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Red Velvet Cupcakes with Piped Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Piped Cream Cheese Frosting are the perfect treat! Extra-moist red velvet cupcakes topped with tangy cream cheese frosting.
4.75 from 4 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 24 cupcakes

Ingredients  

For the cupcakes:

  • 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • Red food coloring (See Kelly's Notes)
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

For the frosting:

  • 2 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/3 cups cold heavy whipping cream (See Kelly's Notes)

Instructions 

Make the cupcakes:

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a cupcake pan with liners.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, white vinegar, vanilla extract and enough red food coloring until the mixture is well combined and reaches your desired color.
  • In a separate medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, 1/2 a cup at a time, mixing between each addition to avoid any lumps in the batter.
  • Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full with batter and bake for 18 to 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer the cupcakes to a cooling rack to cool completely while you make the frosting.

Make the frosting:

  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Sift the powdered sugar into the bowl, beating to combine, then add the vanilla extract.
  • Remove the paddle attachment and attach the whisk attachment. Scrape down any cream cheese from the sides of the bowl, and then with the whisk beating at medium-high speed, stream in the cold heavy cream until the frosting is thick enough to pipe. Please watch the video from Joy of Baking, which features the frosting recipe and addresses potential issues to prevent the frosting from being too thin.
  • Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with your desired pastry tip. Pipe the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes and serve immediately.

Notes

  • Use gel-based food coloring, which is more concentrated than regular water-based food colorings are not as concentrated, so less can be used to achieve a rich, deep red color. Start with 4 to 5 drops and add more as needed. If you’re using water-based food coloring, you’ll need about 3 tablespoons.
  • You must use a brand of heavy cream that whips easily into stiff peaks. If you're uncertain your heavy cream whips easily, whip the heavy cream separate from the cream cheese (until it reaches stiff peaks) and then fold it into the cream cheese.
  • Use a star-shaped pastry tip for textured swirls and a large round pastry tip for a smoother swirl.
  • To make the perfect swirls, start by piping along the outside of the top of the cupcake and use an inward spiral motion to pipe slightly overlapping concentric circles until you reach the middle.  Pull the bag straight up to get the center peak.
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