Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe with Cream Cheese Frosting (2024)

Just in time for Valentine's Day, we're making a red velvet cupcake recipe that can serve just two people or twelve people! The small-batch recipe makes just 4 cupcakes, while the large batch recipe makes one dozen. You might want to make a full-size batch of the cream cheese frosting, though, because it's incredible!

I've been making this red velvet cupcake recipe quite a bite lately. They are even on the menu for a sweet friend's wedding in a few months! This leads me to believe that my red velvet cupcake recipe is worthy of an update on this site.

Make no mistake: the recipe from 2017 is flawless, if I do say so myself. The little redo I'm referring to is the photos. A cupcake as sweet as this one deserves a photo that makes them look as delicious as they taste.

Can I count the reasons my red velvet cupcake recipe needs to make it into your repertoire? For one, I'm Southern, and I think I know what I'm doing with red velvet. Red velvet contains a touch of cocoa powder and buttermilk, and if you see a recipe without either one of those ingredients, slowly back away.

How to Make this Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe:

The recipe only makes 4 cupcakes, so you won't have to face the extra calories of the leftovers. Not only can you decorate with mini chocolate chips, but you can stir ¼ cup into the batter if you want an extra chocolate kick. My friend from St. Louis taught me this trick, and I love the pop of chocolate!

The Ingredients

• Oil. Any type of neutral oil without flavor works here: vegetable oil, canola oil, grappled oil, or avocado oil. Do not use coconut oil.
• Sugar. White granulated sugar.
• Buttermilk. It's essential to buy low fat buttermilk from the store for this recipe. I don't recommend making homemade buttermilk with milk and a splash of lemon juice or vinegar, because the recipe already calls for vinegar.
• Egg White. Just one egg white for 4 cupcakes. If you're tripling the recipe to make 1 dozen, use one whole egg plus one egg white. You can also use three egg whites.
• Red Food Coloring. Use the full amount of red food coloring, or half the amount if you're using gel food coloring, which is much more concentrated and intense.
• Vanilla Extract.
• White Vinegar. A small splash of vinegar is essential in making this red velvet cupcake recipe rise and become fluffy in the oven.
• Flour.
• Cocoa Powder. Yes, just 2 teaspoons for 4 cupcakes! Red velvet only has a hint of cocoa powder.
• Baking Soda.
• Salt.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Cream Cheese. Be sure to open your cream cheese and let it sit out at room temperature to fully soften before attempting to beat.
• Butter. The butter should also be softened to room temperature.
• Powdered Sugar. Also called confectioner's sugar or 10x sugar.
• Vanilla.
• Buttermilk. Use leftover from making the cupcakes to bring together the cream cheese frosting, just a splash is usually all you need.

The Instructions

1. In a cupcake tin, place 4 cupcake liners on the outside edge of a muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a medium bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, buttermilk, egg white, red food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla using an electric mixer on medium speed for about 1 minute, until very well-combined.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, while mixing on low speed with the electric mixer.
5. Divide the batter between the four cupcake liners and bake for 20-22 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

Instructions: Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Ensure all of the frosting ingredients (cream cheese and butter) are at room temperature. Beat together all of the frosting ingredients using an electric mixer, adding a splash of buttermilk, if needed to make it fluffy and spreadable. Frost cupcakes when cool.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Other Red Velvet Recipes:

Speaking of cake, I have a double layer red velvet cake recipe for two on this site for Valentine's Day.

Also, if you double this recipe and bake it in a single 6" cake pan, you will have enough red velvet cake to make my red velvet cake truffles! I make those several times a year--for Valentine's Day, with green food coloring for St Patricks' Day, and at Christmas!

If you're needing other red velvet recipes to use up the bottle, try my red velvet sugar cookies, too!

I think I've properly inundated you with red velvet recipes, so I'll leave you the recipe below. If you bake these red velvet cupcakes, let me know in the comments below.

Storage Tips: Red Velvet Cupcake Recipe

If you wish to make this recipe ahead of time, you can! Bake the cupcakes one day ahead of time, and store at room temperature in an air-tight container. Make the frosting the day you plan to serve it, but please keep in mind that because the frosting contains dairy, it needs to be kept at food safe temperature, which is cold/ in the fridge. If you want to make and frost the cupcakes ahead of time, refrigerate them, but remove them from the fridge about 20 minutes before serving so the cupcakes soften slightly.

You can freeze unfrosted cupcakes for up to 3 months in air-tight freezer storage containers. Cream cheese frosting can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months, but I recommend storing it separately from the cupcakes. Thaw the frosting overnight in the fridge, and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Then, frosting the cupcakes just before serving.

Store leftover frosted cupcakes in the fridge for up to 5 days.