Recently, I made it my goal to duplicate the world-famous red velvet cupcakes served up at the Magnolia Bakery in New York City. They’ve been around since 1996 and quickly gained popularity. When we were there, the line to purchase stretched out the front door! You can learn more about Magnolia Bakery HERE and even have a dozen of their red velvet cupcakes online for $56. Or, you can see how our recipe works for you!
These little gems cost a pretty penny — but by making them at home, I could make an entire BATCH for about the cost of one purchased cupcake (they’re $3.25 EACH in New York City). I found the recipe simply by doing a Google search, and wound up on this page. The recipe was really easy, and tastes amazing! Don’t skip the homemade frosting. Cream cheese is the perfect complement to the cocoa-flavored cupcakes.
Magnolia Bakery Red Velvet Copycat Cupcake Recipe
3 ⅓ C. all-purpose flour
¾ C. (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ¼ cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
6 Tbsp. red food coloring
3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 ½ C. buttermilk
1 ½ tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
Red Velvet Cupcake Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place muffin liners in muffin tins and spray them with cooking spray.
In large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs until well-combined.
In a small bowl, whisk together the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well. Next, add the salt and buttermilk. Stir again. Next, add the flour little by little. Beat until all ingredients are fluffy and well-combined without over mixing.
Next, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl. Add the vinegar mixture to the the batter and mix well.
Pour the batter into cupcake cups and fill them 2/3 full. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool.
Yield: 36 cupcakes
Red Velvet Cupcake Frosting:
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, softened and cut into small pieces
6 Tbsp. butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
5 C. confectioners’ sugar
Cream the frosting ingredients together until smooth. Use to frost your yummy red velvet cupcakes after they’ve cooled completely.
Enjoy! These would be great to serve on Valentine’s Day or any other romantic occasion. Forget the Magnolia Bakery — you may just think your own version of the red velvet cupcakes are the best!
This looks like a wonderful recipe! My husband loves red velvet. Question: how many cupcakes does this recipe yield? Thank you!
Wow! This is perfect white Christmas but I am too late for that. Maybe next Christmas I’ll try this one.
Wow those cupcakes look perfect!!!
By the way for those of you making these just for the yummy taste, there is no need to add the food coloring if you’re concerned about all the chemicals and /or don’t want to buy 6 T of red food coor! =)
Thank u soooo much for this tip. Avoiding excessive food color in our home as it is linked to hyperactivity.
I was just wondering if you HAD to add the food coloring. We don’t do food coloring in my house so I’m glad to find out you don’t need it for the taste!! Thanks! Can’t wait to try these. The vanilla cake and vanilla buttercream Magnolia cake recipes are my absolute favorite!!
No, you don’t have to add the food coloring. They will taste the same, they just won’t be the same red color.
Wondering if anyone has made these? I made them last night and something just doesn’t taste right in the cake. I followed the directions to the key. I am wondering if it is the Cocoa or even buttermilk? Any tips would be appreciated.