The Ultimate Red Velvet Cupcake recipe is right here, you guys! I’ve seen a ton of complicated Red Velvet cake recipes but here is the truth: When I am baking I like to keep things simple. This Red Velvet recipe is just that, SIMPLE. No random mixing techniques or weird ingredients. A straight to the point and easy recipe that yields a delicate, flavorful cake. This is what we are all after when we bake, right?
Before we just into the recipe, I’ve been sharing quarantine updates so here we go!
We are in our third week in quarantine. This is honestly the longest I’ve been in the same house with my husband for as long as I can remember. I’m always with the kids all day because I am a stay at home Mom, so this isn’t entirely different then my normal life with them except we aren’t doing school drop offs and pick ups. My husband normally works long hours and goes to bed early so our new schedule is so different than our normal lives.
Today was the first day we literally could not figure out what day it was. For some reason I was thinking it was Friday. He was thinking it was Tuesday. It is in fact, Wednesday. He wins for being closer but we definitely had a good 5 minute discussion about what day it actually was. HAHA If that doesn’t sum up the third week of quarantine I don’t know what does!
The kids are completing their first week of at home learning today. Apparently they are still getting an Easter vacation from Thursday to Monday. How nice of the school, right?!? At home learning has been pretty good this week. Nothing too scary to report. I will admit, I do miss packing lunches a little bit and keeping on top of homework when they get home from school. I do also wish on these beautiful days we are having that we would be taking them to baseball practice and getting some fresh air at the park! I guess it is the little things I am missing the most. There are so many positives of this whole experience though and I feel they out weigh the negatives for sure. We are keeping a positive outlook over here!
Ultimate Red Velvet Cupcake Tips and Tricks
- I am again, using a cup of boiling water at the end of this recipe. This makes for a very moist and delicate cake. The boiling water will not cook your eggs, I promise. I also use this technique in my Vanilla Sheet Cake recipe.
- You need a whole heck of a lot of red food coloring to get these cupcakes to the right color. Do not freak when you see that you will be using almost an entire bottle of red food coloring, this is not a typo! When you are mixing, you will see exactly why you need so much.
- The buttermilk in this recipe not only develops extra flavor, but also makes the texture nice and light. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, regular milk will work just fine.
- The cake flour (also known as pastry flour) can be found in the baking isle near all the other flour options. I use Wegman’s brand pastry flour. I also suggest King Arthur’s Brand Cake Flour (sold in a box).
- I do not like a sickeningly sweet cream cheese icing. I used about 3 and a half cups of powdered sugar in my recipe, however you can add more depending on your own taste.
Cream Cheese Icing Recipe
- 1 stick unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 2 (8 ounce) blocks of cream cheese (room temperature)
- 3-4 cups powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (I use Watkin’s brand)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment add your butter and cream cheese. Make sure these ingredients are room temperature! Cold cream cheese will yield a lumpy icing. I do not suggest microwaving these ingredients to soften.
- Mix butter and cream cheese until smooth, scraping down your bowl several times to avoid any lumps.
- Add 3-4 cups powdered sugar (or more to taste). Add vanilla extract.
- Place cream cheese icing in a piping bag and pipe icing on top of cupcakes. I used a Wilton #307 tip for piping.
Recipe adapted from Hershey’s “Perfectly Chocolate” Cake Recipe.
