High Altitude Red Velvet Cupcakes
A high altitude recipe for classic red velvet cupcakes that are so soft and moist, with sweet and tangy cream cheese buttercream.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 ½ cups cake flour, fluffed, spooned and leveled
- ¾ cup + 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tbsp unsweetened, Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¾ cup buttermilk or whole milk
- 1 ½ tsp white distilled vinegar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp "super red" red gel food coloring
Buttercream
- 4 oz cream cheese, cold
- 4 oz (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ½ tbsp meringue powder
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- ⅛ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Line your muffin pans with 15 paper cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda to remove any lumps. Whisk until well combined.
- Separately, whisk together the buttermilk, vinegar, oil, eggs, vanilla and red gel food coloring. The red color will darken once you mix it with the dry ingredients.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk for about 15-20 seconds until mostly smooth. The batter will be thin.
- Measure a scant 1/4 cup of batter into each of the cupcake liners, being careful not to overfill them - they should be about 2/3 full.
- Bake the cupcakes on the center oven rack for 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched.
- Cool the cupcakes in the pans for several minutes, then use a spoon to gently lift them out. Set the cupcakes on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter for 1 minute until smooth.
- With the mixer on low, gradually add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, corn starch and salt, mixing to combine. Add the vanilla. Increase the speed to medium and whip the buttercream for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl occasionally.
- Spread or pipe the buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes. I used tip 1M to frost my cupcakes.
Notes
Since there is cream cheese in the buttercream, the frosted cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before serving.
https://curlygirlkitchen.com/