Red Velvet Cupcakes
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My Red Velvet Cupcakes are carefully crafted to be moist and fluffy, yet sturdy. Pair them with ermine frosting or use your favorite frosting. Recipe includes a how-to video!
The BEST Red Velvet Cupcakes
Red velvet cupcakes are a cute and portable dessert that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day or Christmas. They are so festive and instantly recognizable, not to mention totally irresistible. My recipe is incredibly easy to make (no mixer needed!) and is carefully designed to yield fluffy, sturdy results every single time.
I chose to frost my cupcakes with ermine frosting, which is the classic pairing for red velvet cake. It’s a cooked frosting that is easy to make and great for people who don’t like super sweet frostings. If this isn’t your thing–don’t worry! I’m including a few other options that pair nicely below.
Before we get into the recipe though, let’s go over why I’m sharing a separate red velvet cupcake recipe when I already have a red velvet cake recipe!
Red Velvet Cake vs. Cupcakes
While I know it may be tempting to just pour my red velvet cake batter into cupcake tins and bake away, this unfortunately won’t turn out very well. Sure, the cupcakes will be tasty, but they will also be flat (great for cake, not for cupcakes), a bit too delicate and moist for paper liners, and will fall apart so much (in a soft, velvety way) they will need to be eaten with a fork.
A fork kind of defeats the purpose of a cupcake, doesn’t it?
With hopes of a perfectly domed, fluffy, and flavorful cupcake in mind, I made a few tweaks to my cake recipe to make the perfect red velvet cupcakes. Each recipe has been designed for a specific purpose (this is the same reason I have separate recipes for carrot cake and carrot cake cupcakes!).
If you enjoy the science-y part of baking, keep reading. Otherwise, skip to the next section!
Changes made to develop this cupcake recipe:
- More granulated sugar, less brown sugar, and no additional egg yolk. This prevents the cupcakes from being so tender and rich that they cling to their liners. It also lightens up the crumb, which helps the tops dome nicely.
- More flour, which contributes to the cupcakes’ sturdiness.
- Slightly more cocoa powder (you can decrease the amount to 1 1/2 Tablespoons if you want the exact same chocolate flavor).
- Whole milk and vinegar instead of buttermilk, which I found it works best here and got the highest ratings from my taste testers.
- Half the batter, so you get an even dozen cupcakes. You can always double or even triple the recipe though!
What You Need
Now you understand why I say these red velvet cupcakes are carefully crafted! So, if you want yours to turn out like the pictures, it is critical that you don’t make any substitutions, particularly with these ingredients:
- Flour. Use all-purpose flour and make sure to measure your flour properly. Do not use cake flour.
- Cocoa powder. Use natural cocoa powder and do NOT substitute Dutch process cocoa. You can read more about the differences between the two in my Dutch process vs. natural cocoa powder post.
- Baking soda. Similar to the cocoa powder, do NOT substitute baking powder here. There is a critical difference between the two, and substituting baking powder for baking soda will negatively affect your cupcakes.
- Food coloring. You could absolutely leave out the food coloring, just note that the cupcakes will, of course, not look red (they’ll be a ruddy brown, instead). For a true red velvet color, I recommend using gel food coloring; you don’t need much, and it produces a vibrant color. Liquid food coloring will work too; you will need 1 oz. Some people have successfully made this recipe using beet powder for coloring, but I have never tried it.
SAM’S TIP: With many cake recipes you have to worry about over-mixing the batter, but it’s actually easier to under-mix this one. Over-mixing is still possible here, but because we’re using a modified version of the reverse creaming method, it’s much less likely to happen. Make sure you combine your ingredients very well and have a smooth batter before you divide it into your cupcake liners.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Create a milk mixture – Combine the milk, vinegar, and food coloring in a large measuring cup.
- Combine the dry ingredients – In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Stir in the fats – Add the melted butter and oil and stir until incorporated.
- Add some flavor – Stir in the egg and vanilla until combined.
- Add the milk – Gradually add the milk mixture to the batter and stir until totally smooth.
- Bake – Portion the batter into a lined cupcake tin, filling each 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 17 minutes in a 350F oven.
- Cool completely – Let the cupcakes cool in their pan for 10 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.
- Add frosting and enjoy! Frost your completely cooled cupcakes as desired.
SAM’S TIP: Don’t over-fill your cupcake liners or they may overflow and cave in on themselves (similar to my chocolate cupcakes). If you have excess batter, bake it separately or discard it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Just as with the cake version, red velvet cupcakes have a subtle chocolate flavor, slight buttery undertones, and a very faint acidic tang that lingers. The cupcakes have a plush texture, but the crumb itself isn’t significantly different from many other cupcakes you might have tried.
While ermine frosting is the classic choice, cream cheese frosting, swiss meringue buttercream, buttercream frosting, white chocolate buttercream, or german buttercream would all work nicely too!
Store these cupcakes in an airtight container. They’ll keep at room temperature for up to two days, or in the refrigerator for up to a week (keep in mind the refrigerator has a tendency to dry out cupcakes!). You can also freeze your cupcakes for several months.
If you like red velvet, give my red velvet cookies a try!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Red Velvet Cupcakes (Soft, Sturdy, Domed Cupcakes!)
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (177 ml) whole milk
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon red gel food coloring (I use Americolor "red red" or "super red"
- 1 ¼ cups (155 g) all-purpose flour, I don't recommend substituting cake flour or any other flour
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 2 Tablespoons (12 g) natural cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil, I use avocado oil, but canola or vegetable oil would also work
- 1 large egg, room temperature preferred
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 batch Ermine frosting, (click the link for the recipe, or scroll down to the notes section for some other frosting recommendations)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (175C) and line a 12 count cupcake tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- Combine milk, vinegar, and food coloring in a large measuring cup, stir together and set aside.¾ cup (177 ml) whole milk, 2 teaspoons white vinegar, ¾ teaspoon red gel food coloring (I use Americolor "red red" or "super red"
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt until well-combined.1 ¼ cups (155 g) all-purpose flour, ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, 2 Tablespoons (12 g) natural cocoa powder, ¾ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add melted butter and oil and stir well, until ingredients are well-combined (the mixture will be thick).4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, ¼ cup (60 ml) neutral cooking oil
- Add egg and vanilla extract and stir until combined.1 large egg, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Gradually add the milk mixture and stir until all ingredients are combined and batter is smooth.
- Fill each cupcake liner ⅔ of the way full with batter, (do not overfill or cupcakes will collapse, if you have leftover batter discard it or bake separately). Transfer to 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs (not wet batter). Allow to cool for 10 minutes in cupcake pan then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.1 batch Ermine frosting
Notes
Other Frosting Recommendations:
Ermine frosting is the traditional, old-fashioned frosting used with red velvet cake/cupcakes, but here are a few other favorites:- Cream cheese frosting (this has recently become a popular choice to pair with red velvet cake)
- Chocolate cream cheese frosting
- Swiss meringue buttercream
- American buttercream
- See my full frosting library
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Hey sam I was wondering If i could use chocolate buttercream frosting to this recipe
Btw I love your recipes so much I think I have made like 50% of your recipes 🍰🎂🍰🎂🍰
Chocolate buttercream on top sounds delicious! That is a lot of baking! I’m so impressed you have made so many. I hope you love these too. 🙂
I made these today for the first time can I freeze them for other day?The came out great I love your recipes and so does my friends I bake for!😊
Hi Jill! These will keep at room temperature in an air tight container for a week. If you need to keep them longer they will hold up well in the freezer in an air tight container. 🙂
Sam – why art thou so amazing! Know that you have a follower for life. This recipe is everything! The holy grail for Red Velvet. Oh boy, they came out supremely moist with the perfect red texture. The taste is beyond this world. Never in my dreams had I thought I’d be able to bake the perfect Red Velvet cupcakes. Loved these! Thank you and keep bringing more.
Yours truly,
Die hard fan for life
Thank you so much, Priyanka! I really appreciate it. I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much. Happy baking! 🙂
Even after adding a whole tube of (Great Value) gel food coloring, there is no red tint, just plain brown. Is the food coloring junk? Or too much cocoa in the recipe? The cupcake itself tastes amazing! Perfect recipe otherwise.
Hi Mindy! While I haven’t tried using that particular brand of food coloring, it sounds like that may have been the issue. That seems to be a good bit to still not get any red color. 🙁 I hope they still tasted good.
The recipe was super easy to follow and the outcome was beautiful.
Hi, can I use buttermilk instead of making it with milk and vinegar? And if I use buttermilk should I still use vinegar? 🙂
Hi Ritika! You can just use buttermilk instead of the milk and leave out the vinegar 🙂
Hi Sam,
How much buttermilk should be used to replace milk and vinegar
Just use 3/4 cup of buttermilk and don’t add any excess vinegar. 🙂
Could coconut milk be used instead of the whole milk? (The canned stuff, not the beverage.)
Thanks for the help!
Hi Shannon! I honestly haven’t tried with coconut milk but I think it would work just fine. If you try it would you let me know how it turns out for you?
Is it okay to use 2% milk instead of whole milk?
Hi Katryna! That should work here. 🙂
Hi. Could I substitute the baking soda for baking powder and the butter for margarine. Thanks
Hi Zoe! Baking soda will not work for baking powder. The margarine should work. 🙂
The recipe calls for baking soda and not baking powder. Which one should it be? I used baking soda (as per the recipe) and it did not come out well.
Hi Andrea! The recipe is correct as written and baking soda is correct. What issues did you have, maybe i can help.
Hi Sam, the cupcakes did not rise, they were flat and had sort of sunk in.
hat is frustrating, could the baking soda have been old/expired? Another common cause of this is accidentally under-mixing the batter.
Hi,
No, the baking soda is not expired. yea maybe it wasn’t enough mixing in that case. Still tasted good tho 🙂 So it’s okay. Thanks
Hi Sam,
For the vinegar, are we to use white distilled or white wine vinegar? Thanks in advance!
Hi Liz! You should just use the distilled white vinegar. 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe…I’ve tried baking cakes but not even one of them turned okay they all have some kind of problem but thanks to you My red velvet cupcakes turned out better than the cakes I bake
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much, Sanika! 🙂
Hi! So my mom bought 6 inch pans, but they are litterally maybe a centimeter or two tall. I want to make a very small cake for my little sisters birthday, so I like how this recipe is half of the cake one, could I use this cupcake recipe to make a multiple layer 6 inch cake? I also love how this recipe technically doesn’t use buttermilk! There is seriously no other recipes that doesn’t, which proves how awesome your recipes are! 😀
Hi Anna! If they are only a centimeter or two tall I wouldn’t recommend trying to bake a cake layer in them. The layers would turn out almost papery thin. I haven’t seen a dish that shallow. That’s interesting. I am so glad you have enjoyed everything so much. 🙂
Yes lol I didn’t even know they were cake pans. They were from a ‘kit’ at michaels and we’re supposed to be used to make a smash cake for one baby 😂
That’s interesting. I would not think a cake pan would be that thin.
Came out delicious! I buttered muffin tins but may have not done it enough bc one broke when removing, so I got to taste test 🙂 haven’t tried the actual cupcake yet but from the small piece I took, these are so moist and delicious 😀
That’s awesome! It’s really a shame one broke and you had to test it! 🤣
Delicious! My son asked for red velvet cupcakes for his birthday. You’ve become one of my go-to websites for recipes. Thanks for posting this one at the perfect time!
Thank you so much, Valerie! I am so glad you have enjoyed everything so much. 🙂
Hi Sam!
I’m so glad you overcame your fear of red velvet cake and made this recipe. I was originally just going to make your red velvet cake recipe and bake them as cupcakes. But then I saw this recipe and you said you tweaked the recipe to make the cake more stable. Is this going to change the flavour of the cake. Or will it taste the same as the actual cake recipe. And of it doesn’t taste the same as the cake which one is better?
Cheers!
Hi Morgana! This recipe will taste pretty similar to the actual cake. It’s hard to choose a favorite here. It’s really about the texture. 🙂
Sam
I just read your Red Velvet cup cake recipe and can’t wait to try them
I believe your explanation with using cup cake paper you used left twice
When comparing the outcome of the cup cake papers.
I can’t wait to hear how you liked the cupcakes! 🙂
Hello it’s Anna.
Can I get tasty cupcakes if I eliminate the red colouring
Hi Anna! You *could* and I talk about this both here in this post and in my red velvet cake post, but I recommend using it for true red velvet cupcakes.
Thank you so much, I can’t wait to bake this over the weekend. Question, I only have buttermilk, just so that I am clear, are you saying through your blog, that you used buttermilk with the additional vinegar and found it too tart. I am trying to figure out if I should or should not include the vinegar if I am using buttermilk only.
Thanks again.
Hi Deedee! I would leave out the vinegar entirely (or if you want to add a bit I wouldn’t add more than half a teaspoon) and just use the buttermilk in place of the milk. I hope that helps but let me know if you have any other questions! I hope you love the cake!
OMG, I couldn’t wait. I don’t think I have made or tasted a more “moist” cake this year. I made a half batch today, and will make another one tomorrow. The color was perfect for me, all-purpose worked well (although I use cake flour mainly) for me too. The cuppies cooked well, not under cooked or over cooked, the batter was fluid, but not runny. I am going to try again tomorrow with the vinegar, either way it goes, thank you for all of your research on this, these cupcakes are going to be hard to beat.
I am so glad you enjoyed them so much! 🙂