Red velvet cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream frosting
These super delicious red velvet cupcakes have an insanely good white chocolate buttercream frosting and are perfect for any festive occasion although they do kind of scream Valentines day to me.
Red velvet cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream frosting
Now the funny part of these red velvet cupcakes is that they were made in France. Yes that’s right. I was visiting a friend who moved to France about a year ago and we decided we wanted to make some recipes as well. It was lucky I had a very cute appartment which had a very well equipped kitchen and so we set out to make our cupcakes (and a few other delicious recipes I’ll be sharing shortly) We wanted to make a Valentines recipe and while you can absolutely eat these cute cupcakes all year round, the color makes them perfect for Valentine.
What can you find in this post:
What you need for these cupcakes:
- buttermilk
- butter
- sugar
- all purpose flour
- red food coloring
- baking soda
- unsweetened cocoa powder
- teaspoon vanilla extract
- one egg
- neutral oil
For the buttercream you need butter (unsalted at room temperature), icing sugar and white chocolate.
Except that you also need a medium bowl, a large bowl, a large mixing bowl, an electric mixer or food processor, a piping bag and a wire rack. The latter is not an absolute necessity but it helps with the cooling of the cupcakes.
Making the cupcake batter is easy and works pretty much the same way as any other kind of cupcakes. You cream the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. You add the one egg and whisk it through. Add vanilla extract, oil and the food coloring to the mix and whisk it through. Now taking another small bowl add the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder together and mix it through. Mix buttermilk and flour mixture through the butter mixture and alternate until it is finished. Don’t overmix. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through to make sure everything is mixed in.
Baking the red velvet cupcakes
Now it’s time to divide the batter over the cupcake liners. I place the liners inside a muffin tin and bake them in the preheated oven for about 18 to 20 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Let them cool down completely on a wire rack before piping on the white chocolate frosting
White chocolate buttercream
For making the buttercream you can use white chocolate chips and melt these in a double boiler. Let it cool down to room temperature. Whisk the unsalted butter and the powdered sugar with the vanilla until you have a light and airy buttercream. This does take about 10 minutes so is easiest done with a food processor. A hand mixer is also possible but you would have to stand there and hold the mixer, which might be a bit annoying. But all for a good result! Make sure not to skip the whipping and don’t think a couple of minutes will be enough. It needs time to get the air into the buttercream. Once it is whisked you add the cooled melted white chocolate.
Now place the buttercream into a piping bag and pipe beautiful swirls on top of the cupcakes.
Cut the tops
Now for making the best swirls it is easiest if the cupcake is flat on top. They might have risen in the oven but you can cut of the top part so it’s easier to pipe the swirls on top. Plus you need some of the crumbs to decorate the swirls anyway. If you’re not a fan of buttercream you could also go for a white chocolate cream cheese frosting or just use a heavy cream. That’s also a good option.
They’re delicious and soft cupcakes and will be perfect for any celebration or as a birthday cake.
Can I bake the cupcakes beforehand?
Yes you can already prepare the cupcakes beforehand and keep them in an airtight container for a few days. The buttercream frosting keeps fairly well too. You can keep them in the fridge for one or two days. Do keep in mind that the frosting will firm up a bit if you keep it in the fridge as the butter and chocolate will set again. So best to let them come to room temperature before serving if you’ve kept them in the fridge. Or just keep the cupcakes and make the buttercream frosting last minute.
If you’re a fan of cupcakes you might want to try these lemon poppy cupcakes as well!
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Equipment
- 12 cupcake pan
Ingredients
- 60 grams butter
- 150 gr granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring
- 60 ml neutral oil
- 150 g flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 125 ml buttermilk
BUTTERCREAM WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE
- 150 gr white chocolate
- 250 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 75 g powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat briefly.
- Add the vanilla, oil, and food coloring to the butter and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa.
- Add the buttermilk and flour mixture in batches until just combined. Do not mix too long.
- Divide the batter between 12 cupcake liners and bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before piping buttercream on top.
BUTTERCREAM WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE
- Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a double boiler. Allow to cool to room temperature.
- Mix the butter, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla until creamy and fluffy. This takes about 10 minutes, so a food processor is most convenient. But a mixer will work just as well.
- Stir in the cooled and melted white chocolate. Fill a piping bag with the buttercream and pipe it onto the cooled cupcakes in nice swirls. Crumble some red velvet crumbs on top for decoration.
Nutrition Information per portion
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
