There are hundreds of recipes out there for regular Red Velvet Cupcakes. And while I live in New York City – cupcake capital of the modern world – I’ve never been a fan of any of the city’s high-priced gourmet cupcake shops (gourmands, go ahead and gasp). So after sifting through a handful of options, I decided to create my own. I’ve incorporated raspberries into the batter for an even deeper red coloring and to add a richer flavor to this perfect Valentine’s Day treat.
Servings 24 cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk
- 3 Tablespoons red food coloring (about 1.5 oz.)
- 1½ cups mashed raspberries (2 6-oz. packages )
For the frosting:
- 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
For the cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a small bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder. Set aside.
- Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Add in the vanilla.
- Beat in the sifted flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk.
- Add in the food coloring and blend until well mixed. Then stir in the mashed raspberries.
- Scoop the batter into cupcake tins lined with cupcake cups.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes, rotating the cupcake tin in the oven halfway through.
- Remove and let cool before frosting with cream cheese frosting (recipe below).
For the cream cheese frosting:
- Beat together the cream cheese and softened butter until well incorporated.
- Beat in vanilla then slowly beat in the powdered sugar until the icing is smooth in texture.
- Spread on cupcakes and serve.
- ★ Did you make this recipe? Don't forget to give it a star rating below!
Nutrition
Calories: 286kcal, Carbohydrates: 44g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 47mg, Sodium: 149mg, Potassium: 59mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 32g, Vitamin A: 350IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 25mg, Iron: 0.4mg
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Wow! So good. Made two minor tweaks (one that we highly recommend) but regardless, it was so, so good. Thank you.
Every year at Christmas, my elementary-aged niece stays the night with us and I teach her to bake whatever she chooses. This year she VERY specifically wanted to make raspberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.
I was a little skeptical to put raspberries in cupcakes. But it was great! And great call on the cocoa powder, BTW. Perfect amount. Our compliments to the chef.
Our tweaks:
#1 – we kept the raspberries whole. The batter was thick enough that they didn’t sink. They were fresh and had air-dried from rinsing. My niece wanted to have the berries be whole, and it worked well!
#2 – for the frosting, we added a little bit of Torani raspberry syrup (which we usually use for lattes). Doesn’t need a ton, or else it tastes like cough syrup, lol. But adding the raspberry syrup was a HUGE win.
What I will note: we didn’t use red food coloring (because I didn’t realize we were out of red until too late). It tasted fine, of course, but the unfrosted cupcakes looked a little like bran muffins, lol. But they were moist and delicious! And once they were frosted, no one knew, nor did they care.
Again, thank you for posting! You helped us make Christmas special.
This is so awesome, Michael! I’m thrilled you and your niece enjoyed baking the cupcakes together. :)
I made these cupcakes for a bridal shower and they were fantastic. They’re moist and flavorful thanks to the addition of raspberries (my favorite fruit) and the frosting is delicious.
I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed the recipe, Beatrice!
It looks really good. I love you blog, it is so cute
These are delicious! A delightful twist on the cupcake, and you can really taste the raspberry. Very moist, and the frosting is just classic.