Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting — If you’ve ever wanted to make red velvet cupcakes from scratch that are as good as those you’d find in a bakery, try this hassle-free recipe!
Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes
Red velvet cake and cupcakes are so popular, but so many problems tend to plague them. They’re either from a box, which feels like cheating, or they’re from scratch but are horribly dry, and you need a mixer and will dirty every bowl in your kitchen in the process.
These are the best red velvet cupcakes I’ve ever had, and the easiest recipe you’ll ever find. If you’ve ever wanted to make red velvet cupcakes from scratch that are as good as those you’d find in a bakery, try this hassle-free recipe. You’ll come out looking like a superhero baker to anyone you serve them to.
They’re made in one bowl, no mixer, no creaming ingredients, and it’s a cupcake batter that’s more like a muffin batter. Whisk together wet ingredients, fold in the dry, pour into liners, and bake. Five minutes of active work never tasted so good.
My issue with most red velvet cakes and cupcakes is that they’re dry, and dry anything just isn’t worth the calories. Why bother?
These are incredibly moist from the trifecta of moistening and tenderizing ingredients: oil, buttermilk, and Greek yogurt. I stopped at nothing to make sure they weren’t dry.
It took me quite a few batches of cupcakes to perfect this recipe. When people think that recipe development isn’t a big deal and you just throw things in a pan and it’ll work out, well, sometimes you get lucky, but most times it’s not that easy, especially for a recipe like this.
The same can be said for questions I get along the lines of, “Can I substitute coconut sugar for granulated sugar,” or “Can I use whole wheat pastry flour for all-purpose?” Well, maybe you can, and please let me know how that works for you.
Determining if I should use 1 egg, one egg plus yolk, or two eggs; butter or oil and if butter, should it be melted or creamed; buttermilk or just regular milk/cream; to include Greek yogurt or sour cream and if so, how much; how much cocoa powder gives enough pop of chocolate; what kind of leavener to use (baking soda or powder); one of each, or only one or the other, and which one; cake flour or all-purpose.
The choices can be overwhelming, but I’ve done the legwork, and the cupcakes and red velvet cake frosting are total keepers.
For baked goods that I want to soft, springy, and bouncy, like cakes, cupcakes, and muffins, I generally prefer using oil to butter because oil does a better job keeping things soft and moist.
The same can be said for buttermilk. It does a fabulous job of tenderizing and softening the texture and crumb of breads and cakes, and when in doubt, I always opt for buttermilk over plain milk or cream.
I added a couple hearty dollops of vanilla Greek yogurt. You could probably use a bit more buttermilk if you don’t keep Greek yogurt on hand, but yogurt is thicker and sweeter than buttermilk, so it makes the batter a little thicker and sweeter, and helps the cupcakes stay sweet and soft.
Many recipes for red velvet aren’t chocolaty enough. While these aren’t as chocolaty as chocolate cupcakes, the chocolate flavor is pleasantly noticeable.
They rise beautifully to the point I was worried they were rising a little too well. I filled my liners to a solid three-quarters full (this is a non-issue if you only fill to 2/3-full), but thankfully they stay contained, and the resulting cupcakes and hearty and full, not skimpy, wimpy, little cupcakes that no one reaches for.
I also made a one-bowl, no-mixer vanilla cream cheese frosting for the red velvet cake cupcakes that I simply spread on.
These homemade red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are soft, tender, springy, and moist. There’s just enough chocolate flavor to satisfy your chocolate cravings, without being overdone.
The smooth, rich homemade cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to the cupcakes, and adds the right amount of zip and tang.
So good, so easy, so soft, fluffy, and moist. Perfect for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or any old Tuesday.
What’s in Red Velvet Cupcakes?
To make the red velvet cupcakes, you’ll need:
- Egg
- Granulated sugar
- Buttermilk
- Canola oil
- Vanilla Greek yogurt
- Vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Unsweetened cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Red food coloring
And to make the red velvet cake frosting, you’ll need:
- Cream cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioners’ sugar
- Milk
How to Make Red Velvet Cupcakes
Simply whisk together the wet ingredients, then stir in the dry ingredients. Add in just enough food coloring to turn the batter red.
Fill your muffin cups 3/4 full, then bake the red velvet cupcakes until risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
While the red velvet cupcakes cool, make the homemade cream cheese frosting. If your frosting is too thick, add a splash of cream or milk to gradually thin it out.
Frost the cooled cupcakes with the red velvet cake frosting and optionally garnish with sanding sugar.
Is There a Buttermilk Substitute I Can Use?
If you’re the type of person who doesn’t tend to keep buttermilk on hand, you can make your own by adding about 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup regular milk, letting it stand 10 minutes to curdle, and then use as indicated.
Or, you can buy a tub of Powdered Buttermilk and it’s shelf stable for years. It’s the perfect solution for that once-in-a-blue moon recipe you make that calls for buttermilk.
Can I Make a Red Velvet Cake Instead of Cupcakes?
Although I haven’t tried it, I surmise this cupcake batter could be used as cake batter. I’m guessing a 9-inch square cake (not a 9-inch round pan because they’re smaller and it could overflow) would be about right.
Can I Freeze Cupcakes?
Yes, you can bake these red velvet cupcakes and freeze them for later. I recommend freezing just the cupcakes and making a fresh batch of cream cheese frosting when you’re ready to thaw and enjoy them.
How to Store Red Velvet Cupcakes
The homemade red velvet cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. I personally am comfortable storing cream cheese-frosted items at room temperature, but if you prefer to store in the fridge, that’s fine. Just note that the fridge will dry the cupcakes out much more quickly.
Tips for Making Red Velvet Cupcakes
The batter makes enough for about 14 cupcakes, but because I have a small oven, I can only fit one 12-cup muffin pan in my oven at a time. The remedy is to either lick the bowl (I’m still alive after a lifetime of raw dough and batter eating); discard the batter (that’s criminal), or bake an adorable mini loaf in a mini loaf pan that fits on the same oven rack as the muffin pan (score!).
I use my mini pans all the time for a 13th or 14th cupcake, extra muffin batter, or for mini cakes. Best money you’ll spend this year and you get 4 mini pans for $10 bucks.
I used light cream cheese, which makes frosting softer and runnier. If you want to pipe your frosting on, use full-fat. However, given that this is an easy, breezy, one-bowl, no-mixer cupcake batter, to break out a piping bag seems like a cruel trick.
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Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cupcakes
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup buttermilk, or Powdered Buttermilk, use 2 1/2 tablespoons + 2/3 cup water
- ½ cup canola oil
- 2 tablespoons vanilla Greek yogurt, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream may be substituted
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 to 2 tablespoons red food coloring, or as needed
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup cream cheese, softened (I used Trader Joe’s soft spreadable light)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 to 2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, or as necessary
- splash cream or milk, only if necessary
- sanding sugar or sprinkles, optional for garnishing
Instructions
- Make the Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan with paper liners; set aside. You will likely have batter for a 13th or 14th cupcake, and I baked it in this cooking-sprayed mini loaf pan because my oven is small and that setup works; discard extra batter if that’s easier.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients, through vanilla, until smooth.
- Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, optional salt, and whisk until just combined; don’t overmix.
- Carefully whisk in the food coloring, making sure to add only as much as necessary to color the batter a deep shade of red; adding more than necessary can leave an aftertaste.
- Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, place about 2 heaping tablespoons of batter per cupcake into each of the 12 cavities so they’re solidly 3/4-full. I poured the excess batter into a mini loaf pan.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, or until domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter; don’t overbake. My cupcakes were on the large side of normal because I generously filled liners to 3/4-full, and they took exactly 20 minutes. If yours are filled more shallow, start checking at 18 minutes.
- Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing. I baked the mini loaf for 20 minutes. While cupcakes cool, make the frosting.
- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine first 3 ingredients in a large mixing bowl, add about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, and whisk to combine or beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Continue adding sugar until desired frosting consistency is reached. If you add too much sugar and need to thin frosting out, add a splash of cream. Because I used light cream cheese, the frosting stayed on the runnier side. If you want frosting thick enough to pipe, do not use light cream cheese.
- Add 2 to 3 tablespoons frosting to the top of each cupcake and smooth with a knife. Optionally transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost the cooled cupcakes. I like the Wilton 1M tip for cupcakes.
- Optionally, garnish each cupcake with a sprinkle of sanding sugar or pinch of sprinkles.
Notes
- You may have a small amount of frosting left over. It will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
- Cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. I personally am comfortable storing cream cheese-frosted items at room temp, but if you prefer to store in the fridge, that’s fine, but note the fridge will dry cupcakes out much more quickly.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Valentine’s Day Recipes:
Red Velvet Chocolate-Swirled Brownie Bars — These easy, no-mixer brownie bars are in between a bar and a brownie. Not supremely fudgy to give them true brownie status, but much fudgier and richer than your typical bar, and not cakey!
Easy Chocolate Pots de Creme – No-bake, no-cook, and made in a blender in 5 minutes!! The PERFECT dessert! Rich, decadent, a chocolate lover’s dream, perfect for special occasions, and guaranteed to impress!!
Red Velvet Poke Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — The cake is fast, easy, and it’s a poke cake so it’s automatically super soft and moist.
Soft Frosted Valentine’s Heart Cookies — These easy cookies are soft, chewy, dense, made in one bowl, and you don’t have to roll them out.
Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies — These chocolate chip red velvet cookies have a secret ingredient — cake mix! These cookies are super ooey gooey and ultra rich!
Valentine’s Day Vanilla Pudding Sugar Cookie Bars – A sugar cookie crust topped with creamy vanilla pudding, whipped topping, and sprinkles!! A luscious and EASY Valentine’s Day dessert that will put everyone in festive spirits!!
The Best and Easiest Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes — One bowl, no mixer, so easy! The warm, gooey, fudgy chocolate lava cake center is heavenly! Better than any restaurant versions! Best chocolate cake EVER!!
Valentine’s Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars – Sugar cookie bars are so much FASTER AND EASIER than making sugar cookies!! The sprinkles and tangy cream cheese frosting help to make the bars a PERFECT Valentine’s Day treat!!
Recipe originally published November 18, 2013 and republished January 29, 2020 with updated text.
Extreme kudos to you, Averie… I happened upon your page googling on a good red velvet recipe..I made about 140 mini cuppies yesterday for a birthday party and a wedding reception earlier today… I’m left with just empty cases and the dirty containers they were carried in originally.. all my family and friends raved about them saying they were indeed flavourful, moist and the cream cheese were a great pairing to the cupcakes… They demanded jumbo-sized cupcakes for next gathering… Uh oh, what have you got me into??
I can’t believe you made 140 of these yesterday! Mini food is so fussy and putzy…takes forever. You’re a SAINT! Glad the recipe was a big hit with everyone you shared the cupcakes with!
Hi.. is it ok if I substitute the buttermilk with plain yoghurt instead? or the changes will affect the texture of the cake?
by the way the cupcakes looks wonderful:)
I haven’t tried deviating from the recipe after getting it just the way I want it (perfect!) so if you start changing things, I don’t know exactly what will happen. LMK how it goes!
Thank you for the recipe. I have been baking for a while now and I NEVER get the correct red velvet cupcakes! I am baking some red velvet cakes next week and I am already a nervous wreck. Thank you for explaining your recipe properly; I know it must have taken ages!!! I have already bookmarked this page ready to go for this recipe next week. Will surely let you know how it goes. Just a quick question? For the red food colouring, is it okay to use gel food colouring? PS: I also bookmarked your yellow cupcake recipe. It looked so gorgeous! That’s another recipe I am going to try soon. You are a fantastic baker and photographer! Keep it up.
Much love from England
Yes you can use any red food coloring that you know gives you good results, just keep adding it until you get the perfect shade that you like.
And thanks for wanting to try these – LMK how it goes (and yes, it did take a long time to nail these!)
OMG!!! I just tried the recipe now! it was AMAZING!!!!! Thank you so much. I am actually not a fan of cakes but I didn’t realise when I ate 5 cupcakes at a go!!! They were just too delicious. The gel food colouring worked as well. I used Sugar flair gel concentrated paste and I used just a teaspoon. It came out perfect. Thank you Thank you Thank you and Thank you. I just needed some advice on how to properly measure out 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda. I had a bit of trouble there. Should I just use 1/2 teaspoon? Thank you once again.
Glad you love them! 3/4 teaspoon – I just fill a 1 tsp measure on the skimpy side. Easy! (and no, you don’t want to just use 1/2 tsp; the results won’t be the same)
Averie, my twins are turning nine. Two questions – how is red velvet different from chocolate cake? Not sure if they like red or the taste. Second, could I make as a cake instead of cupcakes? Thanks, we just had vegan pumpkin muffins yesterday (again)!
It’s not as chocolaty as chocolate cake. I’m sure you could bake it as a cake, although I haven’t done it that way so cannot off the top of my head suggest a pan size or baking time. Good luck!
Thanks for sharing this delicious receipe. My grandson will be 11 on 1/1/14 and he requested red velvet cupcakes for His birthday. I searched the web and decided on your beautiful receipe. So glad I did. I sampled one and they are really great. Thanks for your hard work.
Thanks for trying these, Sylvia! Happy bday to your grandson and what an amazing grandma you are to bake cupcakes for him and so happy you’re pleased with these!
OMG they turned out to be AHMAZING
I’m so happy to hear that, Mariyam! Thanks for trying the recipe and glad you’re so happy!
Hi. I was looking to try these as they sound like they’re popular but I was just wondering is the recipe in metric or imperial? No good if its imperial. Thanks
Feel free to convert the measurements to your liking
https://www.jsward.com/cooking/conversion.shtml
I baked them in an 8inch round pan yesterday! It was so moist and fluffy. Thankyou for the recipe <3 love from Brunei Darussalam! (Google it ) hehe
Oh I’m so glad to hear it worked out as an 8-inch round cake and that it was so moist & fluffy! Thanks for LMK!
Averie, these look crazy good, like the best cupcakes I have ever seen good! gotta have them now good
Well that’s some super high praise – thank you! :)
This is stunning, Averie! And you tell em like it is on the recipe development — it is NO JOKE!! I love how thorough you are with your recipes, you’ve got baking down to a true art. And the discussions of oil v. butter, milk v. buttermilk, low-fat cream cheese etc are spectacular. Funny that you mention low-fat cream cheese makes frosting runnier — I had a comment on Food 52 about how my lime cream cheese frosting was too stiff and they had to add more lime juice, and I realized it was because I’d written the recipe using low-fat! Things like that are so important. I never get tired of hearing how they make a difference. Thanks so much for all the thought and effort you put into sharing these lovely recipes with us!
I’m glad you like my discussions and info. Finally getting to the point where I have a reasonable sense of the best way to go about creating xyz item has been years in the making and I always learn new things. Every recipe is it’s own experiment :) And yes, light cream cheese = runny frosting!
Thanks for recipe Averie,
I have tried so many red velvet recipes but can’t say I found the perfect one yet… they are all, i don’t know how to say it, tasltess!!! it’s just like eating something but you can’t tell what is it you are eating.
Confusing right??
Perhaps I need to give this recipe a try. On another note, I have made the same recipe of cream cheese a while ago (using full fat cheese) and it was runny, I couldn’t pipe it. I mean it is delicious (over sweet because I kept adding sugar to hold) but wasn’t able to pipe it.
Any ideas on this issue?
Using lowfat or red fat cream cheese to make frosting with ALWAYS results in runnier frosting for me too and if I want to pipe it, must use fullfat. And what you describe of then adding sugar, sugar, sugar to try to get it to thicken up – yes, same here. Using fullfat will solve that.
And these are not tasteless, I promise you! Try these and LMK what you think!
I made these last night – what a hit! The cake was CRAZY MOIST, i love it! Thank you so much for this recipe Averie. You rock! xx Love from Singapore!
So happy you’re pleased with them and that you’re reading all the way from Singapore – thank you! :)
I love this post for so many reasons. First of all, your cupcakes look amazing. (and the mini loaf is adorable) Either you are a super amazing photographer, good at photoshop, or are just a really good baker (or all three!) but I’m seriously drooling on my keyboard. I’ve never been able to make a good red velvet cake, and if these come out as good as they look, I’m sold. Definitely filing this away for a rainy day. (already pinned!:)
-Also, as a side note, we seem to have the opposite problem with buttermilk…can’t get it enough of the stuff! Here in Germany, it’s considered to be pretty healthy (good protein to fat ratio) They sell it here in lots of flavors (just like yogurt) and they even make smaller “to go size” bottles for people to take to work for a quick breakfast. (my german husband drinks some every morning) My problem is keeping it in the fridge long enough to use in a recipe before someone drinks it! ha ha
I don’t use Photoshop first of all – way too complicated and I’ve taken classes on it, and still can’t figure it out. Ha! So it’s definitely not that. I do use Lightroom but not PS. Wayyyyy above me.
I’d like to think it’s my baking skills and also taking years to learn how to photograph food so that it looks on the screen how it looked in my kitchen. Easier said than done but I try :)
Please LMK how these go if you try them!
These look amazing… I currently have a dozen in the oven. I have only recently got into baking and these are my first red velvet cupcakes! I am bringing them to a friends party tomorrow afternoon and think they will fit perfect with the early xmas theme. I am keeping an eye on them as I type this and they are rising beautifully! Can’t wait to try them. :)
Thanks for making them, Stephanie! I’m sure by now you’ve had one and hope it was wonderful :)
They were amazing! I used my own frosting recipe but the cake was honestly the best red velvet I have ever had! Perfectly moist and they didn’t have that yucky hint of food colour flavour.
My friends asked me where I bought them! ;)
Great recipe!
Exactly as I said in the post – they’re as good as any bakery cupcake! I am so glad your friends asked you where you bought them :) And bravo to you for executing the recipe perfectly! Thanks for LMK!
Hi :) I have a super dumb question. So in the past I’ve used liquid food colouring to make red velvet cupcakes and they turned pink so I was wondering if I decide to use wiltons no taste red paste would I add to notes in?
“would I add to notes in?” <--- that doesn't make a ton of sense to me? But I haven't used that Wilton product. However, it's a good brand and I'm sure won't turn them pink!
These look amazing! I always use sour cream in my cakes and cupcakes to keep things most and have never thought of using Greek yogurt! I love that idea; the vanilla flavor would go well with so many things! Maybe I’ll try switching it up in some of my recipes and blog about it. Thanks for the inspiration (and a great recipe)!!
Greek yog is so much preferred in baking for me than sour cream. It’s sweeter, has less of a tangy bite, is slightly less gloppy, and I just really prefer it. Plus I always have it on hand whereas sour cream is something I need to go out of my way to buy. Honestly, in every sweet/dessert recipe I make, I use vanilla Greek yog rather than sour cream. Or like in banana bread, i use banana-flavored greek yog. LMK if you try these!
Thanks for putting in the effort to procure this perfect red velvet cupcake! They’re gorge!! I nosh on all forms of dough & batter too – glad I’m not alone.