Dear Santa,
Let’s have some real talk. If you’ve been listening to my podcast you know all about what I want for Christmas. You’ve heard me blabber on and on about glitter nail polish, sequin tops, Tina Fey, and bourbon. Yes… I want Tina Fey for Christmas.
Actually though… I want none of these things. Well, except chocolate. Did I mention chocolate? I could also use a generous dose of patience, a few more hours in the day, and enough energy to never have to sleep. Basically I want you to turn me into a patient and kind superhero… and I want to keep my glasses. They make me look smarter (and see better).
As a trade for such gifts, I offer you these cupcakes. I’ve fashioned them into a haphazard Christmas tree (or pointed arrow… whatever) in an effort to please you.
Please say it works!
Sweet…
Joy
These cupcakes were the first thing I thought about when I woke up this morning at 6:51am. By 9:04 they were being baked. Forty minutes later they were being frosted.
Sometimes the morning just required cupcakes.
Like sometimes the morning requires fried chicken… I dunno. Inexplicable.
Oh. There’s a thing you should know about Red Velvet Cupcakes. Red dye.
If you sneak off to eat a cupcakes worth of batter… you’ll have a stained red mouth when you’re trying to deny licking the beaters. Not slick.
Silky smooth Cream Cheese Frosting is the perfect topping to these simple red cupcakes.
I tinted some frosting green for some extra holiday spirit. It’s probably what Santa would be down with.
Please consider these to be super simple holiday cupcakes. They’re no fuss. They’re not demanding. They’re simple little darlings. They’re super heros.
The red velvet cake is moist and perfectly proportioned. That means it’s not too light and not too dense. Red food coloring is the key to the color of these cupcakes, but cocoa adds a lovely kick of flavor. Vinegar is important too. It makes the red redder and helps to activate the baking soda. If you don’t have white vinegar… you can totally use apple cider vinegar too. No fuss. Let’s keep it simple.
Cream Cheese frosting? Be proud and pile it high! This frosting is speckled with vanilla beans and tinted with green dye. Sure… I also went a little nutso with the yellow sprinkles. No biggie.
Enjoy the holiday with some simple little cakes.
Red Velvet Christmas Cupcakes
makes 2 dozen cupcakes
For the Cupcakes:
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 tablespoons red food coloring
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk (I used 2 percent milk)
2 teaspoons white vinegar
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 (4-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, or scrapings of 1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon milk
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
green food coloring
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two muffin pans with cupcake papers and set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk together vanilla extract, food coloring, and cocoa power. The mixture will become a thick paste. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together butter and brown sugar. Beat on medium speed until slightly more pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute between each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
Beat in the red cocoa paste. Incorporate well, beating on medium-high speed.
Add half of the flour mixture. Beat batter on low speed while adding half of the milk. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl. Add the remaining flour and beat on low speed while adding the remaining milk.
Add the vinegar. Beat well.
Divide the batter between the 24 cupcake tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a cake skewer inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before placing on a wire rack to cool completely. Cupcakes should be completely cooled before frosting. While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting.
To make the Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, add softened cream cheese. Beat on medium speed until cream cheese is extra soft and pliable, about 1 minute.
Add softened butter and continue to beat on medium-low speed until butter and cream cheese are thoroughly combined. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar, vanilla extract or beans, and milk. Beat of medium speed until well incorporated. Add remaining powdered sugar and beat until smooth and fluffy.
Add more powdered sugar or milk depending on your desired consistency.
Remove about 1/4 of the frosting and place in a small bowl. That’s the frosting that will stay white. Add several drops of green food coloring to the majority of the frosting.
Place frosting in the fridge for an hour before frosting if you’d like to firm it up a bit before frosting cupcakes.
Frost cupcakes by piping with a pastry bag, or by spooning a big dollop of frosting onto the top of the cupcake and spreading evenly. Top with sprinkles and arrange like a christmas tree if you’d like.
Cupcakes will last, well wrapped in the refrigerator, for up to three days.
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They are beautiful, I love the colors! So joyful.
Love it…..is the frosting super soft and gooey or a little firm? I guess what I really need to know is are they going to get messed up if I bring them with me to a party this Christmas? For some reason Im imagining them soft underneath a slightly crunchy frosting shell which would be good for me.
I love what you did here..
Can I just say that making red velvet anything at Christmas time never ever occurred to me. I’m from the South, and I’ve always considered red velvet cake to be a summer thing. Buuuttt, I gotta say, I could see how my kids would totally flip over the red cake and the green frosting combo. OK, I’m sold. Gotta make it for my kids.
My kids last night when I brought the potato dish to the table: “Mom, are these The Mustard Potatoes?!? Yessss!” Once again you bring Joy to my dinner table! Happy Holidays!
I think I’ll make these for Girl’s Night tonight. You are inexplicably inspiring for every time I need to bake something tasty AND cute. Thanks!!
I wish red velvet cake wasn’t so bitter! It’s so pretty!
What a sweet Christmas “cake.” I think this would be a fun (and portable) treat to bring into the office. Going on the list for next year…
Happy holidays to you, Joy!
I never thought of this for Christmas but how perfect with that beauty of a frosting! You inspire me so. I really need to get to my baking. The frosting sounds yum. And I have just the perfect tinsel tree picks…fun!
These are adorable! And all mornings require cupcakes.
I have a slight love affair with red velvet cake, so I was especially excited to see this particular post for cupcakes. I could die happy now. Well as soon as I make these, I mean. Thanks for the great recipe. And thank God for stretchy pants. These can’t be good for my waist line.
My mom only made “red cake” for Valentine’s Day, and I never thought of it for anything but V. Day. That is, until 5 years ago, when my daughter asked me to make her wedding cake, and she wanted “red cake”. It was lovely – kind of holiday-ish, as it was Dec. 30, and most of the guests had never had red cake, so it was a nice, delicious surprise as well!
MMM! red velvet cupcakes for christmas? sign me up… I think my waist line is expanding as we speak.
Twenty-some years on this earth and I still have not yet tasted red velvet anything. Does that make me a bad person? Or, at the very least, a slacker? Probably. Oh well. Cream cheese frosting makes it so hard to care.
Just made red velvet cupcakes for my daughters birthday. thought it was funny that a little girls first request was red velvet with buttercream, not cream cheese frosting. Yours came out beautiful!
Happy holidays Joy! I have to be honest, I fall in the crowd of non-red velvet cake lovers, but your cupcakes look so darn good I might have to try them! You have a way of making baking recipes look easy, so thanks for that.
Looks absolutely delicious, Joy! So festive and happy :)
I want a sequin top too! More like a sequin dress, actually.
But anyway, those cupcakes sound amazing. I recently saw a recipe for Eggnog Red Velvet cupcakes .. red velvet seems to be popping up everywhere. Maybe a sign I need to make it ..
Hi Joy,
I love it that you get up and start your baking early! Red velvet cupcakes were a great choice, too! I just love them! You make this recipe sound so simple and no-fuss…..another great thing! I will definitely be making some of these delicious cupcakes! I am guilty of tasting….so with the red dye, I won’t have to bother with lipstick that day! ha Have a wonderful day. What are you baking for Christmas day? Can’t wait to see…. Merry Christmas, Joy! I linked to your blog today because I wanted to share your cute baking blog with my readers. I know they will enjoy visiting and trying some of your recipes, too. xoxo Kim
Hey, is this a new Red Velvet Cake recipe? Love your work as always, Joy!
Red velvet cupcakes always look so beautiful to me, but these ones look even more so!
Love the podcast!
After reading a few comments, it’s good to know I’m not the only person on the planet who has never tried – nor cared to try – red velvet. I dunno. Something about a food being “trendy” turns me off. But I have to say, Joy, you have a way of making everything look and sound irresistible. You may have finally broken me down. Who knows? Maybe someday you’ll even convince me to try cake pops!
I just have one question. I never use food dyes, due to the artificiality of it all. After a quick internet search, I’m seeing that there are natural options out there. Have you tried any of them? Any thoughts on what may be a good brand/source for a nice, rich red?
thanks.
p.s. when playing with my 3 year old son in his play kitchen one day, my father-in-law asked where my son got the recipe for his delicious “soup” and right away my darling boy proclaimed, “I got it from Joy the Baker!” He loves you, I love you. We’re big fans. :)
LOVE the blue colour – these are stunning!
http//www.chocolateshavings.ca
These look brilliant, love the colours!!
Joy, gosh i just love you, your so awesome !
The cupcake tree totally works! And may I just say the icing looks really delicious.
Happy Holidays Joy!
I love Red Velvet cupcakes, this ones going to be on my table next years christmas!
I love red velvet cupcakes! YUM!
mmmm….you had me at red cocoa paste…
You are so cute! I like your Dear Santa letter, and I also want to send you some chocolate from Paris – I love your blog and the chocolate here is so good, I want to share it with everyone! What’s your address?
best christmas tree I’ve seen all season!
This is Christmas for the eyes (and turquoise frosting is love).
Merry Christmas, Joy! I do believe these cupcakes would certainly win over Santa, for either nail polish or sequins or even Tina Fey. Have a wonnnderful holiday!
xoxo
christine
I had a cupcake morning myself today. I woke up thinking “I need to make cupcakes” and they were being baked before I’d finished my coffee. Some mornings, it’s just necessary to bake to start the day.
These are lovely. Red velvet cupcakes are my favorite, and I love the green-colored frosting for the holidays. My mom used to make this sometimes without the dye. Then we’d call it “khaki cake” (ha!). P.S. Thanks for speaking at the FoodBuzz Festival panel. I really enjoyed your insight.
These look almost too good to eat!
Why have I never thought of red velvet cake for Christmas?
Next year these will definitely be on my buffet table…
Red velvet Christmas tree? I’m game for sure. :)
This is pretty much the most adorable santa letter in the history of adorable ever.
I love the cupcake tree–the star most of all!
Merry Christmas, Joy! I hope you got everything you wanted!
These cupcakes looks lovely. The kids will surely love these.
Delicious, totally can’t wait to make them. If you ever want some red velvet that’s a little more breakfast-y, give these Red Velvet Pancakes a try. http://www.velveteenbaker.com/2010/08/red-velvet-its-not-just-for-dessert.html. Sooooo amazing.
For the frosting — how much cream cheese should be used? One package of Philadelphia is 8 ounces. Should I half it? recipe calls for 1 package (4 oz). Thanks and I really really really enjoy your beautiful blog. What a pleasure!
these look delicious! do you know where i could purchase the little bowl holding the yellow sprinkles?
Do you prefer these or the previous recipe from Hummingbird, which you originally labeled as your favorite?
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