Vibrant red, moist, and delicious cupcakes, just like the famous Magnolia Bakery’s in NYC.

July 4th was just last week, and what better way to celebrate than with red white and blue cupcakes? Every year, I make my famous Ruby Red, Red Velvet Cupcakes! They’re perfectly festive, and they’re also a huge hit with the crowd for any occasion.

I’ve been making this recipe for as long as I can remember. It’s a copycat recipe for the delicious Magnolia Bakery red velvet cupcakes. My mom clipped the recipe from a newspaper a while back, and there’s no better recipe. These cupcakes are so perfect. They’re light and fluffy, yet so moist. And even better, they’re so simple to make!

The most important part of this recipe is to not over mix otherwise the cupcakes will be too dry. To help with this, it’s important to make sure all of the ingredients are at room temperature. I would also suggest using real buttermilk as opposed to making your own with vinegar or lemon juice and milk.

For this recipe, you will need several bowls: a bowl of a stand mixer, two small bowls, one medium bowl, and a liquid measuring cup.

Begin by sifting the cake flour in a medium-size bowl and set it aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter until smooth then gradually add the sugar and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a small bowl, whisk together the liquid food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. This will appear to not come together at first, but keep whisking, it will come together. In a liquid measuring cup, mix the buttermilk and salt together.

Beginning with the buttermilk, add in three parts, alternating with the flour. Be sure not to over mix. Lastly, in a small bowl, stir together vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well.

Fill lined cupcake tins for 3/4 of the way full and bake for 18-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Make sure you don’t over bake these cupcakes or they will be dry. Keep a close eye on them while they bake as every oven bakes differently.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, you can frost these cupcakes with anything you like ermine frosting, cream cheese frosting, or American buttercream. I personally top my cupcakes with American buttercream because my family and I are not big fans of cream cheese frosting, but you can cater these cupcakes to what your friends and family like! I like to decorate my cupcakes with blueberries so there can be red, white, and blue which makes it more festive!

I would love to see how you decorate your Ruby Red, Red Velvet Cupcakes! Share your creations on Instagram and tag me @beyondbakingwithamandajane and use the #beyondbakingwithamandajane!