Red Velvet Cupcakes

Try these perfectly soft and moist red velvet cupcakes I swear by! The cupcake batter can be made in about 10 minutes by whisking in all the ingredients, and the baking time takes just about 20 minutes. Finish the cupcakes with perfectly tangy cream cheese frosting, and... Voila! Enjoy the simple yet perfect red velvet cupcakes for special occasions, such as Valentine's Day, birthdays, home parties, and much more!

📌 Why You'll Love This Red Velvet Cupcakes

• So soft & tender! The texture is so fluffy and silky and has a perfect amount of richness. 
• Perfectly moist. It's carefully tested to add the maximum amount of liquids without making it feel dense and mussy after a day in the fridge. 
• The easiest red velvet cupcakes. I won't sacrifice the taste for making cakes quickly, but thankfully, this cake is so easy to make yet tastes just perfect. You'll only need to continue whisking the ingredients in a bowl, and the cake batter will be ready in 5 - 10 minutes! No need to whip eggs or butter. Just keep adding them!
• Not overly sweet. This cake is perfectly sweetened, which makes me feel like wanting more.
• No buttermilk is needed. This might not even be a pro for some people, but for people like me who don't usually use buttermilk, it's nice to be able to make this classic cake without it. I use milk and vinegar as the buttermilk substitute. You'll be surprised how they work so perfectly.
• Best cream cheese frosting. The frosting is so smooth and perfectly tangy. This is the only cream cheese frosting I use for all kinds of cakes, such as classic red velvet cake, carrot cake, hummingbird cake, etc.

📌  Tips For The Ingredients

Cupcake Batter

• All-purpose flour: Use regular all-purpose flour.
• Baking soda: Baking soda reacts to acid (cocoa powder and vinegar for this cake) and helps to create a fluffier cake with more volume.
• Baking powder: Baking powder reacts to moisture and heat and helps to create a fluffier texture as well. It creates a slightly more cakey texture than baking soda.
• Salt: The subtle saltiness goes well with the tangy cream cheese icing.
• Cocoa powder: Use any of your favorite cocoa powder. My favorites are Valrohna's, Cacao Barry's, and Hershey's Special Dark.
• Granulated sugar: It helps to add a moist & soft texture to the cake. Use white sugar to make the cake light.
• Egg: It helps the cake to rise in the oven and create a soft texture.
• Oil: I used olive oil as a healthier option. You can use any regular oil, such as canola and vegetable oil.
• Milk: Use regular whole milk. Milk and vinegar do a perfect job of replacing buttermilk for this recipe, which is often used to make red velvet cake. 
• White vinegar: The acid reacts with baking soda and helps create a fluffier cake with more volume.
• Vanilla extract: You can omit it if you like.
• Gel paste red food coloring: I recommend gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring to create a much brighter color. AmeriColor red food coloring is my favorite.
• Milk (hot): Oftentimes, I like to add hot liquid to oil-based cake batter, especially when it contains chocolate. I feel the texture of the cake gets a bit finer, the cake gets cooked slightly more evenly, and overall, it tastes a little bit better. 
• Unsalted butter (melted): It gives a richer texture. I decided not to add it too much to keep the texture lighter after chilling. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

• Unsalted butter (soften): It's important to use room temperature butter so it blends well with other ingredients easily. 
• Powder sugar: Sift it ahead if it looks very lumpy.
• Salt: It adds more depth in flavor.
• Cream cheese (cold): Use cold cream cheese. Leave it at room temperature for 15 - 30 minutes to soften it a bit. Using cold cream cheese is the key to making a stiffer frosting. I am a big fan of Philadelphia cream cheese. I use it for all the other cream cheese desserts, such as New York cheesecake and no-bake strawberry cheesecake, simply because I haven't had better cream cheese than it!
• Vanilla extract (Optional): I did not add it this time. 

📌  How To Make Red Velvet Cupcakes

Preparations

Set 12 cupcake liners on a regular cupcake pan. Preheat the oven to 330ºF (165ºC)

Whisk the dry ingredients.

In the bowl, add all the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cocoa powder, and granulated sugar. Whisk them together until well combined. Set it aside.

Whisk the wet ingredients.

In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients (except hot milk and melted butter): eggs, oil, whole milk, white vinegar, vanilla extract, and red food coloring. Whisk them all together until well combined.

Tip💡: Apply a little bit of oil all over the teaspoon when you measure the red food coloring so that it comes off easily.

Add in the dry ingredients.

Mix until very smooth.

Add in hot milk and melted butter.

Heat milk and butter in the small saucepan at medium heat until the milk starts simmering very gently. Pay close attention to it to prevent the milk from over-floating. Mix it sometimes to make the temperature even.

Add ⅓ to half of the hot liquid into the cake batter and mix until well combined.

Add the remaining liquid and mix again. At the end, scrape off the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is evenly incorporated.

Bake the cupcakes.

Divide the cake batter into the prepared cupcake pan. One batch of this recipe is enough for 12 cupcakes.

Bake at 330ºF (165ºC) for 15 - 20 minutes until the top bounces back gently and a toothpick comes off clean with a few crumbs when inserting it in the very center. Adjust the bake time accordingly. 

Let them cool down completely on a wire rack before frosting them.

Make cream cheese frosting

Use one batch of my cream cheese frosting recipe to frost the 12 regular cupcakes.

Whip soft butter, powdered sugar, and salt at medium to medium-high speed until very fluffy for about 5 minutes.

Add cold cream cheese left at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Whip it at high speed until evenly combined. Whip even more to make fluffier frosting - I whipped it for another few minutes this time.

Tip💡:  If you want even stiffer cream cheese frosting, simply double the amount of butter. I am sharing more about it in the original cream cheese frosting post, comparing the two frostings. Check it out if you are interested!

Frost cupcakes.

Frost the cupcakes with the cream cheese frosting in any way you like, using a piping bag or cake spatula. Decorate the top with sprinkles, red velvet cake crumbs, chocolate chips, etc!

📌 The Video Tutorial

Watch the video tutorial to learn how to make the classic red velvet cupcakes visually and have a deeper understanding of each step! In the tutorial, you can also see how to bake and frost a classic red velvet cake.

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📌  FAQ

📌  More Recipes With Cream Cheese

If you love this red velvet cake, also try other delicious tangy desserts using cream cheese! 

• New York Cheesecake
• No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake
• Strawberry Mini Cheesecakes
• Baked Matcha Cheesecake

💬 If you loved this recipe, please share your feedback on this post! I always love hearing how you enjoyed it with your friends and family.