Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes
Rich, moist, and sinfully delicious, this Eggless Red Velvet Cupcake recipe is an absolute show-stopper, and you will never regret choosing this velvety-textured treat when planning a dessert for your party or get-together. These vegan cupcakes have drool-worthy vanilla-chocolaty perfection in every bite.
Its deep red color and perfect sweetness will satisfy your taste buds, and its brilliance will enchant your dessert-loving soul!
If you love eggless red velvet cupcakes as much as we do, then you are in for a treat. This vegan, vibrant, and flavorful dessert, topped with swirls of creamy frosting, will brighten up any occasion and spread cheerfulness just like its vibrant hue.
Do bake these beauties to blend with your Valentine’s Day theme, and trust me, these cupcakes will be a visual treat that’s hard to resist!
Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes
Red Velvet Cakes and Cupcakes are loved worldwide for their heavenly deliciousness. Everyone loves cupcakes (kids and adults alike), as these little bites of happiness are a great alternative to a massive slice of cake (for the health-conscious).
Moreover, these individual cupcakes are every cake lover’s dream dessert as they are portion-sized, and can be enjoyed guilt-free.
These eggless red velvet cupcakes are so simple to make with a tender-light crumb made with your everyday pantry staples and a velvety cream cheese frosting that will completely woo you.
The red food color is a significant game changer that lends these sweet stunners their unique name and identity!
Reasons You’ll ♡ Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes
Even if you are not a pro at baking, I can assure you that you will love making these little charming marvels, and every step of baking will be as enjoyable as every blissful bite you eat, plus —
- It has a beautiful flavor
- Is tender and moist
- Luscious and tangy cream cheese frosting is a cherry on top
- Scalable recipe and easily customizable too, and
- A complete crowd-pleaser recipe!
It also makes a great gifting option during celebrations and events. Being versatile, these eggless red velvet cupcakes can be experimented with different flavors and frostings, and you can decorate them in your own unique ways!
As a bonus, these yummy cupcakes can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator or frozen for later.
Eggless Red Velvet Ingredient List
All-purpose flour — This is the main ingredient that renders structure to the recipe. An alteration in the measurement may not give the desired results; therefore, be sure to measure the flour correctly so you don’t end up with a dry cake.
Cornstarch — The addition of cornstarch makes the cake tender and lighter in texture as it helps retain moisture, which results in a finer crumb. It stabilizes the cake’s structure by preventing the batter from getting dense.
Sugar — Added primarily for sweetness, it also adds moisture and a tender crumb, enhancing the cake’s overall flavor.
Baking soda and baking powder — These leavening agents give the cake the best rise by providing the required aeration and a beautiful, tender texture after baking.
Unsweetened cocoa powder — It adds the signature hint of cocoa color to these cupcakes. This ingredient renders the chocolatey or brown color of the cupcakes and the drool-worthy flavor.
Salt — The flavor neutralizer! Be sure not to leave out the salt, or you’ll have a bland cake.
Vanilla extract — Adds a blissful flavor and a subtle aroma to the eggless red velvet cupcakes.
Milk + vinegar — Buttermilk made of milk and vinegar contributes to these cupcakes’ lovely moisture and tenderness. Vinegar adds a little extra acid that activates the baking soda and helps brighten the red hue. Also, it contributes a subtle tang to the red velvet cupcakes.
Vegan butter — Makes these cupcakes supremely moist and creates a delicate texture.
Red food coloring — Concentrated gel food coloring gives these cupcakes their signature deep red color, making them look irresistible. You can use any good food color, but Wilton gel Red food color works the best. As a substitute to food color natural Beets powder works great too!
Cream cheese — Always use ingredients at room temperature as they mix uniformly and incorporate evenly into the batter. Here, you can start with room-temperature cream cheese for the best results. If the cream cheese is cold, you’ll have a lumpy frosting.
Unsalted butter — Use softened butter at room temperature before making the frosting. If cold, the frosting will be lumpy. If melted, the frosting will be runny.
Powdered sugar — Helps to sweeten the frosting. Powdered sugar blends evenly and thickens the frosting.
Vanilla extract — For an enticing flavor and aroma!
Eggless Red Velvet Cake Tips and Variations
Sifting is essential — Sifting makes the dry ingredients lighter and airier, resulting in a softer and fluffier cake. Sifting is also necessary for the accurate measurement of the ingredients. So, ensure there are no lumps of baking soda or cocoa powder and the ingredients are thoroughly sifted.
For the moistness that stays — Butter adds incredible moisture to the batter, making the cupcakes remain moist for longer. However, you can substitute vegetable oil for butter if you prefer.
Buttermilk for the fantastic texture — Please do not skip adding the buttermilk. Buttermilk helps the cupcakes achieve the incomparably tender texture that makes them so blissfully yummy. The acidic property of the buttermilk helps combine the baking soda and cocoa powder, giving it rise and texture.
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your buttermilk substitute easily by following these steps: Combine 1 cup milk at room temperature with 1 and ¼ teaspoon of white vinegar. Stir together and let it sit for 10 minutes. You can now use this fresh buttermilk as directed in the recipe below.
Do not skip vinegar — When combined with the leaving agents (baking soda and baking powder), vinegar starts a chemical reaction that helps the eggless cupcakes rise. This chemical reaction together produces carbon dioxide bubbles, which render the cupcakes the feather-like texture they are loved for. Be rest assured, you won’t taste the vinegar in this recipe.
For the love of chocolate flavor — Want it more chocolatey? Add more cocoa powder! You can add up to 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder if you prefer a slightly intense chocolaty flavor. But these would make darker cupcakes.
Do not replace milk/vegan milk — Since this is an egg-free cake, do not substitute milk/vegan milk, as it plays an essential role in the success of this recipe.
A quick baking hack — Never over-mix the cake batter, as this causes the gluten in the flour to overdevelop, leading to dense cupcakes. So, when combining the wet and dry ingredients, mix them just enough.
Are you planning for a whole cake? Well, this delicious recipe easily converts into an entire cake. It can be doubled to yield two 8-inch cake layers (bake time: 25- 30 minutes) or a 9x 13-inch cake (bake time: about 30 minutes).
For top-notch frosting — Before decorating your eggless red velvet cupcakes with beautiful frostings, ensure they have cooled completely. If they are still warm, the frosting will slide off them.
For frosting, use Room-temperature dairy — Starting the frosting with cream cheese and butter at room temperature is imperative. Cold cream cheese and butter is a one-way ticket to a lumpy frosting, so avoid it. It is best to plan and allow the ingredients to soften at room temperature ahead of time.
Substitute — You can bake this eggless red velvet cake with wheat flour. But I would suggest you use half of the wheat flour and half white flour as wheat flour is denser than the all-purpose flour.
Key to achieving the perfect color — These eggless red velvet cupcakes are so-called because of their deep red color that comes from the added food color. To get their signature red color, make sure to add the right amount of cocoa powder and red food color to create the color magic.
Let me know what you think!
Are you impressed by these gorgeous beauties and drooling over their pretty color and the beautiful cheese frosting?
Then why not just make a few?
Let’s gather the handful of ingredients that are needed and begin with the baking venture.
Should you make these Eggless Red velvet cupcakes, please let me know your thoughts by sharing your comment below.
And don’t forget to share it with your family and friends.
Are you craving more? Try our other eggless cupcakes -
Follow the step-by-step instructions below to make the best Eggless Red Velvet cupcake recipe
Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes
INGREDIENTS
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1¼ cups All purpose flour
- 3 teaspoons Cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 2 tablespoons Unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon Wilton gel Red food color or Beetroot color (liquid)
WET INGREDIENTS
- ⅓ cup Unsalted vegan butter
- 1 cup Vegan Milk
- 1 tablespoon Vinegar
- 1¼ cup Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla essence
FOR FROSTING
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened (plant-based)
- ½ cup Soften Vegan Butter
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
- ⅛ teaspoon Salt
INSTRUCTIONS
PRE- PREPARATIONS
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line your muffin pans with 12 cupcake liners. Set it aside.
- Combine milk and vinegar in a cup.
- Stir and set it aside for 5 to 10 minutes until it curdles.
MAKING RED VELVET CUPCAKES
- Whisk together all-purpose flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Sift them to remove lumps of flour and cocoa powder.
- Mix and set it aside.
- Using a whisk or balloon attachment, cream butter and sugar together on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. Add vanilla essence to this mix.Add the red food coloring and milk + vinegar combo (buttermilk) to the mixing bowl.Mix in the dry ingredients.
- Mix until just combined; do not over-mix the batter. Keep scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Evenly distribute the batter between 12 cupcake liners. Fill each liner about halfway full.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in pans for 2 minutes before removing them from their cavity. Set them on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Soft and velvety cupcakes are ready.
FROSTING
- Using an electric mixer, beat the vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt on low speed until smooth.
- Scrape down the bowl as needed.
- Transfer cream cheese frosting to a large piping bag fitted with a nozzle and pipe a swirl onto each cupcake. Garnish with a few crumbles of red velvet cupcakes (crumble up one of the extra cupcakes) and enjoy!
VIDEO
RECIPE NOTES
Frequently Asked Questions
What type of food colors are suitable for these red velvet cupcakes? Red food color is the most appropriate, and this recipe uses the same. You can achieve the right level of red color by using any of the following:- Liquid food color- 1 tablespoon
- Gel food color- 1 teaspoon
Hi, tried d recipe but d result was disappointing. D cake did not rise at all n was all sticky and dense. I made half of the recipe. What could have gone wrong?
Sorry to hear about that. I can understand your disappointment. This is my most successful recipe and before I jump to conclusion, can you clear a few things for me?
1. I understand that you baked a cake instead of a cupcake. What size pan did you use?
2. Did you cream sugar and butter well?
3. Over-mixing could definitely be the culprit. But please reply so that I can help you with your query.
Hi..have u used unsalted butter both in cupcake and frosting?
Yes. I bake/frost with unsalted butter, unless stated.
Thank u so much
My pleasure. 🙂
Hi...one more query...can we use powdered sugar for butter frosting or is icing sugar necessary?
Yes you can use powdered sugar.
Hello Ruchi ma'am!
I'm a budding baker, I tried my very first batch of red velvet cupcakes today, for a family get together. I must tell you...this recipe turned totally foolproof and was the show stopper...every time I received a compliment, my mind voice thanked you immensely! Thank you!!!!
Thanks dear. 🙂
Thanks for your valuable feedback!
Hi Ruchi, for trial basis I followed half recipe . As you mentioned creaming of sugar and butter.. i did that for good 5 mins on 5 level hand blender.. still i gar.. it cud feel the grainy texture of sugar..it did not melt completley. Then, I added the dry, milk and water in intervals(15 secs whisking on hand blender) as you mentioned.. but when almost 3/4 qty ingredients where mixed..the batter split.. I cud see the white portion and on surface. Is it because of overcreaming of butter n sugar. my ingredients - milk, butter all were used at room temp. Pls help.
Suchita,
My creamed cake batter curdles at times too. But to be honest, it doesn't affects the end results. Curdling/splitting usually happens with cake recipes that have eggs in it. In this case curdling happened because of milk. A slightly cold milk can cause this to happen.
To prevent this, cream butter and sugar until it's light and fluffy. It should be almost white in color. Meanwhile warm a part of milk in the microwave for few seconds and add that to the creaming mixture, this will take care of curdling.
If the milk still curdles, simply add a spoonful of flour and continue beating. This will absorb the excess liquid and everything will start to come together. So next time when your cake batter curdles, follow the steps above and I would suggest simply ignore the curdling and go ahead with the recipe. Everything will even out during baking.
Hope that helps. 🙂
Hi Ruchi.. My cup cakes are liquidish in the center and cooked on top.. And then once I prick to check, the center also sunks in.. Can yu plus let me know possible reason.. Urgent
Ankitha, the cupcakes are under cooked. Your oven temperature is high as a result of which the outer surface of the cupcakes got cooked earlier but the inner is still uncooked. My suggestion would be to lower the the temperature by 25 degrees and cook it a little longer (35-40 minutes) or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Hi Ruchi....These look great! Just one question .....The butter milk......Can i use 1.5 cup butter milk instead of the milk and water? Thanks
Yes you can give it a try.
Skip vinegar and continue with buttermilk.
I tried this recipe today and it came out very well....
Ty for the best recipe
Pleasure is all mine. Thanks for sharing your experience with me. 🙂
1.Want to make a red velvet cake so can i use the same measurements.
2. As I am new to convection oven so is there any particular time for preheating or just for one minute.
Please use the same measurements and preheat the oven for 10 minutes before you start baking the cupcakes.
Hi ruchi.. I tried the cake. Not sure what went wrong but there were a lot of holes on the cake surface and also I baked only for 8 mins.. When i tried to bake for 2 more mins, the cake burned.
Sorry to hear that this cake didn't turn out the way you had imagined. Possible reason for holes on the surface of the cake is - Trapped air bubbles. Simple solution for that - drop the pan on your counter a couple of times until the bubbles stop coming up to the surface this will take care of the holes.
Regarding burnt cake, at what temperature did you bake the cake at? 8 minutes is way less time for a cake.
Hi, i baked the cupcake recipe and while baking they were absolutely fine but after removing them from the oven they dropped in a little. Am not sure as to the reason behind that. Where could i have gone wrong?
Sorry to hear about that Harshna. This is my fail proof recipe and many readers have tried it with successful outcomes. Let's see what went wrong here.
Sunken cakes is a common problem and it can be solved. Here are couple of reasons why a cupcake sinks and forms a crater in the center.
1. Were the cupcakes cooked from the center when you removed from oven? Did you perform the toothpick test?
2. Batter was mixed for long. If the batter was beaten for long, it incorporates too much air in the cupcakes. As a result of which they rise beautifully in the oven but when removed they deflate.
Hope that answers your query. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.
Hi,
Is adding vinegar to cupcake recipes necessary? Any substitute for vinegar?
Yes, Aj vinegar is a must for this recipe.
Vinegar makes the batter slightly acidic which results in moist cakes. The more the acid in a cake the more tender the cake will be. You can try substituting lemon juice with vinegar. Hope this helps! Thanks!
Hi Ruchi, I just saw this lovely recipe of yours and I am really tempted to bake these lovely red velvet cake... One thing that is bothering me is the measurement... Pls clarify... It says
2.5 cups all purpose flour (300-310 gms)
1.5 cup sugar (300gms)
Y there is a difference in the cup measurement... both are dry ingredients
Thanks Visheka!
Yes, both are dry ingredients but in different forms - one is powdered (flour) and the other one is grainy (sugar).
A dry measurement cup measures 125 grams for flour and 200 grams for sugar. Hope this helps! Happy Baking!!
How to prepare 1.5cups of buttermilk ? What's the portion of curds to water ? And should it be sour?
Suchitha, buttermilk is a combination of vinegar and milk. For buttermilk - Pour 1.5 cup of milk into a bowl. Add 1 and 1/4 tablespoon vinegar to it. Stir to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes until the milk begins to curdle and becomes acidic. Butter milk is ready.
Hi ruchi
I must say I fall in love with your
Recipes. Tried 5 biscuits and all are hit. I tried red velvet cake also. That teast amazing, super soft. But 2 things happen one it got brown in colour n second the top most crust was bit hard. Though I kept eyes on my otg and took out the cake after 25 minutes as it started getting brown from out side but the toothpick test asked for more baking so I baked more but it discoloured. Please let me know the reason n caution I should take next time.
Shikha
Thanks for stopping by Shikha! I think you are confusing me with someone else. I don't have a 5 biscuit recipe or a red velvet cake recipe on my blog.
Thanks for replying Ruchi. No, I am not confusing you with anybody else and I can't dare to do so coz you can not even imagine how much I appreciate your recepies n regularly I make them too.
I am so sorry I confused you with my improper words. actually 5 biscuits recepies means I tried different cookies like coconut, jeera biscuits etc.
Red velvet cake means egg less red velvet cupcakes. Actually in a comment box I read that the same recipe can be followed for cake too only baking time increased so I tried to make a cake. Ruchi I read your recepies almost daily. I really love them.
Ruchi please tell me how can I prevent red velvet cupcakes from browning if I make it in form of cake.
Thanks for clearing Shikha, appreciate that. Glad to hear that you are enjoying my recipes.
To avoid cupcakes/cakes from browning, I would suggest lowering your oven temperature from 350 to 325 degree F. Every oven is different and it looks like maybe your oven is off by some degrees causing the cake to brown more. Lower the temperature and bake. Hope that helps, happy baking!!
Thanks Ruchi. I made it today and guess what happened????
It was super duper hit. I wish I could send you the pic of it....
Glad to hear that Shikha. Thanks for trying the recipe and sharing your wonderful feedback with me. Really appreciate that.
You can mail me your pictures at [email protected] . I wold love to see them. 🙂
Hi! can I use this recipe to bake a cake and not cupcake? what should be the baking time then?
Yes you can bake a cake with this recipe. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean.
Hey I tried this at home, but after adding the vinegar in the end, I think my milk tore because the batter became white and pink. And it remained like that after baking too. What is the solution for this?
Smrithi, was your cake batter warm by any chance? If the liquids (milk and water) added to the batter were warm than this will cause the curdling. To prevent this make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature and stir the dry and wet ingredients as explained in the recipe.
Hi Ruchi, I tried the recipe and it worked really well. I tried this with half the proportion and made a cake. Have you tried any cream cheese or buttercream frosting with it? Please, do share if you have. That would really help. Thanks again.
Thanks for your feedback Ashwini! Glad you liked the recipe. I have a cream cheese frosting on the blog. Here is the link: https://www.ruchiskitchen.com/recipe/eggless-vanilla-cupcakes/
hey Ruchi,
Thanks for replying. Have posted my queries on the post.
Will look into that. Thanks Ashwini.
Hi Ruchi! Lovely Recipe. I just had one doubt. I read in one of the comments that this recipe calls for creaming of butter and sugar. But your ingredients state Oil OR butter. So how should I go about with the recipe if I am using Oil?
Hetvi if you plan to use oil, then mix oil and sugar until sugar is completely dissolved and then progress with the recipe.
Eggless velvet cake looks so beautiful !!! Always had a doubt that it is normal cake recipe minus vanilla essence right. Red vekvet cake and normal cake only colour red difference right. Please clarify. Thanks n regards Shaila
Thanks Shaila! Red velvet cake/cupcakes are more creamy and velvety in texture compared to a regular cake.
I want to try this recipe as my mom's bday is near i had a query regarding milk and buttermilk ..how it works in red velvet cake n what is better milk or buttermilk..I want to use only milk..
Deepika, the recipe states milk or buttermilk. Use either one of those.
For a moist crumb I use buttermilk. Combination of vinegar and buttermilk makes the batter slightly acidic which results in moist cupcakes. The more the acid in a batter the more tender the cupcake will be. Hope this helps!
Yes this helped and one Mr thing I want to make half kg redvelvet cake so this recipe measurements will go fr half kg?cos I think maida 2.5 cup means it will more fr half kg?
These measurements will bake close to 1/2 kg cake.