Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe (2024)

These buttermilk Red Velvet Cupcakes are so light and fluffy with a subtle buttery flavor. Topped with sweet and tangy cream cheese frosting, these bright red cupcakes are sure to be a hit!

For a long, long time, I had no idea what made red velvet, well, red velvet. Whenever I’d had it, it didn’t necessarily matter to me what was in it because it just tasted so dang good, you know?

A long while back, a close family friend requested a red velvet cake from scratch, which I obliged to make oh-so-willingly thinking, how hard can it be to make a homemade red velvet cake?

…

It’s not exactly difficult to make red velvet cupcakes (or cake), but there are specific ingredients that make red velvet the flavor we all know and love. I’ll be honest, that homemade cake I made? It probably wasn’t great. When I opted to try my hand at red velvet again, I recipe tested a lot, and I 100% back these cupcakes.

They’re incredibly fluffy, so rich yet light in texture, with subtle notes of butter and cocoa. They’re absolutely perfect (especially with a big helping of homemade cream cheese frosting!).

Why This Recipe Works:

Buttermilk: This is a key ingredient to achieving the overall flavor of red velvet and it should not be substituted with any other type of milk.

Butter and Sour Cream: Butter makes for a flavorful and rich cupcake while sour cream yields moisture and richness. They work together amazingly well to create a flavorful, fluffy, moist red velvet cupcake recipe.

Whipped Egg Whites: It is an extra step, but whipping egg whites and folding them in makes for a very delicate crumb.

Cream Cheese Frosting: Cream cheese frosting is most often paired with red velvet, as the tangy cream cheese flavor pairs perfectly with the tangy buttermilk flavor. They complement each other incredibly well.

What Does Red Velvet Taste Like?

This is a valid question, and one, as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t know the answer to until I broke down the recipe.

Is red velvet a chocolate cake? Or, is it a vanilla cake that’s been dyed red? And why is it even red?

Let’s back up and start with a little history. Red velvet is thought to have gotten it’s name for both having a very velvety texture and having a reddish brown batter that comes from a reaction from cocoa powder and the acid in vinegar and buttermilk.

• In most recipes, a little food coloring is added to enhance the red color. While the reaction of ingredients does offer a reddish hue, it’s very subtle compared to the bold red color we think of when we think red velvet.

Now that we know why red velvet cupcakes are red, let’s get into the flavor. The flavor of red velvet is entirely unique, as it uses ingredients like cocoa powder, vanilla extract, and buttermilk.

• The cocoa powder and vanilla extract lend a subtle chocolate flavor that’s enhanced with sweet vanilla. The butter yields a velvety texture with a hint of butter flavor, and the buttermilk not only makes the cupcakes very rich and tender, but also give a slight tang to the cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

• Unsalted Butter: Unsalted butter is imperative in this recipe because it allows you to control the salt content in these cupcakes.
• Granulated Sugar: There’s only granulated sugar in the recipe, as it does not need any additional moisture or flavor from brown sugar. Plus, the brown sugar dilutes the bright red color.
• Eggs: I separate the eggs so that we can whip the egg whites separately and fold them into the batter. It makes for extra light and fluffy cake.
• All Purpose Flour and Cornstarch: The combination of cornstarch and all purpose flour is very similar to cake flour. It makes the cupcakes extra light and fluffy.
• Cocoa Powder: Only a little cocoa powder is used in red velvet, but it’s important to the overall flavor of red velvet.
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk red velvet cupcakes are very traditional, as the buttermilk gives the cupcakes their traditional tangy flavor. It also reacts with the vinegar and cocoa powder to give the batter a reddish/brown hue.
• Distilled White Vinegar: This ingredient is important for the same reasons as the buttermilk. You can also use apple cider vinegar instead.
• Vanilla Extract: It truly enhances the flavors of all baked goods, and really enhances the buttery, velvet flavor and texture.
• Sour Cream: This imparts flavor and moisture into the cupcakes.
• Red Food Coloring: This gives the cupcakes a bold red color.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• Unsalted Butter
• Cream Cheese: brick style cream cheese (whipped cream cheese won’t work)
• Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Extract
• Salt

How To Make Red Velvet Cupcakes:

Separate Eggs: In this recipe, separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites makes extra fluffy red velvet cupcakes. Before we get baking, we need to separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.

• It’s easier to separate the eggs when they’re cold, but egg whites whip better when they’re at room temperature.
• Both the egg yolks and egg whites need to come to room temperature, so about the 30 minutes prior to making the cupcakes, separate the eggs and let them sit.

Dry Ingredients: Sift the dry ingredients together.

• All Purpose Flour + Cornstarch: This is similar to cake flour. The cornstarch really helps create a delicate and tender crumb.
• Cocoa Powder: Unsweetened natural cocoa powder adds just a hint of chocolate flavor without making these cupcakes taste like pure chocolate.
• Baking Soda, Baking Powder and Salt: The baking powder and baking soda create perfectly risen and fluffy cupcakes and the salt adds flavor.

Wet Ingredients: Whisk Wet Ingredients Together.

• Buttermilk: I highly suggest using real buttermilk here (as opposed to a homemade substitute) because it’s extra tangy and flavorful, however you can use milk + lemon juice/vinegar if needed.
• Vinegar: You can use either distilled white vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla enhances the overall flavor of these cupcakes. Not only does it add its own vanilla flavoring, but it also enhances the flavors of chocolate and butter.

Butter, Sugar, Egg Yolks: Beat these together until light and fluffy.

Sour Cream and Red Food Coloring: Sour Cream adds extra moisture and flavor, and the red food coloring yields a bright red color.

Egg Whites: Whisk egg whites until they’re foamy, white and so soft. Gently fold them into the finished batter.

Frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese together. Add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Cream cheese frosting is softer than a buttercream frosting, but you can pipe it on top of the cupcakes. You can also just spread with a knife or the back of a spoon.

Frosting Variations

Cream cheese frosting is very popular with southern red velvet cake recipes, and is often the go-to choice for red velvet recipes (the tanginess pairs so well with the tangy cupcakes).

However, if you don’t like cream cheese frosting (we can’t be friends 😉) or don’t have the ingredients on hand, you can use a different buttercream frosting. In fact, I believe a vanilla frosting was the original red velvet frosting choice (but I love the southern cream cheese version).

• Vanilla Buttercream
• Chocolate Buttercream

Other Cupcake and Cake Recipes to Try Next:

• Honey Pistachio Cupcakes
• Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting
• Strawberry Funfetti Cake
• Oreo Cupcakes

How To Store Red Velvet Cupcakes:

Unfrosted: Baked, cooled, and unfrosted cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 2 days.

• Refrigerator: They can also be stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days (however, as with most baked goods, they’re the best when they’re the freshest).
• Freezer: You can freeze unfrosted cupcakes in an airtight container (or individually wrapped in saran wrap and then stored in a ziplock bag) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then frost.

Frosted Cupcakes: They can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days in an airtight container. Because of the cream cheese frosting, they cannot be stored at room temperature for more than a few hours.

Final Tips and Tricks to Making These Perfect Red Velvet Cupcakes from Scratch:

• Sift Dry Ingredients: Make sure you sift the dry ingredients together. It will keep your cupcakes light, fluffy, and delicate. If you skip this step, your cupcakes might be very dense.
• Tap Pans: After you fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full with batter, tap the pan on the counter a few times. This helps release any air bubbles before baking.
• This recipes yields about 12-13 cupcakes (in some cases, I’ve been able to make 14). If desired, you can crumble one of the baked cupcakes to use as decoration on top of your cupcakes (as pictured).

Here are some other red velvet recipes to try next:

Red, White, and Blue Velvet Cupcakes

Red Velvet White Chocolate Chip Cookies

Originally published in 2018; updated in 2021.