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hi, my name is carolina and i’m addicted to red velvet cupcakes. my addiction began many years ago and is still going strong ;)

okay, now that i have confessed, i can tell you all about these red velvet cupcakes. the cupcakes are light, fluffy and like my friend Paula {hi Paula!} would say “very red velvety.”

they don’t have too much cocoa powder so it doesn’t overpower their taste. we are talking about having the perfect sweet/tanginess ratio here. SERIOUSLY.

speaking of which, i developed this recipe with the intention of including greek yogurt. so it has a good half a cup of the non-fat kind. in addition we have the baking soda with the vinegar, adding the ultimate tang to the batter. a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

cake flour was also a major player in the small, light crumb of this cupcake texture. my favorite. because in my opinion, cupcakes should be light and airy, but flavorful. i’m not friends with dense, hard texture cupcakes. nope, can’t do it.

haha. watch out, apparently i take cupcakes’ texture very seriously.

let’s talk frosting {which by the way i take even more seriously than cupcakes’ texture}.

i paired the red velvet cupcakes with my good ol’ cream cheese frosting i developed years ago. if you like sugary frosting, where you can only taste sugar and more sugar, i think you need to try this recipe so the sugary frosting demons can leave your taste buds :) haha.

like you’ll see below, the cream cheese frosting is creamy, light, very tangy with a hint of sweetness from the powder sugar. very easy to make and it only has 4 ingredients.

enjoy my directions in pictures {i do my best to guide you through the recipe!} and how these adorable but scrumptious red velvet cupcakes look like after baked.

sift flour with cocoa powder, add sea salt and whisk well!

add sugar to oil and beat in the bowl until creamy.

proceed to add eggs beating well after each addition.

this is the red gel paste i used. you can certainly use beet juice if you like!

alternate flour, milk/greek yogurt mixtures.

this is one of my favorite parts. making the baking soda bubble with the vinegar makes me feel like a scientist ;)

scoop batter into lined cups

onto the frosting! cream butter and add the cream cheese.

mmm!

add sprinkles!

scrumptious red velvet cupcakes

ingredients:
2  and 1/4 cups cake flour
1 and 1/2 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature {about 30 to 45 minutes sitting on the kitchen counter}
2 tsps vanilla extract
1 tsp red gel paste food coloring
1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature {about 30 to 45 minutes sitting on the kitchen counter}
1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt, room temperature {about 30 to 45 minutes sitting on the kitchen counter}
2 tsps baking soda
2 tsps white vinegar

yields 20 cupcakes

directions:

1. preheat oven to 350F. line two standard cupcake pans with good quality {grease-proof preferably} paper liners {12 and 8 cupcakes in total}.
2. combine milk and greek yogurt in a small bowl or large measuring cup and whisk well eliminating any lumps. set aside.
3. in a large bowl, sift flour and cocoa powder. whisk in sea salt. set aside.
4. in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat oil and sugar for 2 minutes at medium speed {speed #5 on kitchenaid}. sugar and oil should be well combined and have a creamy consistency.
5. add one egg at a time, mixing well after each addition.
6. follow with vanilla and food coloring at medium speed.
7. alternate milk mixture with flour mixture three times at the lowest speed setting. make sure to finish with the milk.
8. stop mixer and in a small bowl combine baking soda and vinegar mixing well with a fork. it will foam and you’d want to add it to the batter immediately. beat on medium high for 30 seconds until well combined.
9. with an ice cream scoop, pour batter into cupcake liners filling 3/4 full.
10.  bake for 18 minutes rotating cupcakes half way through.
11.  cool cupcakes on a wire rack for 3 minutes. let them cool out of the pan completely before frosting.
12.  store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

cream cheese frosting

ingredients:

1. 12 tbsps unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature but still cold {about 45 minutes sitting on the kitchen counter and cold to the touch}
2. 12 oz package cream cheese, cubed, room temperature but still cold {about 45 minutes sitting on the kitchen counter and cold to the touch}
3. 2 tsps vanilla extract
4. 1 1/2 cups powder sugar
5. sprinkles for garnish {optional}

directions:

1. beat butter for 3 minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment at medium speed {setting #5 in a kitchenaid}.
2. add cream cheese to bowl and beat at medium speed for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes until well combined and fluffy.
3. add vanilla extract and beat for 30 seconds. stop the mixer to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix on high for 30 more seconds to combine all the ingredients.
4. set mixer to the lowest setting and add powder sugar a little at a time. once all the sugar is incorporated, about 30 seconds, mix on high for 1 and 1/2 minutes to make the frosting creamy, fluffy and airy.
5. in a piping bag fitted with desired tip, add the frosting to decorate the cupcakes.