Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (2024)

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These Red Velvet Cupcakes are super moist and topped with a delicious chocolate cream cheese frosting! They’d be great for any time, but with some super cute heart decorations, these babies are all decked out for Valentine’s Day!

Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (1)

The Best Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (2)

I wouldn’t necessarily say that Valentine’s Day is one of those holidays that I get all pumped up about. It’s kind of a lot of effort to get all jazzed up over candy I don’t need to eat, stuffed animals I don’t need in my house and loooonnnggg wait times at restaurants. I can kind of get on board with flowers, but honestly they’re great any time of year, right?

Occasionally we’ll do cards just to take a moment to be all lovely and gushy and puke our love all over each other. 😉 But since we’re expecting two little bundles of love just before Valentine’s Day, we are basically ignoring it this year. If anything, I will get a couple cute onesies for their first Valentine’s Day and be done with it. Milestones, my friends. I’m on it.

Plus, I’m thinking holidays will be cuter with kids. What do you think? Am I wrong? It’s totally possible. But take these cupcakes for example. Totally adult appropriate, but also super fun for kids. I mean, sprinkles and edible toppers? Too fun. I’m hoping the kid thing is all sprinkles and chocolate. 😉

Well, at least if I’m wrong I can still make these cupcakes and pretend.

Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (3)Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (4)

And as far as making these cupcakes goes, they may look fancy but they are easy to make! The cupcakes themselves are made by combining the dry ingredients, then the wet ingredients (minus the water) and then combining them together. Then you add the water and you’re done! You really wouldn’t even need a mixer, if you didn’t want to bother. A big whisk would do the job just fine. A thin batter makes mixing easy.

The frosting is a chocolate cream cheese. You could totally leave out the cocoa and add in a bit more powdered sugar for a regular cream cheese frosting if you like. I just decided to change things up and add some chocolate. It pairs well with the red velvet and chocolate is yummy, so I went for it. But either would be delicious.

Once the frosting is added, the sides of the frosting are dipped into sprinkles and the cupcakes are topped with cute little hearts. I made the hearts with red candy melts, which are super easy to work with and dry nice and firm. You could even make other shapes, or little words like I did with the “love” on these strawberry cupcakes. So many options! No matter what though, these cupcakes are super moist, fluffy and totally delicious! A great treat to share – or keep to yourself!

Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (5)
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”sqnoLyLC” upload-date=”Tue Jan 23 2018 19:03:06 GMT+0000 (UTC)” name=”Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting” description=”Super moist red velvet cupcakes with a tangy chocolate cream cheese frosting!”]

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Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (6)

Recipe

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 9 reviews

  • Author: Life, Love and Sugar
  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 17 minutes
  • Total Time: 47 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 Cupcakes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American
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Description

These Red Velvet Cupcakes are super moist and topped with a delicious chocolate cream cheese frosting!

Ingredients

RED VELVET CUPCAKES

  • 1 1/4 cup (163g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (207g) sugar
  • 1 1/8 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tsp (14g) natural unsweetened cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp white vinegar
  • 2 tsp red food coloring
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) hot water

CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • 8 oz (226g) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 6 tbsp (86g) salted butter, room temperature
  • 4 cups (460g) powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup (57g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • Sprinkles
  • 3 oz red candy melts

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C) and prepare a cupcake pan with liners.
2. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking powder, cocoa and salt to a large mixer bowl and combine. Set aside.
3. Add the buttermilk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, eggs, vinegar and red food coloring to a medium sized bowl and combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until well combined.
5. Slowly add the hot water to the batter and mix on low speed until well combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to make sure everything is well combined.
6. Fill the cupcake liners about half way and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
7. Remove the cupcakes from oven and allow to cool for 2 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to finish cooling.
8. To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter with a mixer until smooth.
9. Add about half of the powdered sugar, cocoa and vanilla extract and mix until smooth and well combined.
10. Add the remaining powdered sugar and mix until smooth.
11. Pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. I used Ateco tip 808 to create the swirl.
12. Press some sprinkles onto the sides of the frosting. I used a small bowl for the sprinkles and lightly pressed the cupcake into the sprinkles.
13. To create the cupcake toppers, add the red candy melts to a small sized bowl and melt according to package instructions.
14. Using a piping bag fitted with a Wilton 4 tip, pipe the melted candy into hearts of varying sizes. I mostly went with two sizes – one a little bigger than the other. Allow them to dry and harden, then add a couple hearts to the top of each cupcake.
15. Refrigerate cupcakes until ready to serve. Cupcakes are best when kept in an air tight container for 3-4 days.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 Cupcake
  • Calories: 370
  • Sugar: 47.5 g
  • Sodium: 299 mg
  • Fat: 14.5 g
  • Carbohydrates: 59 g
  • Protein: 4.2 g
  • Cholesterol: 37.4 mg

Filed Under:

  • Cakes and Cupcakes
  • Frosting Recipes
  • Holidays
  • Recipes
  • Recipes with video
  • Sweets and Treats
  • Valentine's Day

Enjoy!

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Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe | Valentine's Day Dessert Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in Just Desserts red velvet cupcakes? ›

Red velvet cupcakes are made with Dutch Teton cocoa and real vanilla then frosted with cream cheese icing made with real cream cheese. The cupcake is finished with red velvet cake crumbs.

Is red velvet cake a dessert? ›

In the 19th century, "velvet" cake, a soft and velvety crumb cake, came to be served as a fancy dessert, in contrast to what had been the more common, coarser-crumbed cake.

What are red velvet cupcakes made of? ›

Red velvet cupcakes have a lightly flavored chocolate cake batter that's both moist and beautiful and made with simple ingredients. Red velvet combines cocoa powder and buttermilk for a distinctive taste that balances sweetness with the tang of buttermilk and rich cream cheese frosting.

What's the difference between chocolate cake and red velvet cake recipe? ›

While Chocolate Cake is made primarily with cocoa powder and sometimes melted chocolate, Red Velvet Cake is made with a small amount of cocoa powder, but is also known for its signature bright red color, which is usually achieved by adding red food coloring to the batter.

Why do red velvet cupcakes have vinegar? ›

Although most red velvet cake recipes contain acidic ingredients such as buttermilk and cocoa, the addition of vinegar provides just a little extra acid to ensure the baking soda can do its best rising work.

What is the red thing in red velvet cake? ›

Baking products like sugar and butter were a part of the rations. As a result, some bakers chose to use beet juice in their cakes. You can still find red velvet cake recipes today that call for beet juice. The red color of the beets makes the cake have a more delicious appeal.

Why is red velvet cake expensive? ›

The cocoa powder is used in less quantity and the taste develops by the mixing of vinegar and buttermilk with the cocoa powder. The recipe involves many ingredients in small quantity. The frosting- if used cream cheese is an expensive element in itself.

What does red velvet symbolize? ›

In recent history, red velvet cake has become synonymous with Juneteenth celebrations. Not only does the color red symbolize the bloodshed of the enslaved people who never experienced freedom, but it's also a symbol of strength and spiritual transformation in West African cultures.

What flavors go with red velvet? ›

Some delicious flavor combinations for red velvet cake include:
  • Raspberry buttercream.
  • Chocolate ganache.
  • Cream cheese and lemon.
  • Salted caramel.
  • Coconut cream.
Oct 19, 2023

Why are my red velvet cupcakes dry? ›

Measure your flour correctly.

If you don't have one, use the 'scoop and level' method to prevent adding too much flour to your cupcake batter, as this will make your red velvet cupcakes dry and tough.

Why do people like red velvet cupcakes? ›

The taste of red velvet cake is like mild cocoa with a slight edge. And the texture of this beautiful cake is soft, tender, smooth, and light with creamy icing. The benefit of this delicious dessert is that you get iron, vitamin A, and calcium that your body needs daily.

Why do my red velvet cupcakes turn brown? ›

If you're finding that your red velvet cake is turning out more brown than red, you may want to consider adjusting the amount of cocoa powder and red food coloring in your recipe. You could reduce the amount of cocoa powder or increase the amount of red food coloring to achieve a more vibrant red color.

What flavor is blue velvet? ›

The flavor of blue velvet cake is the same as a red velvet cake—fluffy vanilla cake with a hint of chocolate slathered in tangy cream cheese frosting. It is easy to make a blue velvet cake from scratch with a blend of cocoa powder, vinegar, buttermilk, and bright blue food coloring.

What makes red velvet cake so good? ›

Red velvet cakes also generally contain both buttermilk and vinegar, which, when combined with unprocessed cocoa, make for a tighter crumb texture and a tangier flavor than traditional chocolate cake.

Can my dog eat red velvet cake? ›

No. The main ingredients in red velvet cake are not good for dogs, including chocolate, wheat flour, and sugar. In particular, chocolate is toxic to dogs because it contains methylxanthines like caffeine and theobromine, which dogs cannot break down as we can.

What are the ingredients in red velvet cupcake bites? ›

Confectionery Coating (Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil, Non-fat MILK Powder, Whole MILK Powder, Cocoa Powder, Artificial Colour (E129), Natural Flavour, Emulsifier (SOY Lecithin), Flavouring (Vanillin)) and Cupcake Bites (WHEAT Flour, Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel, Palm, SOYBEAN ...

What is red velvet cake mix made of? ›

ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM ALUMINUM PHOSPHATE), COCOA PROCESSED WITH ALKALI, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: CANOLA OIL, CORN STARCH, PROPYLENE GLYCOLESTERS OF FATTY ACIDS, MONO- AND ...

What are the ingredients in just desserts vegan chocolate cupcakes? ›

Ingredients: vegan granulated sugar, vegan powdered sugar, unbleached flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, floic acid), water, canola oil, soy milk (filtered water, soybeans, salt, natural flavor, gellan gum, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, natural flavor), unsweetened ...

Are just desserts cupcakes dairy free? ›

Just Desserts is meeting the challenge of producing premium quality, delicious Vegan baked goods by using a combination of premium, nut-free, plant-based ingredients, featuring a rich, sweet oat milk base that contains fiber, protein, and iron.

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