These Red Velvet Cupcakes are soft, light, moist, and topped with an easy cream cheese frosting. Perfect for any occasion!
One of the most requested recipes I’ve had in the last couple of months has been for red velvet cupcakes. I love red velvet but it’s such a unique flavor and can be a little hard to get just right.
I spent a while testing different variations when it came to these cupcakes, from using just butter to just oil and also a combination of the two. I think it’s safe to say that more cupcakes went through my kitchen than I care to admit, but I finally landed on the perfect recipe.
These cupcakes are buttery, moist, soft, and taste just like a classic red velvet cupcake. I topped these cupcakes with a simple cream cheese frosting, but I’ve included some notes for a couple other options you can try too!
How To Make Red Velvet Cupcakes
You’ll start by whisking together the dry ingredients:
- Cake flour: Cake flour has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps create a lighter and softer cake. If you don’t have any cake flour on hand, I’ve included a note in the recipe for how to make your own. I do find that actual cake flour works best to create a soft cupcake, my favorite brand is Pillsbury Softasilk.
- Cocoa Powder: You’ll only be using 2 tablespoons of unsweetened natural cocoa powder in this recipe. It provides a little chocolate flavor, but it’s not too overpowering.
- Baking Soda + Salt: To help the cupcakes rise and for flavor!
Then you’ll mix up your wet ingredients:
- Butter + Sugar: I use unsalted butter and granulated sugar in this recipe. It’s important to cream together the butter and sugar for 4-5 minutes. This will incorporate more air into your cake batter and create a lighter cupcake.
- Egg + Vanilla Extract: You’ll be using one large egg and a teaspoon of pure vanilla extra. A room temperature egg is best, so just be sure to set it out ahead of time with your other ingredients.
- Distilled White Vinegar + Red Food Coloring: A little vinegar helps the cupcakes rise and enhances the color of the red cupcakes. I used liquid food coloring for these cupcakes.
- Oil: Wait, what?! I found that the cupcakes made with just butter were too dry and the cupcakes made with just oil were a little bland. The solution? I used a combination of butter and oil to give the cupcakes a buttery taste and keep them moist (just like my lemon blueberry bundt cake!).
- Buttermilk: It’s best to set the buttermilk out ahead of time to come to room temperature. Instead of mixing all of the buttermilk directly in with the rest of the wet ingredients, you’ll alternate mixing it in with the dry ingredients.
Once you’ve mixed up the cupcake batter, you’ll divide it evenly between 16 cupcake liners in muffin pans and bake them. Make sure you don’t overfill the cupcake liners, otherwise the cupcakes will overflow. I only fill my liners about halfway full, it won’t seem like much but the batter rises quite a bit in the oven.
I used my homemade cream cheese frosting for this recipe because it pairs perfectly with red velvet. If you’re looking for a different kind of frosting, my homemade vanilla buttercream or even chocolate buttercream would be delicious on these cupcakes too.
For the frosting, I used my Wilton 1M piping tip. I absolutely LOVE that piping tip and use it all of the time. You can use it to frost a tall swirl (like in these pictures) or make a simple rose design. I have a full tutorial for how to frost cupcakes here, super easy too!
Baking Tips For Red Velvet Cupcakes
- When measuring your cake flour, avoid scooping it from the container with your measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour around, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the back of a knife.
- Once you’ve whisked together the dry ingredients, I suggest sifting them. This will ensure that there are no lumps of cocoa powder in your cupcakes.
- Only fill your cupcake liners about halfway full. It won’t seem like much, but the batter will rise quite a bit as the cupcakes bake in the oven.
- You should be able to get about 16-17 cupcakes with this recipe. You can crumble up one of the extra cupcakes and sprinkle it on top of the frosting for a little extra decoration!
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the red velvet cupcakes:
- 1 and 1/3 cups (145 grams) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 2 tablespoons (10 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) oil canola or vegetable work well
- 1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk room temperature
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the red velvet cupcakes:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Line two standard 12-count muffin pans with 16 cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Then sift the dry ingredients to remove any lumps of cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. Add the egg and mix until fully combined, then mix in the oil, red food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Make sure to mix each addition until just combined and be careful not to over mix the batter.
- Evenly distribute the batter between all 16 cupcake liners in the prepared muffin pans, only filling each one about halfway full.
- Bake in separate batches at 350°F (177°C) for 15-18 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Carefully remove the cupcakes from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and mix for about 30 seconds-1 minute until well combined and smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Once the cupcakes have cooled completely, pipe the frosting on top.
Hi, Danielle!
I was wondering, what is the amount of cream cheese needed in grams? ☺️
Thanks!
It’s 226 grams 🙂
is cake flour same as ‘self raising flour?
No, cake flour is finely milled flour with a lower protein content. Self-rising flour is just all-purpose flour with baking powder and salt added to it.
Hi
I was wondering if I don’t have buttermilk can and how do I make it at home and if not what can I substitute it for
I have a buttermilk substitute in the recipe notes 🙂
If we were to make these mini cupcakes, how long would you recommend baking for?
About 9-13 minutes.
Is the baking time still 9-13 minutes for mini vanilla and chocolate cupcakes?
Yes, for mini cupcakes that’s usually about how long they take to bake.
I’m not a fan of Red Velvet Cake; but I tried this recipe today and was more than pleasantly surprised
The recipe is very easy to follow; ingredients blend well and the flavor was amazing, and, for once; I actually tasted the chocolate
This is official my new go-to
BEST RED VELVET CUPCAKE RECIPE “EVER”…!!!
There has been a chemical and bitter taste at the end..I made so many ..now had to throw ..never had any problems with your other recipes.
It was for my daughter’s kindergarten..there 60 of them
Sorry to hear that, Sonika, that definitely should not have happened. Did you make any adjustments to the recipe and double-check the ingredients? Did you make sure to use baking soda and not baking powder too?
It could be the dye used.. try a gel food coloring next time
Absolutely amazing! I followed the recipe hoping for a nice treat and could not be more happy about the taste. 10/10, I would definitely recommend!
The instructions were very well written and easy to follow, I will be making these again! 🙂
So glad you liked the cupcakes, Kathryn!
Best red velvet cupcakes ever. And trust me I’ve tried one too many a recipe out there. These rose perfectly and the taste was immaculate. I’d go with 2/3 batter in a cup as I love my cupcakes to rise a bit over the liner.
This didn’t turn out as well as I’d hoped. But I’m not a super accomplished baker. So wondering what went wrong that the cupcakes seem to stick to the cupcake liner and some of the cupcakes caved in—a couple look like cupcake donuts.
The only thing I can think is that the self-described “cake flour” which was not easy to find at all, btw. Was not the cake flour you’re talking about and actually just regular flour w baking powder and salt pre-added.
Sorry you had trouble with the cupcakes, Josh. Cake flour does not have baking powder or salt added to it. I’m thinking you may have accidentally used self-rising flour instead and the extra baking powder in the flour was too much leavening for the cupcakes which caused them to cave/collapse. For the cake flour, I recommend Pillsbury Softasilk or Swansdown cake flour, they both work great in this recipe. Hope that helps!
Hi Danielle,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made a small batch of eight cupcakes last night. They came out just perfect. My boys loved it so much that I am making 16 cupcakes again today. I have followed the recipe exactly as you have instructed. I didn’t have cake flour or buttermilk so I used the substitutes following your notes at the end of the recipe. You are genius! Thank you.
So glad the cupcakes turned out great for you!
Hi! I wanted to make some of this batter into Mini Cupcakes, if so, do I bake at the same temperature? How long should I bake? And do I still fill the mini cups 1/2-2/3 full? Thank you!
You can bake them at the same temperature, I would guess 10-14 minutes. I would only fill them about halfway full too. Hope that helps!
Will these cupcakes taste just as good with vanilla buttercream?
Will also standard all purpose flour work fine?
I think so! I prefer the cream cheese because it’s a little tangier and not as sweet, but they’ll still taste just fine. If you only have all-purpose flour, I would recommend using my cake flour substitute in the recipe notes.
Thanks for this recipe. They tastes delicious and I’m not a fan of any kind of cake!
Here’s the but though… They didn’t come out red….
Did you use liquid food coloring or make any adjustments to the recipe?
Helo pls what recipe can I use for an 8inch redvelvet cake and your chocolate cake too
You could use this recipe to make one 8-inch cake layer. For a layered cake, you can use my red velvet cake recipe.
Can i make these cupcakes into a cake?
Yes, absolutely! This recipe will make one 8 or 9-inch cake layer, for a layered cake you can use my red velvet cake recipe here.
What kind of oil do you recommend using?
Vegetable, canola, or coconut oil all work well! If using coconut oil, make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature so it doesn’t solidify.
Hi, I like this recipe and would like to try it. Thanks for sharing, please can I use lemon juice in place of the white veniger?
That should be fine!
This recipe is amazing!!! My only issue is that the cupcake is extremely soft, falling apart soft. I am a very experienced baker, not sure why that’s happening
Hi, Aria! Did you make any adjustments to the recipe?
I’m not sure what went wrong here, I used all the proper ingredients in the proper amounts.
I even measured how much went into each cup.
The results were highly inconsistent. I had a couple that were lovely, but most deflated or didn’t rise well. (My baking soda is fresh too)! A lot of them, despite having been in the over for 18 min, while a toothpick came out clean, there was undercooked batter on the edges and bottom (with no consistency as to which side)!
Not saying my results are typical, but as a professional chef and moderately talented baker, I’m just concerned and baffled.
Sorry you had trouble with the recipe, Joe. I’m wondering if the dry ingredients may not have been thoroughly combined with the wet ingredients? If you made any adjustments to the recipe, like using a different method of mixing the ingredients, that could have caused that to happen as well.
hi.can i make just half of the recipe? do I just need to half the ingredients. thanks so much this recipe works on my business. 🙂
It should be fine to just half all of the ingredients. Hope you enjoy the cupcakes!
Made these for Valentines Day. Followed the recipe exactly, including the recommendations. They turned out perfect! I put them in the fridge overnight to bring to work the next morning. They stayed moist and were great! Will be making again and again!!
Going to make these in a bit for my dinner party tonight. Thinking of making them into mini red velvet cakes using either a jelly roll pan or jumbo muffin pans filled 1/3 way up. Any suggestions?
I haven’t tried it, but I think that should be fine! I’m not sure on baking time, but I would just keep an eye on them and test them with a toothpick to make sure they’re done.
Got a new kitchen aid mix stand and my first recipe to try to make were these red velvet cupcakes!! It was my first time baking in about 10 years so I was so happy when they came out. They were delicious, moist, airy. I love that they weren’t too sweet either.
The only thing I substituted was the food coloring. I used powdered food coloring instead of liquid so the color didn’t come out right. Also, not all the cupcakes baked evenly. Looks like some rose faster in some areas or were a little under cooked. For my first time, I’m still extremely proud and happy at how they turned out. Will be sharing with friends and family for the real taste test.
Question – if I wanted to make any substitutes to reduce the fat and/or sugar, what would they be? Any suggestions/recommendations? I used all the ingredients listed.
So glad you liked the cupcakes, Shelley! If some were rising faster than others, it could be that the wet or dry ingredients weren’t fully combined or your oven may have some hot spots. I haven’t tried reducing the fat in these cupcakes, but you could probably reduce the sugar slightly – about 1/4 cup.
I these Red Velvet cupcakes for Valentines Day and it was a HUGE success!!
I was wondering, can I used the same ingredients, minus the red icing colour, to make chocolate cupcakes?
Thanks!
So glad you liked the cupcakes! I actually have a chocolate cupcake recipe here.
Thanks! 🙂
Hi Danielle,
I made this recipe 3 times already. Always a huge success. However, I’m having a lot of difficulties with the frosting. It’s to soft/runny. It leaks on the cupcakes. I’ve been reading different recipes and some say not to over beat the cream cheese+butter. Do you agree?
Also, what piping tip did you use ? I used the 1M from Wilton and it was a mess last time. The frosting was coming out WEIRD! Please help me!😩
Did you make sure to use a block or brick of cream cheese? If you use the spread in a tub it can cause the frosting to be really runny.
Made these today and must say it was moist and delicious. Only issue is that they were kinda stuck to the liner? Is there something I could do differently?
Hi, Lyssa! I’m not quite sure why they would be sticking. Did you use regular paper liners or something different? And did you make any adjustments to the recipe?
Hi I just want to know if I can use lemon as well instead of the distilled white vinegar?
That would be fine.
Hi Danielle.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. The cupcakes look amazing and I am eager to try them. However I only have dutch processed cocoa. Can I use it instead of natural cocoa?
Regards,
Antoinet
Hi, Antoinet! I would recommend sticking with natural cocoa. Dutch-processed is less acidic and the cupcakes may not rise correctly if you use it.
Hi Danielle, thank you very much for this recipe. My cup cakes turned out very well. I made my own buttermilk using lemon juice and used white wine vinegar because that’s the only kind I have in my pantry. I used natural cocoa. This was my second attempt to bake red velvet cake. The first one (not your recipe) was a total failure. This time around, I followed you instructions to the letter and avoided over beating the moment the flour mixture was poured into the wet mixture. I was worried that the second batch will not rise because it was sitting there for 18 minutes waiting, but the second batch was as good as the first. They were all moist and fluffy not dense. I reduced my temp to 165c and they were cooked in 18 minutes. Their top were all even, no sinking in the middle. They were perfect. I had left-over chocolate buttercream which I used for frosting. I was so proud of my successful bake that I shared the cakes with my next-door neighbour and my sister-in-law.
So glad the cupcakes turned out great for you, Michelle!
Hi Danielle!
Thank you so much for the recipe. I baked for the first time today and tried your recipe! I was so excited I bought mixer bowl etc. 😂
It’s delicious, however,
1. My cupcake turns out brown instead of red. I put 2 tbsp cocoa powder and put food coloring like you said.. maybe I needed to put more?
2. It’s delicious however my cupcakes are a bit crumbly on the bottom. So crumbly some of them just fell apart in my hand 😰 do you know what’s wrong 😭
Thank you Danielle in advance for your answer, and thank you for motivating a first time baker like me!!
Fammina
Did you use liquid food coloring? And did you make any adjustments to the recipe like using different ingredients or methods of mixing?
Made these on the weekend for my family. Great recipe they all love them.
Followed the recipie exactly and made sure that I mixed everything in the correct order etc and they dipped after baking really badly and still seemed almost underdone despite a toothpick coming out clean. I’m unsure of what went wrong as I’m not inexperienced and make cupcakes regularly, almost every week and have never had this issue?
Sorry you had trouble with the recipe, Abbie. Did you make any adjustments and did you make sure to use cake flour too?
The recipe was easy to follow which I always appreciate. My cupcakes came out well but my frosting was a bit soft and didn’t hold shape very well. Now that I’ve divulged further I see your recipe for cream cheese frosting called for brick cream cheese. The container I used may have been a bit too soft in consistency. Eventually I will get it right lol
I do recommend using a block/brick of cream cheese for the frosting, the tubs have ingredients added to them to make the cream cheese spreadable (which makes the frosting runnier). I’m glad they still turned out okay for you though!
I dont really have cornstarch at home any subsitute on how to make cake flour without cornstarch! Please help
You do need the cornstarch to make the cake flour substitute. You could probably use just all-purpose flour and slightly reduce the amount, but cake flour would really be best.
If im using all purpose flour would the cupcakes would just be fine and can you tell me the zmount too … also thankyou in advance ❤
I mean would the cupcakes be just like yours and can you tell me the amount too?
They probably won’t rise quite as good. If you try it, a good rule of thumb for substituting all-purpose for cake flour is to use 2 tablespoons less per cup of cake flour. You may want to use about 2.5-3 tablespoons less flour if you use all-purpose.