Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting — 🍫🧁😍 If you’ve ever wanted to make red velvet cupcakes from scratch that are as good as those you’d find in a bakery, try this hassle-free recipe!

Homemade Red Velvet Cupcakes

These are the best red velvet cupcakes I’ve ever had, and the easiest recipe you’ll ever find. They’re made in one bowl, with no mixer, and no creaming ingredients, and it’s a cupcake batter that’s more like a muffin batter. Whisk together wet ingredients, fold in the dry, pour into liners, and bake. Five minutes of active work never tasted so good!

My issue with most red velvet cakes and cupcakes is that they’re dry, and dry anything just isn’t worth the calories. Why bother? These are incredibly moist from the trifecta of moistening and tenderizing ingredients: oil, buttermilk, and Greek yogurt. I stopped at nothing to make sure they weren’t dry!

Many recipes for red velvet aren’t chocolaty enough either. While these aren’t as chocolaty as chocolate cupcakes, the chocolate flavor is pleasantly noticeable.

They rise beautifully to the point I was worried they were rising a little too well. I filled my cupcake liners to a solid three-quarters full (this is a non-issue if you only fill to 2/3-full), but thankfully they stay contained, and the resulting cupcakes and hearty and full, not skimpy, wimpy, little cupcakes that no one reaches for.

I also made a one-bowl, no-mixer vanilla cream cheese frosting for the red velvet cake cupcakes that I simply spread on. These homemade red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are soft, tender, springy, and moist. There’s just enough chocolate flavor to satisfy your chocolate cravings, without being overdone.

The smooth, rich homemade cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to the cupcakes and adds the right amount of zip and tang. So good, so easy, so soft, fluffy, and moist. Perfect for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or any old Tuesday!

What’s in Red Velvet Cupcakes? 

To make red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing, you’ll need: 

• Egg
• Granulated sugar
• Buttermilk
• Canola oil
• Vanilla Greek yogurt
• Vanilla extract
• All-purpose flour – There’s no need for fancy flour like cake flour, though it will probably work
• Unsweetened cocoa powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Red liquid food coloring

And to make the red velvet cake frosting, you’ll need:

• Cream cheese – I used light cream cheese, which makes the frosting softer and runnier. If you want to pipe your frosting on, use full-fat
• Unsalted butter
• Vanilla extract
• Confectioners’ sugar
• Milk

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make this Simple Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe

Once you realize how easy it is to make frosted cupcakes from scratch, you’ll never go back to boxed varieties again. Here’s an overview of the process:

1. Whisk the wet ingredients in a bowl. Then, stir in the dry ingredients. Add in just enough food coloring to turn the batter red. 
2. Fill your muffin cups 3/4 full, then bake the red velvet cupcakes until risen and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 
3. Cool in the pan slightly. Then, transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
4. While the red velvet cupcakes cool, make the homemade cream cheese frosting. If your frosting is too thick, add a splash of cream or milk to gradually thin it out. 
5. Frost the cooled cupcakes with the red velvet cake frosting and optionally garnish with sanding sugar. 

Save Saved Review Print

4.61 from 41 votes

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

By Averie Sunshine

🍫🧁😍 If you’ve ever wanted to make red velvet cupcakes from scratch that are as good as those you’d find in a bakery, try this hassle-free recipe!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cooling Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Servings: 14 servings

Save this recipe to your email

Enter your email and we’ll send it to you!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Send It!

Equipment

• 1 Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan
• 2 Large Mixing Bowls
• 1 2-inch cookie scoop

Ingredients 

Red Velvet Cupcakes

• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ ⅔ cup buttermilk, or Powdered Buttermilk, use 2 1/2 tablespoons + 2/3 cup water
• ▢ ½ cup canola oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons vanilla Greek yogurt, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream may be substituted
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 3 tablespoons unsweetened natural cocoa powder
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ pinch salt, optional and to taste
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons red food coloring, or as needed

Cream Cheese Frosting

• ▢ ½ cup cream cheese, softened (I used Trader Joe’s soft spreadable light)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 to 2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, or as necessary
• ▢ splash cream or milk, only if necessary
• ▢ sanding sugar or sprinkles, optional for garnishing

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

Make the Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350F. Line a Non-Stick 12-Cup Regular Muffin Pan with paper liners; set aside. You will likely have batter for a 13th or 14th cupcake, and I baked it in this cooking-sprayed mini loaf pan because my oven is small and that setup works; discard extra batter if that’s easier.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the first 6 ingredients, through vanilla, until smooth.
• Add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, optional salt, and whisk until just combined; don’t overmix.
• Carefully whisk in the food coloring, making sure to add only as much as necessary to color the batter a deep shade of red; adding more than necessary can leave an aftertaste.
• Using a medium 2-inch cookie scoop, place about 2 heaping tablespoons of batter per cupcake into each of the 12 cavities so they’re solidly 3/4-full. I poured the excess batter into a mini loaf pan.
• Bake for about 20 minutes, or until domed, set, springy to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter; don’t overbake. My cupcakes were on the large side of normal because I generously filled liners to 3/4-full, and they took exactly 20 minutes. If yours are filled more shallow, start checking at 18 minutes.
• Allow cupcakes to cool in pan for about 15 minutes before removing. I baked the mini loaf for 20 minutes. While cupcakes cool, make the frosting.

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

• Combine first 3 ingredients in a large mixing bowl, add about 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, and whisk to combine or beat with an electric mixer until smooth.
• Continue adding sugar until desired frosting consistency is reached. If you add too much sugar and need to thin frosting out, add a splash of cream. Because I used light cream cheese, the frosting stayed on the runnier side. If you want frosting thick enough to pipe, do not use light cream cheese.
• Add 2 to 3 tablespoons frosting to the top of each cupcake and smooth with a knife. Optionally transfer frosting to a piping bag and frost the cooled cupcakes. I like the Wilton 1M tip for cupcakes.
• Optionally, garnish each cupcake with a sprinkle of sanding sugar or pinch of sprinkles.

Notes

• You may have a small amount of frosting left over. It will keep airtight in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.
• Cupcakes will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 3 days. I personally am comfortable storing cream cheese-frosted items at room temp, but if you prefer to store in the fridge, that’s fine, but note the fridge will dry cupcakes out much more quickly.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 340kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 15g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 78mg, Sodium: 123mg, Potassium: 86mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 37g, Vitamin A: 271IU, Calcium: 35mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

↓ Click the Stars to Rate This Recipe ↓

Tried this recipe? Leave a review!

Consider leaving a 5 star rating if you’ve made and loved one of my recipes!

More Valentine’s Day Recipes:

Red Velvet Chocolate-Swirled Brownie Bars — These easy, no-mixer brownie bars are in between a bar and a brownie. Not supremely fudgy to give them true brownie status, but much fudgier and richer than your typical bar, and not cakey! 

Easy Chocolate Pots de Creme – No-bake, no-cook, and made in a blender in 5 minutes!! The PERFECT dessert! Rich, decadent, a chocolate lover’s dream, perfect for special occasions, and guaranteed to impress!

Red Velvet Poke Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — The cake is fast, easy, and it’s a poke cake so it’s automatically super soft and moist.

Soft Frosted Valentine’s Heart Cookies — These easy cookies are soft, chewy, dense, made in one bowl, and you don’t have to roll them out.

Red Velvet Gooey Butter Cookies — These chocolate chip red velvet cookies have a secret ingredient — cake mix! These cookies are super ooey gooey and ultra rich! 

Valentine’s Day Vanilla Pudding Sugar Cookie Bars – A sugar cookie crust topped with creamy vanilla pudding, whipped topping, and sprinkles! A luscious and EASY Valentine’s Day dessert that will put everyone in festive spirits!

The Best and Easiest Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes — One bowl, no mixer, so easy! The warm, gooey, fudgy chocolate lava cake center is heavenly! Better than any restaurant versions! Best chocolate cake EVER!

Valentine’s Frosted Sugar Cookie Bars – Sugar cookie bars are so much FASTER AND EASIER than making sugar cookies! The sprinkles and tangy cream cheese frosting help to make the bars a PERFECT Valentine’s Day treat!

Recipe originally published November 18, 2013 and republished January 29, 2020 with updated text.