The best Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes (without buttermilk)

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

Ever wondered how to make delicious and easy velvety cupcakes without eggs at home? Well your search for the best homemade eggless red velvet cupcakes without buttermilk ends here.

Let me share the ultimate recipe that is so soft and spongy; that it will literally melt in your mouth...

eggless red velvet cupcakes frosted with cream cheese frosting placed on a card with more cupcakes in the background — eggless red velvet cupcakes frosted with cream cheese frosting without butter

Do you love red velvet?

You are not alone! Red velvet seems to be the favorite among bakers and non-bakers alike.

It has that delightfully tangy but sweet flavor which makes everyone fall in love with it.

Shhhhh.. I am just going to share a secret with you all..

And it is the secret to make your homemade red velvet cupcakes moist, velvety and rich in flavour..

And that is by making these cupcakes with oil and also butter!!

Yes with just this addition you will get the same results as the red velvet cupcakes with buttermilk version and you guys are going to love it!!

Why you will love this recipe?

Easy to follow - The recipe doesn't need any tedious preparation. It's easy to follow, and all the ingredients are easy to find at your local grocer.
Soft and spongy texture - The cake has a soft and spongy texture that's great for when you're craving something sweet but don't want to eat a whole cake in one sitting. Plus, it's flavourful and rich—it will literally melt in your mouth!
Modifiable recipe - The same recipe can be modified to make mini cupcakes, cupcakes with filling or a red velvet cake!
Make-ahead: These cupcakes can be made ahead and then frozen until you're ready to serve them making it ideal for parties and potlucks. Just follow the instructions in the blog post under Storing Instructions .
Whether you sell from home or at a business, these treats are sure to be a hit with your customers. Try out this recipe that we know is irresistible! (Check out our Cake Pricing Guide if you have any doubts on how to price your baked goods for selling).

Trust me on this!! Simply follow this recipe to yield fluffy cupcakes and you yourself will admit that this is the best and easy eggless red velvet cupcakes recipe ever!!

Ingredients Needed

Cornflour: Adding a little corn flour to your APF/Maida would result in a tender and soft crumb texture once the cupcakes are baked. Alternatively you can skip adding the All Purpose Flour and cornflour and use Cake Flour instead.
Milk and Vinegar: This acts as a substitute for Buttermilk creating an acidic environment which is responsible for the red colouration of the cupcakes.
Butter and Oil: Butter tends a nice flavour and oil helps to retain the moistness and hence using both the fat source makes it, soft velvety and oh so moist cupcakes.
Food Colouring: To achieve the vibrant red colour you need to use gel food colour and not liquid food colouring.

Step by Step Instructions:

Step 1 - Preparing the Muffin Pan

Start by lining the muffin tray with 12 cupcake liners and set aside.

Also this is the time to preheat your oven to 180°C/360°F

Step 2 - Preparing the Cupcake Batter

Sieve the dry ingredients - flour, cornflour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt and set aside.

To warm milk add the white vinegar (you can also use lemon juice in place of vinegar), set it aside and let it curdle for 5 mins and your homemade buttermilk is ready.

collage of images explaining how to beat butter and sugar

In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until combined. You do not have to cream it just beat until it is mixed together about 3 mins using a hand mixer (image 1-2).
Then add the vegetable oil or any other neutral oil and beat again (image 3).
Add the vanilla extract and red food color and beat well (image 4).

Make sure you are using gel food colour if you wish to get that vibrant red hue. This is one of the reasons - why a red velvet cake is red in colour.

collage of steps showing how to add dry and wet ingredients to make the cupcake batter

Time to get the cupcake batter together for which start alternating between the dry ingredients and wet ingredients.
Add 1/3 of the flour mixture (image 5) and beat till it is just incorporated then add 1/2 of the curdled milk mixture and beat again (image 6).
Repeat the steps until you get a cupcake batter like consistency (image 7).

So basically you would add your dry ingredients in 3 stages and wet ingredients in 2 stages.

One more thing to note if you are just a beginner I would recommend you ditch the hand mixer at this stage and fold the batter manually using your hands and a spatula to avoid overmixing which can cause the cupcakes to sink once baked.

collage of images showing how to fill the cupcake liners with the batter

Once the batter is ready divide it evenly using an ice-cream scoop or a ladle between the lined cupcake tin (image 8).
Bake in a preheated oven of 180°C/360°F for 18 to 25 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
Once baked allow it to sit in the pan for another 3 mins and then take it out on to a cooling rack to cool completely (image 9).

Step 3 - Cream Cheese Frosting without butter

Usually red velvet cupcakes are frosted with tangy cream cheese frosting but today in place of cream cheese icing I am going to use our 4 mins frosting recipe without butter.

I made a detailed post on the same which you can check out if you wish. Click cream cheese frosting without butter for the same.

collage of images showing how to make cream cheese frosting without butter — cream cheese frosting without butter

Start by sieving the icing sugar and then beat your cream cheese for a minute and add icing sugar and beat again (images 1-3).
Finally add the vanilla essence and whipping cream and beat till stiff peaks form for another 2 minutes or until stiff peaks form (image 4-5).

Alternatively you can also use a regular butter cream frosting or whipped cream frosting or the traditional cream cheese frosting to frost the cupcakes.

Step 4: Frosting the Cupcakes

The only thing to note is to cool your cupcakes completely before frosting them.

You can make use of any piping nozzle and feel free to use any designs to pipe the cupcake.

I have just filled the piping bag with the prepared frosting fitted with a nozzle

Then simply make a swirl on top of the cupcake to cover the base and then pipe a smaller swirl on top to make the pattern as seen in the images.

Not only for Valentine's Day this is a great recipe to try on any special occasion throughout the year.

Storage Instructions (Make-Ahead Instructions)

Always store all your frosted cakes or cupcakes in the refrigerator.

These eggless red velvet cupcakes will stay good for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Consider reading our post on how to properly store your cupcakes for more detailed instructions.

MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS:

The Cupcake Base can be made a week in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an air tight container or in the freezer for up to a month.
You can also store the cupcakes once they are frosted in the freezer for up to a month

overhead image of red velvet cupcakes placed on a white card

Baker's Tips:

Baking is definitely a fun activity to do with your friends, but it can be hard to get right sometimes.

Here are some tips to help you make the best eggless red velvet cupcakes, every time.

Always start by preparing the cupcake liners. Preheat the oven while you prepare them.
Do not cream the butter and sugar together, just beat them until they're combined for about 3 minutes using a hand mixer.
Consider folding the dry and wet ingredients manually using your hands and spatula if you are a beginner—this will help you avoid over-mixing which can cause the cupcakes to sink once baked.
Using an ice-cream scoop or a ladle to divide the batter will help you get equal portions every time.
It is recommended that you prepare your frosting when you're ready to frost and not before hand, as it would lose its volume if let to sit for longer at room temperature.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting or else the frosting would start melting and won't hold its shape!
Did you note the prominent red color on our red velvet cup cakes? This is due to using less cocoa powder and gel food colouring. Consider checking out our post on what makes red velvet cake recipe red to learn more.
Always store the frosted cupcakes in the refrigerator—they'll last longer this way!
If you would like to add cupcake crumbs on top of the frosting all you have to do is simply cut a small portion from the dome of the cupcake and crumble it using your fingers and add it to the frosting on top as seen in images below (image 15-17).

collage of steps explaining how to diy cake crumbs from cupcake dome

Frequenetly Asked Questions

Can I use this recipe to make Eggless Red Velvet Cake?

Yes you can. This recipe would give you a 3 layer 6 inch cake or 2 layer 8 inch cake. You can also consider checking our Red Velvet Cake in a jar post for more details.

What is the best Food Colouring?

Always use red gel food colour for optimal results. I have used Chefmaster Red Food Colouring for this recipe. Liquid Food Colouring would give you a brownish colouration and you also end up using lots of colour about 2 tbsp for this recipe. Alternatively you can use dried red powder for colouring too. Mix about 1/2 tbsp along with your dry ingredients.

What makes Red Velvet Cupcake Red?

It is a combination of acidic conditions in the cupcake batter which turns the anthocyanin in the cocoa powder red combined with the red food colouring is what gives the characteristic colouration. You can read more about it in much details from our post - Why is Red Velvet Cake Red.

Why is my Red Velvet Cupcake Bitter?

One of the reasons is using too much baking soda or expired baking soda. In both the cases the baking soda fails to react with the acids giving away that characteristic bitter taste. And it also happens when you accidentally add too much food colouration to your batter. Use gel food colour so that you do not use too much.

What do Red Velvet Cupcakes taste like? Are they just chocolate flavour?

Even though these cupcakes fall under the umbrella category of chocolate cake they are no where close to be tasting like a traditional chocolate cake as the recipe just calls for 2 tbsp of cocoa powder. So the chocolate flavour is very subtle. When made correctly, a red velvet cupcake should be extremely moist with a tender and fluffy crumb. In terms of flavor, the cupcakes are super rich, buttery, and sweet, with a slight tanginess from the frosting.

What flavours pair well with Red Velvet?

Cream Cheese Frosting is the go to flavour pairing because the tanginess from the cream cheese compliments the sweetness from the cupcakes. However you can also try using the Whipped Cream Frosting or Buttercream Frosting too; it will taste equally good. Apart from that you can also consider filling your cupcakes. So fill your cupcakes with cheesecake filling and then frost with Whipped Cream Frosting or you can also consider flavouring the cupcakes with spices like ginger, cinnamon, all spice making it the perfect christmas red velvet cupcake recipe.

Why didn't my cupcakes turn red?

Using too much cocoa powder is the culprit. If you have read our what makes red velvet cake red post you know that anthocyanin, the flavonoid present in cocoa powder turns red in acidic conditions and blue in basic. These days cocoa powder available to us are basic in nature using too much would mean increase in pH and change in colouration from vibrant red to hues with blue resulting in earthy brownish red colouration. Another reason is using little food colouration or liquid food colouring in place of gel food colouring. So avoid these two things to get the vibrant colouration.

How to make Natural Red Velvet Cupcakes?

If you do not wish to use red food colour then you can make these cupcakes with beetroot puree or organic beetroot powder. Please note that the colour won't be as vibrant as the ones seen in the images here. I do have a recipe for Beetroot Chocolate Cake just reduce the cocoa powder in that recipe and you may get equivalent results with some tweaking.

Related Recipes:

Wish to Join US for the love of BAKING? Subscribe to our Youtube channel. Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest for all the latest updates!

Eggless Red Velvet Cupcakes recipe without buttermilk

Why you will love this recipe?

Ingredients Needed