Tender fluffy red velvet cupcakes stuffed with chocolate truffles and topped with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting! EASY to make and the PERFECT Valentine's Day or holiday treat sure to impress your family and friends!
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Additional Time30 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr5 minutesmins
Course: Cakes & Cupcakes
Cuisine: American
Keyword: best red velvet cupcake recipe, easy red velvet cupcakes, homemade red velvet cupcakes, moist red velvet cupcakes, red velvet cupcakes filled, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, red velvet cupcakes with filling
Servings: 20
Calories: 412kcal
Author: Averie Sunshine
Ingredients
Cupcakes
½cupunsalted buttersoftened to room temp
1 ¾cupsgranulated sugar
2large eggs
2teaspoonsvanilla extra
1tablespoonwhite vinegar
2tablespoonsunsweetened natural cocoa powder
1teaspoonbaking soda
½teaspoonsalt
1cupbuttermilk*See Notes
¼cupvegetable or canola oil
Red food coloringas desired** (See Notes)
2 ½cupsall-purpose flour
20milk chocolate truffles
Cream Cheese Frosting
½cupunsalted buttersoftened to room temp
8ouncesfull-fat brick style cream cheesesoftened to room temp
3 ¾cupconfectioners’ sugarsifted
1teaspoonvanilla extract
¼ to ½teaspoonsaltor as desired
Sprinkles for decoratingoptional
Instructions
Cupcakes
Line two 12-count standard cupcake pans with liners; set aside. Preheat oven to 375F.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer, add the butter and beat on high speed until smooth and creamy.
Add the eggs, vanilla, and beat until smooth and incorporated. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Ad the white vinegar and beat momentarily to incorporate.
Add the buttermilk, oil, and beat to incorporate.Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and beat to incorporate.
Add the red food coloring, as desired, and beat to incorporate. Tips - Use gel food coloring for best results. In my experience, the color mellows as it bakes so I go a bit heavy handed with the food coloring knowing it does tone down in the oven and that the finished cupcakes are not as vibrant as the batter appears.
Slowly add the flour, in 1/2-cup increments, and beat after each addition; however take care not to overmix or your cupcakes will be tougher.
Add 1 to 1 ½ tablespoons of batter to each cupcake liner.
Top each with additional batter, until they are 3/4-full. Don't overfill.
Bake for about 13 to 16 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Tips - If possible, bake both cupcake pans on the same oven rack, in the middle, and rotate once midway through baking. When checking for doneness, remember that there's a truffle inside so don't confuse the melted chocolate with batter. Notes - If you aren't going to fill these with truffles, they will take slightly longer to bake, about 2 to 4 minutes additional and you will yield 1 or 2 less cupcakes overall since a bit more batter is being used per cupcake.
Allow cupcakes to cool in the pans, for about 10 minutes, before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool completely. While they cool, make the frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a large mixing bowl and handheld electric mixer, add the butter, cream cheese, and beat on high speed until smooth and creamy. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the vanilla, salt to taste (helps balance the overall sweetness of the frosting), and beat to incorporate.
Slowly add the confectioners' sugar in 1/2-cup increments and beat to incorporate. Tips - If your frosting is a bit too thick, add a tablespoon of milk or half-and-half to thin it. And conversely, an extra tablespoon or two of confectioner’s sugar will thicken it up if it’s a bit too thin to pipe.
Transfer frosting to a piping bag fitted with the decorating tip of your choice. You can use any type of piping tip you like. I used a classic 1M tip but any tip will work. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes as desired. Note - You can also skip the piping bag and simply spoon the frosting onto the cupcakes if desired.
Optionally garnish with festive sprinkles, as desired.
Cupcakes can be served immediately or chilled before serving. Cupcakes will keep airtight at room temp for up to 24 hours OR airtight in the fridge (I recommend a cupcake carrier) for up to 1 week.
Notes
*Buttermilk is necessary in the cupcake batter and real buttermilk is always the gold standard in my opinion. If you have a Trader Joe’s in your area, theirs is the best value I have found. Check out all my recipes using buttermilk if you need ideas for how to use the rest of the carton. However, you can make a DIY type of buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon white vinegar to 1 cup of 2% or whole milk and waiting 5 minutes before adding it to the batter. Additionally, powdered buttermilk is available and I’ve used it successfully in many dessert recipes. I haven’t tried to substitute yogurt for the buttermilk in this recipe so am not sure how it would work.Regular milk won’t allow the cupcakes to rise and lift like buttermilk will so don’t use it.**I strongly recommend using gel food coloring rather than the old-fashioned type of water-based coloring for reasons explained in the blog post.***I used these Lindt Lindor Milk Chocolate Truffles.However, you can use any brand or flavor of chocolate truffle you like including dark chocolate, white chocolate, or an assorted pack of truffles. Every cupcake will be like a surprise just waiting to see what you bite into! Other options include Hershey’s Kisses or a Dove Promises Chocolate Candies.