If you have a late-night craving for red velvet cupcakes, this small batch recipe is simple, straightforward, and makes just 6 fluffy cupcakes. And, they are seriously the best! The recipe is based on the one I originally developed in pastry school, and the cupcakes are always soft, fluffy, and amazing with tangy cream cheese frosting.
This weekend, my friends and I are doing an annual 24-hour bike race/scavenger hunt, which is the one day of the year when I act like a degenerate. This is honestly not saying much, since I'm a huge square.
Nevertheless, this year our goal is to go the full 24 hours. (We say this every year. We've never made it lol.) But since I can't contribute much in terms of debauchery, I'm making cupcakes for our midnight snack.
When in doubt, I always make red velvet. It's one of those desserts that everyone loves, even though it's honestly pretty basic. This recipe is essentially a mix of these vanilla cupcakes and my classic chocolate cupcakes, but with buttermilk and a good dose of red food coloring.
And obviously, topping the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting is classic, but they'd also be lovely with vanilla buttercream! I hope you make them for your friends and do something silly tonight. xx!
Red food coloring
I am super sensitive to the taste of red food coloring, so I typically use a natural version made with beet juice. I can find this at my local grocery store, but it's also available online! Gel or liquid will both work, since we're not using much.
Also, the red food coloring doesn't necessarily add anything taste-wise. It's just for color! So if you want to skip it, that would be fine too.
Recipe directions
To make your own buttermilk, combine 75 milliliters of whole milk with 5 milliliters of white vinegar. Whisk and let it sit for 5-10 minutes, until it's slightly curdled.
When it comes to small batch baking, I always recommend using a scale to measure the ingredients. Just a small amount of flour can make or break an entire recipe. But if you don't have a scale, use the fluff, spoon, & level method to measure flour, cocoa, & other dry ingredients. Here is a whole guide on how I measure ingredients for small batch baking!
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Simple Small Batch Red Velvet Cupcakes
Equipment
- Cupcake pan
- Paper cupcake liners
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 80 grams all purpose flour (⅔ cup)
- 10 grams Dutch process cocoa powder (2 Tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt I use Diamond
- 60 grams unsalted butter, softened (¼ cup)
- 75 grams granulated sugar (6 Tablespoons)
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring more as needed
- 80 milliliters buttermilk (⅓ cup)
- ¼ teaspoon white vinegar
- 25 milliliters neutral oil I use avocado oil (1 Tablespoon + 2 teaspoons)
- Small batch cream cheese frosting for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a standard cupcake pan with 6 paper cupcake liners. Then, combine the all purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and Kosher salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Add the softened unsalted butter and granulated sugar to a medium mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until it's very light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula halfway through to ensure everything is well-mixed. Then, mix in the egg, vanilla extract, and red food coloring until smooth. (The mixture may curdle a little. Don't stress! This is normal.)
- Sift the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix until the batter is about 75% combined. Then, add the buttermilk, white vinegar, and neutral oil. Mix just until the batter comes together. Don't over-mix or the cupcakes will come out dense and dry.
- Using a cupcake scoop, evenly divide the batter between the 6 cupcake liners. They should be about ¾ full.
- Bake the cupcakes for 15-18 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick has just a few moist crumbs. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely. Frost with cream cheese frosting and decorate as desired. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? I'd love to hear what you think!