Red Velvet Cupcakes

There’s something absolutely delicious about red velvet cupcakes. Maybe it’s the tanginess of the buttermilk, or the sweetness of the cream cheese frosting, but these red velvet cupcakes are decadent without being over the top heavy. I’m a huge fan of cupcakes: the airy, fluffy base topped with frosting, icing, glaze, you name it! I love the handheld aspect of a cupcakes and the endless varieties they come in. I tested this particular recipe several times, each time perfecting that perfect balance of tang and chocolate, resulting in this recipe. I will also say this recipe comes with a standard cream cheese frosting recipe because no red velvet cupcake recipe is complete without a cream cheese frosting adorned the top.

Fun fact: the term red velvet derives from the blend of the vinegar, cocoa powder, and buttermilk. In fact, the color of “red velvet” isn’t technically bold red. It’s more of a brownish-red, hence these cupcakes. I did add several drops of red food coloring, but the color from this batch is pretty much formed from the science between the vinegar and the buttermilk, as well as the cocoa powder. I swear, I would never have guessed I love baking this much. Red velvet doesn’t really have a flavor, it takes on a chocolatey, tangy, and tart flavor profile with the addition of the cream cheese frosting. You could essentially make any “velvet” cake with whatever type of food color you use. The choice is yours, just be sure to add the vinegar and buttermilk and you’ve got your velvet profile.

Substitutions for Red Velvet Cupcakes:

• Flour: I opted to make these with Bob’s Red Mill organic All Purpose flour, but you can definitely use a gluten free version or a cake flour. Cake flour is a super fine milled flour and is perfect for baking these red velvet cupcakes. I will be testing these out with this flour soon!
• Sugar: Regular cane sugar works perfectly, but you can try coconut sugar! I use coconut sugar for my healthy vanilla funfetti cupcakes (newly updated version coming soon!) and they are super delish!
• Butter or Oil? I prefer to make these cupcakes with butter and cream the butter with sugar, but you can opt for 1 cup of your preferred oil, just be sure it is a neutral flavored oil. I do not recommend coconut oil for this recipe. As always, I am a lover of Organic Valley products, so for this recipe I used one stick of Organic Valley’s unsalted butter.