It’s time for our monthly blog hop challenge! This month, the challenge is to share a favorite family recipe. We’re sharing my sister’s recipe for Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Making the recipe as cupcakes means they are easy to share! Making them from scratch means you get the real red velvet taste and texture.


We’re delighted to be joining some talented bloggers for this month’s challenge!
Please visit the links below for more Favorite Family Recipes!
Comfort Springs Strawberry Baked Brie
Coastal Bohemian Greek Butter Cookies
Purple Hues and Me Chocolate Covered Strawberries
Kristin’s Peppermints and Cherries Carrot Souffle
Two Chicks and a Mom Taco Soup
Olives & Okra Italian Easter Sweet Bread
Our Crafty Mom French Canadian Meat Pie
Stone Cottage Adventures Basic Corn Bread
Intelligent Domestications Low Country Boil
Almost everyone has their favorite recipe for Red Velvet Cake. There are lots of variations of the recipe that I’ve seen on line. This recipe is one that my sister made every year for Christmas for years. It’s moist and flavorful, so I’ve never seen the need to switch anything up. I’ve been making it for the holidays for years now and while it’s a Christmas favorite, it’s perfect for Valentine’s Day, too!
Our Red Velvet Cake Recipe is always a favorite for Christmas.

The taste and texture of a red velvet cake made from scratch is nothing like a mix from a box. I tried one of those-nothing about it tasted like a real red velvet cake. Using a box mix for lots of cakes can be a quick alternative, but to get a true red velvet cake, skip the boxed mix.
For Valentine’s Day, I decided to make cupcakes instead of a cake. This way, I can conveniently share them with friends and family.
Favorite Family Recipe ~ Red Velvet Cupcakes

While the cake is delicious, the butter cream frosting is definitely “icing on the cake!” I use this recipe for almost all cakes I make. For a red velvet cake, I combine pecan chips with the frosting, but for cupcakes, I sprinkled mixed nuts on top on some of them.

One of the fun parts about making a velvet cake is that you can make it any color you’d like. Want a Green Velvet Cake for St. Patrick’s Day? A Pink Velvet for Easter? An Orange Velvet for Halloween? Since the coloring doesn’t alter the taste or texture of the cake, it can be any color you want.

If you’re looking for a dessert or delicious cupcakes, you can’t go wrong with this recipe!
Pin Me, Please!
Red Velvet Cupcakes From Scratch

Follow the recipe below, but substitute cupcake pans for layer pans. Line the pans with cupcake liners before filling each one about 3/4 full.

Red Velvet Cake
A delicious, made from scratch family recipe, perfect for Christmas dessert.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Cocoa
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1 1/2 Cups Canola Oil
- 1 tsp White Vinegar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- 1 One Ounce Bottle Red Food Coloring
Frosting
- 1/2 Cup Butter softened
- 1 8 ounce package Cream Cheese softened
- 5 Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 Cup Chopped Nuts optional
Instructions
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Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
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Prepare 3 cake pans with baking spray.
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Sift flour, baking soda, cocoa, and salt together.
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Cream sugar and eggs together in large mixing bowl.
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Alternately add small amounts of the dry mixture to the mixing bowl along with small amounts of buttermilk. Start and end with the dry ingredients.
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Beat on medium speed for two minutes.
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Pour batter evenly into each pan.
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Make sure to get rid of any air bubbles by lightly dropping the pans onto a dish cloth on a counter.
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Bake for 20 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Return to oven for 2 minutes if needed.
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Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to cooling racks. Allow to cool completely on wire racks before frosting.
Frosting Directions:
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Allow butter and cream cheese to soften.
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Sift powdered sugar.
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Cream butter and cream cheese.
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Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time to mixture. Beat on medium to blend.
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Add vanilla to mixture. Stir with large spoon to incorporate into the frosting.
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If the frosting is too thick, add a small amount of milk and mix. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar and mix.
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Place one cake layer on cake plate and add frosting to the top. Add second layer and top with frosting. Add the third layer and frost top and sides of cake. Store under a cake dome.
Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures says
What pretty cupcakes! Red Velvet is our daughter’s favorite cake! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
pinning
Beverly says
Thanks, Marci. Red Velvet is one of my favorites, too. Thanks for pinning.
Gail @Purple Hues and Me says
That’s one yummy family favorite tradition to make for Valentines as cupcakes! I can almost taste them!
Beverly says
I’m planning on making various colored velvet cupcakes for spring time, too. Thanks, Gail!
Kristin @ Peppermints and Cherries says
ANother great post to pin to my Valentine’s Day Pinterest Board! You could own a bakery! Beautiful WOrk!
Beverly says
Thank you! Gloria is a talented cake decorator. I’m better at baking though. 🙂 If she had decorated these, they would have perfect frosting done up in swirls. Thanks so much for pinning, Kristin.
Shirley Wood says
It has been such a long time since I have enjoyed Red Velvet Cake! It never crossed my mind to make them into cupcakes. These are perfect for Valentine’s dessert. I love that this is your sisters recipe too. We all have family members who make the best of this or that! My Mom used to be our Red Velvet Cake maker.
Beverly says
Oh, I can’t let too much time pass between having red velvet cake! It’s one of my favorites. My sister’s recipe is the only one I’ve ever used-it’s great. It’s funny how it becomes tradition for one person in the family to make a particular dish. I guess it happens in most families. 🙂
Twochicksandamom/Donna says
Cakes from scratch are the best and these cupcakes turned out lovely. i need to make sure i share with my daughter staci–she loves red velvet. pinned!
Beverly says
I agree, Donna-nothing beats a from scratch cake! I hope your daughter will enjoy the recipe. Thanks for pinning!
Michelle James says
we love red velvet in our house and i hate to say i never made them from scratch, but you have motivated me to try it. i have no doubt they will be delicious! thank you for sharing!
Beverly says
I’m happy to have give you a little motivation to try making red velvet from scratch, Michelle. You won’t be disappointed! Thank you!
Laurie says
Beverly, These look wonderful! Red Velvet is perfect for a Valentine’s Day treat! Thanks so much for sharing your recipe! Pinned to share.
Beverly says
Thanks, Laurie! These are a great Valentine’s Day treat! I made these last week and shared them, so needless to say they were gone well before Valentine’s Day though. 🙂 Thanks for pinning!
Sherry says
Red velvet cake doesn’t last 5 minutes in our house. These cupcakes will surely be a big hit. they look divine.
Beverly says
It doesn’t last long here either! The cupcakes were enjoyed! Thanks, Sherry!
Helen at the Lazy Gastronome says
So deliciously festive! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party!
Beverly says
Thanks, Helen and thanks for hosting the party!