Moist, made from scratch red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting

There’s nothing better than this red velvet cupcake recipe made from scratch with cream cheese frosting. Every bite is moist, tender, and deliciously sweet.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 bottle red food coloring you can use beet root powder as well

Cream Cheese Icing

• 1 package cream cheese 8 ounces, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, at room temperature
• 1 pound confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a separate large bowl, mix together the sugar, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vinegar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on medium speed until well blended.
3. Add the vanilla and the entire bottle of red food coloring to the cake batter and mix again on low speed until well blended and uniform in color.
4. Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with papers. Fill each cupcake liner about 3/4 full with the cake batter. You will end up with 18-20 cupcakes.
5. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until the center springs back when pressed lightly with your finger. Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before icing.

For Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Cream together the cream cheese and butter. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy, scraping down sides as needed. Ice the cooled cupcakes.
2. Can be left at room temperature but I prefer them refrigerated!