Rich in color and flavor, these moist red velvet cupcakes are topped with a slightly sweet, tangy cream cheese frosting that’s perfect for any occasion!
My neighbor approached me asking if I would be willing to make cupcakes for her daughter’s surprise baby shower. “Cupcakes that won’t just be sitting around the house, asking for me to eat them all? Umyes.”
Then she asked if I would make ½ vanilla and ½ chocolate, with a mix of pink and blue frosting. “That’s adorable, and easy. Of course!”
And then she told me her daughter’s wedding cake was her favorite, red velvet and I jumped at the chance to make what is also my favorite cake.
“LET ME MAKE RED VELVET INSTEAD!”
These are less dense than red velvet cake
I made these a little less dense than your normal red velvet cake. How, you ask? By using melted butter instead of oil, and only two eggs instead of three. I really prefer it that way when they’re in cupcake form – I don’t want a heavy, oily cupcakes where wrapper is soaked through. Gross.
While I’m sure they didn’t hold a candle to the professional cake her daughter had on her wedding day, I hope these were acceptable. I think if nothing else, they were cute enough. Just look at them!
How cute are the little cupcake picks? They’re the perfect, adorable addition to a baby shower. The mommy-to-be isn’t finding out if it’s a boy or a girl until the day it arrives, so the different color choices worked out well to mix things up.
I didn’t have any fun colored cupcake wrappers around (sadface), so I just had to stick with the basic white. But since they’re red velvet cake I don’t mind that much – red velvet is just so pretty on its own.
Congratulations to the soon-to-be new parents!
After you’ve made this recipe, please consider coming back to share your experience with others by leaving a comment below with a star rating!
Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring, more if desired
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two muffin pans with 18 liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together cake flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Set aside.2 cups cake flour | 1 ½ cups sugar | ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder | 1 teaspoon salt | 1 teaspoon baking soda
- In another large bowl, combine eggs, butter, buttermilk, vinegar and vanilla extract.2 large eggs | 1 cup unsalted butter | 1 cup buttermilk | 1 teaspoon white vinegar | 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Add flour mixture to wet mixture and beat on medium-high speed until mostly combined.
- Add food coloring to reach your desired color of red, and beat again until well combined.2 tablespoons red food coloring
- In your prepared pan, fill cupcake liners ¾ full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Place on wire rack to cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- In a large bowl, combine cream cheese and butter and beat on medium/high speed until smooth.4 ounces cream cheese | 4 ounces unsalted butter
- Add vanilla extract. Now reduce the mixer speed to a low and gradually add powdered sugar until frosting forms stiff peaks. Taste test – if you want it sweeter, add more powdered sugar. If you want less cream cheese flavor and more vanilla, add a little more vanilla extract.1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract | 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- If you want to color the frosting, now’s the time to do it. I recommend using soft gel paste food coloring as it doesn’t thin out your frosting the way normal food coloring gel does. Add a drop of color at a time and beat well until you reach the desired color. If you want to do multiple colors, just divide out your frosting into different bowls and beat the desired color into each individually.
- Frost cupcakes generously and enjoy!
Marilyn
My daughter and I made these last weekend. They turned out Amazing. We are making them again soon for my other daughters Baby Shower.
Leslie Kiszka
That’s wonderful to hear, thank you so much for sharing your feedback! (and congrats to your daughter!)
Jenessa
Beautiful photos, looks so yummy!
XO JNESS
jenessasheffield
lesliehaasch
Thank you, Jenessa!
Andrea
These look delicious and fun! Love the toping!
http://fabuloustorture.blogspot.com
lesliehaasch
Thank you – I thought they were pretty darn adorable myself!
Joanne
These were declicious and so pretty on our table as a centerpiece. A big hit with all. Thanks Leslie
lesliehaasch
I’m so glad they were a hit – they were so much fun to decorate!