Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen, 2007

Show: Paula's Home CookingEpisode: Reunion Family Picnic

Rated: 4 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (407)

Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
24 frosted cupcakes

Times:

Prep: 20 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 20 min
Total:: 40 min

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Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
Chopped pecans and fresh raspberries or strawberries, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Garnish with chopped pecans and a fresh raspberry or strawberry.

Cook's Note: Frost the cupcakes with a butter knife or pipe it on with a big star tip.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Trisha Woodinville, WA 11-01-2009
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Very good....
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I made these last year for Christmas, and plan to make them again this year. I sprinkled sweetened coconut on top, they were... wonderful.Read more
recipe Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Yen Belmont, CA 10-28-2009
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Tried and True
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

I've made cupcakes from this recipe at least 8 times. Each time I've made small adjustments and they still turn out... great. Changes I've made: - double the cocoa powder and the vanilla extract - cut down the oil. I've replaced it entirely with butter before and also tried it with 1/4 cup less, both turned out well. - i'm not big on coloring so i've reduced the food coloring by half. it is still quite red, though more red brown but no one seems to care - my newest one is to replace 1/2 to 2/3 of the flour with whole wheat flour. you can't even tell the difference. - for the frosting (if you want a special twist) I made it a whole vanilla bean scraped in. it was a hit and the friends have been known to eat just the frosting - the frosting if you are doing with a spatula it is too much (halve it), but if you are piping it on it is just enough for all the cupcakes. Read more
recipe Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Nancy Addison, IL 10-23-2009
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Great flavor & texture!
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

After scrutinizing all the reviews on Paula's & Terri Wahl's Red Velvet Cupcakes....unsure which recipe I should use...I... FINALLY MADE PAULA'S! I saw the throwdown w/Terri and they did look scrumptious! I have never tried red velvet cake before so I had no idea how they should taste except the ingredients being used. Terri's reviews were confusing compared to Paula's....so I made them for a hallween party...and I thought they were delicious! Party is tomorrow, so I'll see how I did :) I followed the recipe to a T and just used a little less oil and 2 tsp. of cocoa (which added a good extra flavor I think). For the cream cheese frosting, I went w/Terri's because she got rave reviews....I only used 1 1/2 lbs or less of the powdered sugar as I don't like frosting overly sweet. These reviews really do help & all the comments & advice is appreciated! I'm just glad I finally made them :)Read more
recipe Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Jennifer College Station, TX 10-23-2009
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4 1/2 Stars
Rated: 4 stars out of 5

Okay, so I've skimmed a few of the reviews before, and people seem to be disappointed with the fact that this recipe doesn't... taste like a traditional red velvet cake. I'm no expert on what it should taste like, but I LOVED the way this cake turned out! (And yes, you read me right - I made a cake instead of cupcakes.) It was very moist, very quick & easy to make, very red, ha ha... and very sweet. And speaking of sweet, when I made the frosting, I was glad I taste-tested as I was going along, adding the powdered sugar. After I added 2 cups, I tasted. Another cup, and I tasted again. And that was enough powdered sugar for me - I left it at 3 cups instead of the 4. I don't have a big sweet tooth, so for me to say that I really liked this cake (and frosting) is... yeah, ha ha. To date, I've made this cake many times, especially since it's so easy. Note: In the pastry world, this is definitely a no-brainer, but I'm not a pastry chef - I'm a college student, ha ha; but remember to refrigerate your cake/cupcakes. I guess I'm just used to leaving stuff like cookies and other baked goods out on the counter, but certain things (i.e. cakes) need to stay refrigerated, especially because of the frosting, in this case. The first or second time I made this cake, I drove 3 hours with it to take it back to my hometown, and the frosting was definitely losing its structure, to say the least. So anyway, bottom line: loved it; will keep making it; have yet to try it as cupcakes, ha ha. <3 you, Paula!Read more
recipe Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Tara Amston, CT 10-23-2009
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THE BEST CUPCAKE IVE EVER HAD!
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

From the cream cheese frosting YUM! To the very most cupcake...its definately a TOP favorite of mine. Ive made this recipe... a few times now & will continue to use it as my go-to sweets recipe! Read more
recipe Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Michelle Dublin, CA 10-16-2009
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Not too bad
Rated: 3 stars out of 5

This recipe was okay, it wasn't the best in the world but if you make a few minor adjustments to it then it turns out pretty... good. I added a little more cocoa powder than the recipe asked for, it was a little bland when I didn't and I also added a little more vinegar than the recipe calls for. I have made these a few times, even made it as a cake. The oil measurements you need to play around with to figure out exactly how smooth you like the cupcakes to be, but what the recipe asks for is a little too much, I would suggest pulling it back some. Happy Baking!Read more