Red Velvet Cupcakes

I’ve actually had this recipe on my blog for quite sometime. I made them a few years ago and loved them, and then practically forgot about them.

That’s a hard cold fact about baking new recipes all the time— recipes that I try and love often get shelved and forgotten while I search for new and different recipes. But I actually made some of these cupcakes recently (as recipe research for an upcoming wedding cake project) and fell in love with them all over again.

They’re red. They’re velvety. They’re rich. They’ve got a hint of cocoa and a sweet tang from the cream cheese frosting.

Red velvet cake and I… reunited again. At last.

If you and red velvet cake have yet to meet up close and personal in your kitchen, I recommend you remedy that asap.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 36 cupcakes*

For the cupcakes:
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 cups canola oil
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
6 Tbsp (3 ounces) red food coloring
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp baking soda
2 1/2 tsp white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners or grease with butter or cooking spray.


In a medium bowl, sift cake flour, cocoa and salt together. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix the oil and the sugar until well-blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each until just combined. With the mixer on low, slowly add all of the red food coloring, being very careful not to splash. Add vanilla.

Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk in two additions, ending with the buttermilk. Mix until just combined, scraping bowl down as needed; don’t overmix. 


Add baking soda to another small dish. Pour in vinegar and stir to combine (it’s a chemical reaction!). Add mixture to the cake batter and mix until blended.


Fill cupcake liners 2/3 fill and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.

Frost cake or cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

*The recipe was originally for three layers of a nine inch cake. Feel free to cut the recipe in half, or make a layered cake, to suit your needs.



For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
4 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Cream together butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla, mixing until smooth and creamy.


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