Soft Red Velvet Cupcakes
Print Pin VideoThese red velvet cupcakes are so incredibly soft and are bursting with flavour. Topped with a small batch of my cream cheese buttercream recipe, you'll have 12 perfect cupcakes that you won't be able to stop eating!!
IMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cupcakes
- 1¼ cups (150 g) flour - regular, all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- 1½ tbsp (9 g) cornflour - also known as cornstarch
- 1½ tbsp (7 g) cocoa powder - unsweetened
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- 3 tbsp (43 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ⅓ cup (70 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1 cup (200 g) white sugar
- 2 large eggs - room temperature
- ½ tbsp vanilla essence/extract
- ¾ tsp white vinegar
- 1¾ tbsp red liquid food colour
- ⅓ cup (75 g) buttermilk - room temperature
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- ½ cup (112 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- 2¼ cups (285 g) icing sugar - also known as confectioners/powdered sugar
- ¾ cup (168 g) cream cheese - cold, firm type (see note 2)
- ¾ tsp vanilla essence/extract
- ¾ tbsp lemon juice - must be fresh
Instructions
Red Velvet Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 6 if you don't have a fan function) and line a cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 3), cream together for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
- Add in your vanilla, vinegar and red liquid food colour, and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Finish off by adding in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in all of your buttermilk, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 4).
- Distribute the batter evenly into the cupcake liners (only fill about 1/2 way up), and bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Avoid overbaking the cupcakes otherwise they will dry out.
- Once baked, allow them to cool in the cupcake tin for about 10-15 minutes, and then place them onto a wire rack to completely cool. In the meantime prepare the cream cheese buttercream.
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Cream your butter for a few minutes until it's light and fluffy. Either use a hand mixer or stand mixer on a medium high speed. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
- Add in the icing sugar in 3 batches while mixing on low. Ensure that each batch of icing sugar is mixed into the butter well before adding in the next batch.
- Next add in your cold cream cheese, vanilla and fresh lemon juice. Mix just until the frosting is smooth. Avoid over-mixing (see note 5).
- Once the cupcakes are completely cool, frost with the cream cheese buttercream. I used a 1M piping tip to pipe my frosting. See blog post above or recipe video below to see how I did this :)
Video
Notes
Note 1. You can use cake flour in replacement of the all purpose flour and cornstarch in this recipe (159g total required).
Note 2. To ensure that your frosting isn't too soft, you want to use a firm cream cheese, not the spreadable type. You also want to use cold cream cheese as this will help your frosting stay firmer for longer, particularly if you want to use it for piping. If you stay in a hot climate and your frosting is softening up after some time, simply place it into the fridge for 30 minutes and then rewhip it. This will bring it back to a pipeable consistency.
Note 3. If using a stand mixer, then use the paddle attachment for the initial mixing, but continue to do the last step by hand as stated in the recipe.
Note 4. By gently folding in the ingredients, it prevents too much gluten from forming, thus giving us a softer cake. Only mix until the strands of flour have disappeared and the batter is uniform.
Note 5. Only mix the frosting until it's smooth. Once it's smooth stop mixing as over-mixing can result in a less stable frosting. This is because of the liquid in the cream cheese breaking down the icing sugar.
Note 6. In this recipe I use an oven with the fan function turned on. The fan forced function cooks cakes/cupcakes faster, so if your oven doesn't have a fan option, then you will need to increase the baking temperature to 175°C (347°F) so that the cake/cupcake bakes at the same rate as mine 🙂
Nutrition
Calories: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 209mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 391IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
Tried this recipe?I love hearing from you! Tag me @cakesbymk.nz on instagram so I can see your amazing creations :)