Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes put a playful spin on classic red velvet cake by tucking a rich cheesecake surprise inside every bite. Finish them with tangy-sweet cream-cheese frosting and a sprinkle of festive nonpareils, and you’ve got a celebration-ready treat!
Why You’ll Love These Cupcakes
- Grocery-store staples: Every ingredient is easy to find—no speciality shopping required.
- Mixer optional: A hand whisk (or electric hand mixer) is all you need.
- Deceptively simple: A few extra steps beyond basic cupcakes, but still beginner-friendly.
Make the Cheesecake Filling First
- Combine: Beat softened cream cheese with an egg yolk, granulated sugar, and vanilla.
- Blend until smooth. That’s it—set aside while you mix the cupcake batter.
Tip: Room-temperature cream cheese is essential; cold cheese won’t mix smoothly and can leave little lumps.
Mix the Red Velvet Batter
- Whisk wet ingredients: In a bowl, blend sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Add dry ingredients (flour, a touch of cocoa, baking soda, salt) in stages.
- Pour in buttermilk, then beat until combined.
- Tint red with liquid food coloring.
No buttermilk? Stir ½ teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar into regular whole milk and let it stand 5 minutes—instant buttermilk!
Assemble & Bake
- Layer 1: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of red velvet batter into each lined muffin cup.
- Layer 2: Add a generous tablespoon of cheesecake filling.
- Layer 3: Cover with 2 more tablespoons batter.
- Bake until the tops spring back and a tester comes out clean of wet batter.
Note: The batter looks brown before coloring because a small amount of cocoa deepens the hue without an overload of dye. Liquid coloring works best here—easy to measure and plenty vibrant alongside the cocoa.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat room-temperature butter and cream cheese until silky smooth.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla, and a pinch of salt; whip until fluffy.
- Decorate: Pipe tall swirls with a large round tip, then scatter sprinkles.
- Holiday twist: Red nonpareils for Christmas, heart sprinkles for Valentine’s, or chocolate curls any time.
- Ganache option: Dip cooled cupcakes in chocolate ganache, chill to set, then add frosting—double decadence!
Storage
Because both the filling and frosting are dairy-based, refrigerate these cupcakes.
- Fridge: Covered, up to 2 days.
- Freezer: Wrap well and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before serving.
FAQ
Can I skip the buttermilk?
Yes—replace it with the same amount of whole milk plus ½ teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar.
Enjoy your vibrant, cheesecake-filled red velvet cupcakes—perfect for Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or any ordinary Tuesday that calls for something extraordinary!
Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp salt
Cupcake Batter
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cocoa powder *
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp white vinegar
- ½ cup buttermilk **
- 2 ½ tsp red liquid food coloring
Cream-Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 – 2 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Red sprinkles, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, beat the softened cream cheese, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla, and salt until smooth and creamy.
- Set the mixture aside while you make the cupcake batter.
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Line 17–18 muffin wells with paper liners.
Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt together in a small bowl. - In a separate large bowl, combine sugar, oil, egg, vanilla, and vinegar. Beat with a handheld mixer on medium speed until the mixture is glossy and well combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low, add the dry ingredients in a few additions, mixing just until incorporated.
- Still on low speed, pour in the buttermilk, then the food coloring. Mix only until the batter is evenly tinted. Give the batter a final stir with a spatula to pick up any pockets of flour.
- Spoon roughly 2 tablespoons batter into each cupcake liner.
Top with 1 rounded tablespoon of cheesecake filling. - Cover the filling with another 2 tablespoons of red velvet batter.
- Bake 20–25 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly pressed with a fingertip.
- Cool in the pan 15 minutes, then transfer cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
- When the cupcakes are cool, beat the butter and cream cheese together until fluffy.
- On low speed, gradually add 2 cups powdered sugar, then the vanilla and salt.
- Increase to medium speed and whip until smooth. If you prefer a stiffer frosting, beat in up to ½ cup more sugar.
- Pipe or spread frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Finish with red sprinkles if desired.
Notes
- Adding a small amount of cocoa deepens the classic red hue while letting you use less food coloring. Skip the cocoa by adding an extra ½ teaspoon red coloring if you prefer.
- No buttermilk? Stir ½ cup whole milk with ½ teaspoon white vinegar, let stand 5 minutes, and use as directed.
Nutrition Information
Yield
17Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 421Total Fat 23gSaturated Fat 9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 12gCholesterol 57mgSodium 221mgCarbohydrates 53gFiber 0gSugar 45gProtein 3g
TastyFitnessRecipes.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although tastyfitnessrecipes.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.
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