Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes
Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes are a bite-sized version of my favorite red velvet cake recipe. The perfect cupcake recipe to make for a festive holiday dessert.
These Red Velvet Mini Cakes are ideal for Christmas or Valentine’s Day, but delicious enough to make many times throughout the year!
Why You Should Make
I found some candy-coated chocolate balls in holiday colors and used those to top the cream cheese frosted mini red velvet cupcakes. These gems were baked in white paper liners, but I pulled out some Christmas liners and dropped the baked cupcakes into the fresh packaging.
- With little effort, the cupcakes became more festive. Candies and colorful wrappers make them perfect for any special occasion.
- Their small size means you can go back for seconds!
- These are great for a dessert buffet.
- Their red color makes red velvet desserts perfect for Valentine’s Day and Christmas.
The Best Red Velvet Recipe
This is the one and only red velvet cake recipe I’ve ever made. A knowledgeable foodie friend passed along her recipe and I couldn’t find an iota of fault with it. These mini red velvet cupcakes are made with buttermilk, which results in a perfect, tender crumb.
The cream cheese icing pipes like a dream, and that rarely happens around here! No bakery can rival these cupcakes, so go ahead and whip up a batch for your family or friends. My daughter is crazy for anything red velvet and she was thrilled with this scaled-down cupcake. If you’re like Katie and love all red velvet treats, check out this comprehensive red velvet recipe roundup!
PRO-Tip: If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can easily make some with 2 ingredients you probably have on hand. Add a tablespoon of white or cider vinegar or lemon juice to a 1 cup liquid measuring cup. Fill to the one cup mark with milk. Stir and let rest for a few minutes. Then measure out what you need for your recipe.
A Few More Christmas Week Recipes:
- Eggnog Pound Cake from The Redhead Baker
- Quince, Cranberry and Persimmon Crisps from Pineapple and Coconut
- Eggnog Truffles from Crumb: A Food Blog
- Peppermint Fudge from The Bitter Side of Sweet
- Gingerbread Cake with Orange Cream Glaze from Comfortably Domestic
- No-Bake Chocolate Peppermint Cheesecake from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
- Easy White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge from Big Bear’s Wife
- Molasses Ginger Cookies from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Caramel Bacon Bark from Dixie Chik Cooks
- Mini Vanilla Bean Cheesecakes
Helpful Tools:
- Mini Muffin Pan
- 10-Piece Mixing Bowl Set
- KitchenAid 9-Speed Hand Mixer
- The Pampered Chef Icing Decorator
More Red Velvet Recipes You’ll Love:
- Red Velvet Blondies from Crazy for Crust
- Cheesecake Filled Red Velvet Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Caramel Filled Red Velvet Cookies from TidyMom
- Red Velvet Cupcakes from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Red Velvet Oreo Truffles from The Little Kitchen
- Red Velvet Cookies with White Chocolate Chips
Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes Recipe
The BEST red velvet recipe, I promise! And these mini cupcakes are perfect for a holiday dessert buffet!
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 3½ cups cake flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch processed)
- 1½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups canola oil
- 2¼ cups sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 ounces red food coloring
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2½ teaspoons white vinegar
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cold
- 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º. Put paper liners in three 24-count mini-muffin tins. Set aside.
- Whisk flour, cocoa, and salt together in a bowl.
- Beat oil and sugar in an electric mixer on medium till well blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
- Lower mixer speed to low (you don't want any splashing!), and carefully add the red food coloring.
- Add vanilla, then alternate flour with buttermilk, starting with half the flour, then half the buttermilk, the rest of the flour, then ending with buttermilk.
- Scrape down the bowl, then mix just briefly till combined.
- Place baking soda and vinegar in a dish and stir to combine. Add to batter with mixer running. Beat for just 10 seconds.
- Fill cupcake liners ⅔ full and bake for 12-15 minutes or till a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool slightly, then remove from the pans. Cool completely before icing.
- For frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla just till blended. Add powdered sugar slowly (1 cup at a time) and beat till the frosting is smooth and at the correct consistency.
- You may find you prefer more or less powdered sugar than called for. Makes 2 cups.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
72Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 147Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 108mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 0gSugar: 11gProtein: 1g
9 Comments on “Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes”
I only have light cream cheese in my fridge, is that an okay substitute for regular cream cheese in the frosting?
It should work fine, Mikayla. It might not be as rich, but still very tasty! Enjoy!
These are amazing! I only used 2 ounces of food coloring and they still came out a beautiful red color. It actually made 120 mini cupcakes for me, which worked out great because I had 2 events that I needed to bring something to. I did have to make an extra half batch of the frosting but no biggie. I’m wondering if I can use this recipe to make a red velvet cake, and if so, what temperature and for how long to bake it??
Yes, this is the same recipe I use to make my red velvet cake. Here is a link with details how to make the layer cake version: https://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/red-velvet-cake-with-white-chocolate-cream-cheese-frosting-improvchallenge/ (https://www.thatskinnychickcanbake.com/red-velvet-cake-with-white-chocolate-cream-cheese-frosting-improvchallenge/) Just frost with a regular cream cheese frosting if you’d like! So glad these were a hit. And I will try less red food coloring the next time, too.
is 3 OUNCES of red food coloring really accurate? Teaspoons maybe? Not ounces?
It’s crazy, but it’s actually 3 of those small bottles of red food coloring. Feel free to cut back if you’d like. The color won’t be as intense, but they’ll taste just as wonderful!
This is absolutely magnificent, scrumptious, delicious, super yummy mini red velvet cupcakes. Can i post it on my blog?
Hi, Bella,
You can certainly share a photo with a link back to the blog post! Thanks!
I am obsessed with desserts! So Instagrammable and adorable! Definitely these mini red velvet cupcakes will be yummy! I’m seriously so inspired right now. I need to add cinnamon to recipe and it would be perfect. Thx for sharing!