These delicious Red Velvet Cupcakes made from scratch are moist, rich and incredibly easy to prepare!
Sign up for my free email subscription and never miss a recipe.
Valentine’s Day is just around the corner… can you believe it? I can’t think of a better way to impress your honey this year (or coworkers or anyone!) than with these homemade cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!
When I first tested this recipe back in 2012, I made this from-scratch version along with a boxed mix to compare. The extra time it took to make homemade is totally worth the effort.
Oh, and check out my lovely photo from 2012 below!
Gotta start somewhere… am I right?! (They still tasted delicious!)
Do I have to use homemade cream cheese frosting or can I use store-bought?
Feel free to use store-bought, but this frosting is totally worth the extra effort as well (and too easy NOT to make from scratch!).
What pretty toppings can I use on the frosting?
Decorating sprinkles and/or glitter, sugar pearls or shavings from a dark chocolate candy bar are a few that come to mind.
Enjoy!
Originally published February 8, 2012. Recipe slightly revised and updated with new photographs January 23, 2019.
PrintRed Velvet Cupcakes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: Approximately 30 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Cupcakes:
- 2–½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup milk (I use whole milk)
- 1 (1-ounce) bottle red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 stick butter, softened
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the Cupcake Batter:
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Place cupcake liners in cupcake tins (or grease).
- Whisk flour, cocoa, salt and baking soda in a medium bowl until combined. Set aside.
- Beat butter and sugar for 5-6 minutes in a large bowl (using an electric mixer on medium speed), or until light and fluffy.
- Beat in eggs, one at a time.
- Beat in sour cream, milk, red food coloring and vanilla extract until blended.
- Slowly beat in flour and cocoa mixture on low speed (do not over beat).
- Fill cupcake tins or liners about ¾ full.
- Bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake is removed clean.
- Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
For the Frosting:
- Using electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth and creamy (approximately 1 minute).
- Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until mixed well.
- Increase mixer speed to high and beat until light and fluffy (about 4-6 minutes).
Notes
Slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Cheryl Salter
Omg ! Thank you !
Cheryl Salter
When can I pick mine up ? Sure hope to try this soon ! Looks soooo YUMMY !
The Blond Cook
Thank you! I am going to make more before Valentine’s Day & I won’t forget you & Alan I promise! 🙂