Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting is a favorite dessert of many of us. This delicious cupcake tastes as good as it looks. It is a great addition to any get-togethers and celebrations. I tried this at a friend's birthday celebration years ago, and it has been on the list of my to-bake items since then.
With Halloween around the corner, I had to bake cupcakes and this was the first thing that came to mind. I topped it with cream cheese frosting with half of an Oreo cookie and Hershey's Kisses to create a witch's hat look, keeping in mind the Halloween theme.
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Why you'll love the Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting?
The taste of red velvet cupcakes and cream cheese frosting is perfect; it is a match made in heaven. The beautiful color of the cupcakes makes them so appealing, and your guests would love them at your get-togethers and parties. You can substitute red food coloring with beet juice or beet powder.
Ingredients Used
- Cake flour - Use Swan's brand
- Cocoa powder unsweetened natural Hershey's brand
- Baking Soda and salt
- Organic unsalted butter and granulated sugar
- Organic Egg, vegetable oil, and distilled vinegar
- Vanilla essence
- Buttermilk use Full-fat
- Food coloring or beet juice
- Creamcheese Philadelphia brand
- Butter at room temperature
- Powdered sugar and vanilla extract
Why is cake flour used in Red velvet cupcakes?
The cupcake in today's recipe uses cake flour. Cake flour is normally used when you want the cake to be extra soft and tender. The Tres Leches cake recipe I posted earlier uses cake flour as well. I use Swan's brand and it has always worked out well for me. Cake flour is made from soft wheat flour and the gluten proteins in it are very weak.
If you have All-purpose flour handy no worries, there is a quick workaround that you can use. Just remove 2 tablespoons of flour from one cup of All-purpose flour. Then replace it with 2 tbsp of cornstarch, and whisk it or sift it using a sieve so it is evenly mixed.
Traditional Red velvet cake
If you are curious to know about the history of the fancy red velvet cake, they have been present since the Victorian Era in the 1800s. The velvet in the name of this luxury cake is to highlight the smooth and soft texture of this cake. It is said the raw cocoa that was available for baking in the early days, neutralized the acids in the batter to give the bright red burgundy hue unlike the cocoa powder available these days. Red food coloring is an easier option for baking red velvet cupcakes today. Few folks also use beet juice to get the red color.
How to make Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting?
Ensure all the ingredients used in the recipe are at room temperature before you start making the cupcakes. The ingredients like buttermilk, butter, cream cheese, and egg especially need to be kept out of the refrigerator until they are at room temperature for better results. Use natural unsweetened cocoa powder like Hershey's.
Distilled white vinegar can help bring out the bright color of the cake. At least two small tubes of red food coloring will be required to get the bright red color. You can start with one and then increase as needed. The batter will look pinkish and will turn red on baking.
Use a paddle attachment to beat the butter and sugar, so there is not much air incorporated but it should turn smooth. Later on add egg, vanilla, oil, food coloring, white vinegar, and mix well. Once you add the flour, alternate with buttermilk and slowly mix until it is just about combined. Do not overmix. You can also mix with a spatula to combine.
A very important tip is never to fill the cupcake liners fully, it's better to fill it half full. I learned it the hard way with my cupcakes rising all the way up. If you fill it only till half, the cupcakes will rise beautifully and the frosting will look just perfect on it.
How to make the Cream cheese frosting?
Use the butter and cream cheese that is at room temperature. For the frosting, using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until it is smooth for 2 to 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and mix well. Transfer the frosting into a piping bag and keep it in the refrigerator until ready to use. You can use the Wilton 1M open star tip to create a swirl with the frosting and decorate with candy or sprinkles.
Red velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ⅓ cup cake flour Swans brand
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder unsweetened natural Hersheys brand
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Wet Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp food coloring red or beet juice
- ½ tsp white vinegar distilled
- ⅔ cup buttermilk full fat
For Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1 block Cream cheese Philadelphia brand at room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar Confectioners
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F.
- Line the cupcake tray with liners.
- Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder , baking soda and salt into a bowl so the combined flour is mixed well , smooth and there are no lumps.
- Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment ,on medium speed , cream the sugar and butter for 5 minutes or until smooth and mixed well.
- Scrape from sides using a spatula from time to time if required to mix evenly.
- Add the egg and incorporate it in the batter.
- Add the food coloring and the rest of the wet ingredients namely oil, vanilla extract, and distilled white vinegar.
- Beat for about 2 minutes .
- Add the flour in three additions alternating with buttermilk ensure that flour is added last.
- Divide the batter into the cupcake liners , ensure they are only half full.
- Bake for about 18 to 20 minutes minutes or when a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out neatly without any batter.
- Cool on a cooling rack . They can be frosted when completely cool.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese until completely smooth for about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Add the butter and beat for about a minute until it is mixed well.
- Add powdered sugar and vanilla extract .
- Beat for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add more powdered sugar if you want to get a thicker consistency.
- Decorate the cupcake with the cream cheese frosting
Nutrition
Hope you enjoyed reading about this luscious, velvety cake and will try it soon. Have a good day and a great Halloween celebration!
If you love cupcakes some other delicious ones to check out are Vanilla cupcakes with egg whites, Vanilla cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, chocolate cupcakes with eggs, eggless chocolate cupcakes, they are all awesome!
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Sounds like this might be my new favorite sweet thing. I'll definitely try the recipe soon!
looks delicious! I like cupcakes and haven't eaten for ages now. You totally make me want to go and make it today
My daughter's favourite cake is red velvet and I never even looked at a recipe for it prior to this but it's good to know what's involved in making red velvet cupcakes.
Thanks for this. I had no idea that All purpose flour could be tweaked to make cakes extra soft. Look forward to trying it sometime.
Ooo these look amazing, they look like something from a bakery. I've never thought to make red velvet at home, thanks for the recipe!!
Superb. It looks so tempting and perfect Nisha.
I've got to admit, I've never really known what red velvet cakes are or why they're different aside from the colour. These look delliiiiiiicious. I'm such a sucker for icing and the Hershey's Kiss on top is cute.
Caz xx
These cupcakes look perfect for Halloween! They sound delicious and they don't seem too difficult to make.
Oh wow, these sound pretty amazing!! They look impressive too. I need to make them and see for myself x
You can't go wrong with a traditional yummy treat like this!
Well done! it looks neat and classy! I would not mind having 3 lol!
Very tempting muffins, and beautiful presentation. 🙂