdled and split.

What Frostings can I use with these cupcakes?

These cupcakes pair perfectly with my Cream Cheese Frosting, Chocolate Buttercream or Chocolate Ganache!

Why is this recipe in grams and not cups?

The short answer is accuracy! It is far easier, more accurate and you get more consistent results when you measure ingredients by weight, especially in dessert and bread baking! I wrote all about this in my post about using digital kitchen scales!

Gave these Red Velvet Cupcakes a go? Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below! Hungry for more? Join me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok for more great recipes!

If you loved this recipe, check these out!

• Cream Cheese Frosting

• Vanilla Cupcakes

• Chocolate Cupcakes