Red Velvet Cupcakes

It’s known far and wide around the interwebs that anything red velvet is humungously popular around Valentine’s day and strangely enough after almost 5 years of blogging, I’ve yet to post a red velvet cake recipe.  So after quite a few reader requests in the past couple of weeks for a great red velvet scratch cake recipe, I decided it was about time to share.  And believe me, it wasn’t like you guys had to twist my arm!  I scoured a few recipes on Pinterest and my favorite blogs and decided on this one since it’s made with both buttermilk and vinegar to boost the tang that is so beloved in red velvet cake.  Topped with a swirled dollop of silky cream cheese frosting, these red velvet cupcakes are an outstanding way to say “I Love You” to the hunnies in your life.  And yes, if you’re thinking about making a layer cake instead of cupcakes, Annie says that it’s a great recipe for that too – just grease three 8-inch pans, divide the batter, and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes
source: adapted from Saveur via Annie’s Eats; frosting via Confections of a Foodie Bride
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
  • 2 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp (1 oz) red liquid food coloring
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp white distilled vinegar

For the frosting:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, slightly softened
  • 5 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Line muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the  flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients and beat on medium-low until smooth, 1-2 minutes; the batter will be liquidy.  Pour the batter into a glass measuring cup or small pitcher and divide batter evenly between pans by pouring the batter into paper liners; fill liners about 2/3 full.  Bake cupcakes for 18-20 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean. Allow cupcakes cool in pans for 10 minutes then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
  3. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.  Beat in the vanilla.  On low speed, gradually beat in the confectioner’s sugar until incorporated; increase the speed to medium and beat frosting until smooth.  If frosting is soft, chill for 30 minutes before frosting cupcakes.

Recipe yields about 24 cupcakes and frosting for 24 cupcakes; if you like a lot of frosting, increase the frosting recipe by 50%.