Pink Velvet Cupcakes – These velvety smooth one-bowl cupcakes are delicious and easy, too! The perfect Valentine’s Day dessert or for any day!
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Pink Cupcakes for Valentine’s Day
This recipe is the perfect “sweet” treat to gift your Valentine. I’m a sucker for anything pink or red, so of course I love these pink cupcakes. I also love my Valentine sugar cookies. They are so decorative and fun!
I’ll be the first to admit it – I love cupcakes! They’re the perfect serving size, they’re fun to decorate, and they’re way less intimidating than making a full layer cake.
As much as I love to eat red velvet cupcakes, I’ve actually never made them myself. They always seemed a little intimidating to me, and the thought of adding a whole bottle of food coloring to my cupcake batter was a little overwhelming. When I came across this pink velvet cupcake recipe, I knew they needed to happen in my kitchen and soon!
They’re easy to make, use only a few drops of pink food coloring, and are made with super simple ingredients that I always have on hand. These cupcakes are perfect for sharing with your sweetheart on Valentine’s day, or to bring with some pink party punch to a class party for the kiddos. They work great as mini cupcakes too!
How to Make Pink Velvet Cupcakes
- BATTER. You’ll start by whisking the dry ingredients together, then cutting in the butter. You’ll want the pieces of butter to be no larger than pea sized. Next you’ll add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. At this point the batter looks almost like cookie dough.
- ADD COLOR. Finally, you’ll add your liquids and food coloring to make a pretty pink batter! There are still tiny lumps of butter in there, which is what you want! The butter will create little air pockets in the cupcakes as they bake and help them be lighter and fluffier.
- FILL. I always use a 3 Tablespoon scoop to fill my cupcake liners, but a spoon works just fine too. Just fill them somewhere between 1/2 and 2/3 full, since they will puff up a lot as they bake.
- BAKE. Bake the cupcakes in the oven at 350°F for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. They will be super fluffy and light, with a perfect dome. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Frosting + Decorations
Once they’ve cooled, you’ll pipe on a luscious and smooth cream cheese frosting. A classic buttercream or sour cream frosting would also taste delicious, although the cream cheese version is definitely my favorite. You can even add a little pink food coloring to the frosting if you’d like.
I sprinkled some pink edible pearls on top of the frosting to add an extra festive touch. I love the contrast of the pink and white! And there you have it…perfect pink velvet cupcakes that are as delicious as they are beautiful.
5 star review
“Delicious! Everyone, including our kids who don’t usually go for baked goods, loved these. Making another batch pronto!”
– Iris
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Pink Velvet Cupcake Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup butter , cold, cut into pieces
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 6-8 drops pink food coloring
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- ½ cup butter , softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 Tablespoons half-and-half or heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.
- Add the butter and cut it in using two knives or the paddle attachment on your mixer, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs and the butter pieces are no larger than pea sized.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and buttermilk, and stir until combined. Add the pink food coloring and stir until well distributed.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan, filling the cups 1/2 to 2/3 full.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Remove from oven and let cool.
- To make the frosting, add the cream cheese and butter to a medium bowl and beat until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth. Add 1 Tablespoon of half and half and beat on high until light and fluffy. Add additional half and half as needed to make a light and fluffy frosting. Pipe onto cooled cupcakes and decorate as desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Birthdays, Cake + Cupcakes, Desserts, Kid-Friendly, Valentine's Day
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Is it 4 ounces or 1/2 cup? Or both of butter thanks
It’s 1/2 cup or 1 stick of butter. Sorry for the confusion!
I just took my cupcakes out of the oven and they look delicious! Nice rise and the batter made exactly one dozen. I can’t wait to dig in! Thanks for sharing!
These are SO cute and absolutely delicious! Love the buttercream!
Can this be used as a cake recipe?
I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work great! You’ll just need to adjust the time accordingly. :)
Hi I tried 5 times and could not get pink colour on the outside. It always turn Orange ? after baking. What’s wrong?
Will I achieve the same colour by using strawberry?
Can I reduce sugar for frosting?
Hi Yvonne! I’m not sure what you are referring to. I just used red food coloring until I achieved the color of my choice. :) You could try 2 cups and then add more until you have the desired texture and taste.
Actually my son do not like colouring in food :))
I managed to find freeze dried beetroot powder. Can I use it in place of red colouring?
Can I use regular red colouring to build that Pink colour?
Definitely! :)
Hi! I was curious could I add some food coloring to the frosting? Would it still hold that beautiful shape?
Yes, definitely! :)
Can the frosting be made and stored overnight?
I’m in the process of making the cupcakes now (just popped them In The oven!)
These look so good! Will be making more this weekend as these are for my sons class for Vday!
Hi Ashleigh! It should work great…just make sure to let it set out for 15-20 minutes before frosting!
What butter do you use for this?
Unsalted butter!
Beautiful, and great job! We love your work and wish you and your family the best.
Thank you! I wish you the best as well. Happy New Year!!
Hi, I can’t wait to make these for a bake sale at work. I just wanted to clarify what kind of flour did you use and what size eggs are required?
I use all purpose flour and large or extra large eggs :)
Super delicious fluffy moist cupcakes! Still trying to master making frosting though. But this is by far my favourite recipe!
These look so delicious! Thanks
Are these regular cupcakes or mini ones? Which size muffin tin?
These were made in the standard size muffin tin! :)
These look so yummy and pretty, and I already have all the ingredients in my house! I know what I’m doing this Saturday!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
These look incredible! YUM!
Beautiful cupcakes!