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These Red Velvet Cream Cheese Cupcakes are PERFECT for any occasion! Birthdays, Valentine’s Day, Christmas, the 4th of July – if you’re craving red velvet you NEED these in your life.
I mean – homemade red velvet cake, filled with cheesecake, topped with cream cheese frosting? It doesn’t get any better!
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Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
The Fourth of July is coming up soon, which means it’s summer, which means it’s travel season.
I love to travel. I love to stay in hotels. And I’ve totally passed on that love to Jordan.
We don’t camp. Well, Jordan and Mel probably would. To be more specific, I don’t camp. That’s really a whole post all on it’s own, but the gist of it is, if I’m on vacay, I don’t want to work to set up my room. I don’t want to cook. I don’t want to be dirty. I want to sleep on a comfy bed.
So we stay in hotels.
Another problem I have? I like to be comfortable. And comfortable, to me, is not shoving the three of us into one room. Where’s the fun in that? I want to put Jordan to bed and go sit in a different place, drink wine, and watch TV alone with my husband. So we like to stay in suite hotels, whenever possible. I’ve become a genius at reading room descriptions. {“Suite” does not necessarily mean separate bedroom.}
I have damaged my child so much that, when we moved from a two bedroom suite at one hotel to a resort with a one bedroom suite in Phoenix, she cried because the “sofa bed wouldn’t be comfortable enough.”
Yes. I know that her future husband is going to have to be a special kind of person.
Anyway, it’s hard to find the perfect hotel room this time of year. So I’ve put together a list of things I would put in the hotel I would build if I won the lotto. Is that weird?
*Every room would be a suite, one or two bedroom, with the bathroom in between the living area and sleeping area. Not in the living area, causing the middle of the night tippy-toe dance around the sleeping child to deal with mommy bladder.
*Only real hair dryers would be supplied. With diffusers. Can I get an amen?
*Kids would eat free. All day. And everyone gets free breakfast. {And no, granola bars and stale pastry do not qualify as “breakfast.”}
*There would be a water slide at the pool.
*And free drinks with umbrellas.
*And free massages.
*And free childcare.
Wait a minute…this list is beginning to sound like I want to be travelling without my kid.
Hmmmm…
Oh, wait, I forgot one.
*Free cupcakes at turn down service. Because those little tiny chocolates really don’t cut it, do they?
These cupcakes would.
Red Velvet. Cheesecake. Cream Cheese Frosting.
All in one bite.
Perfect after a day playing at the pool, don’tcha think?
A few notes about the recipe:
- The cake recipe is SUPER easy to make from scratch. If you really want to use a box mix, you can, but you’ll need to double the filling and frosting recipe.
- There is JUST enough cheesecake for all 24 cupcakes. Same goes with the frosting.
- If you want an even richer red color, add another 1 tablespoon red food coloring.
- Try to keep the cream cheese mixture in the center of the cupcake when you spread it around. The ones that had the cream cheese touching the liner were a little deformed. They’re not gorgeous cupcakes, but once you frost them it doesn’t matter. Also – they’re so good no one will notice.
- They freeze well, unfrosted!
Enjoy!
Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 1 cup buttermilk or 1 teaspoon vinegar with enough milk to make 1 cup
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon red food coloring
Cheesecake:
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Line cupcake pans with liners.
- Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk, white vinegar, and vanilla to a large measuring cup or extra bowl and whisk until combined. Add to dry ingredients and mix with a hand mixer until smooth. Add red food coloring and mix slowly until combined.
- Place about 2-3 tablespoons of batter into the bottom of each cupcake liner (about 1/2 full).
- Make the cheesecake: Mix cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and sour cream with a hand mixer until smooth. Drop about 1 or 1 1/2 tablespoons of cheesecake mixture on top of each cupcake. Smooth it around with the back of a spoon (try to keep it from touching the edges, the cupcakes stay prettier that way).
- Bake about 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the cake part comes out clean. The cream cheese filling will be the teeniest bit jiggly still. Cool to room temperature, then chill for at least 2 hours before frosting. (Note: the cupcakes can be frozen once cooled and frosted at a later date.)
- Make the frosting: Using a hand or a stand mixer, cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Slowly add in powdered sugar, salt, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
- Frost the top of each cupcake with a bit of frosting. For a decorative effect, use a 1M tip with a pastry bag. Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Nutrition
Click here for my complete list of Valentine’s Day Recipes!
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Last Updated on February 12, 2023
Is there a substitute I can use instead of sour cream in the cheesecake part. I currently am living in Korea and they don’t have sour cream anywhere.
You can use yogurt if you have that!
Are these cupcakes the same as the 4th of July red velvet cheesecake ones that had the blue swirl frosting? I have those ones saved on Pinterest and I’ve made them before and loved them but the link used to take me to those and now it takes me to these ones. These look quite a bit different than the other ones so I just wanted to make sure. Thanks!
Yes they are! I updated the photos and recipe recently. Same thing, you can totally do the blue still!
Hi, I made these today and they did not work out well at all! They did not bake well and the cream cheese sunk. :/
I made these tonight, and they didn’t come out so good. They cream cheese broke away and sunk down, and they tasted like cornbread. Any idea what happened?
As for the taste, I’m not sure what could have happened there. Did you make any substitutions? Mine definitely tasted like red velvet. Some of the cupcakes did have cream cheese that sunk a bit (not horribly) but I just covered those with more frosting – it hides everything!
Hi Dorothy!
I sent you an email, but I am not sure if it went to your spam box. But I make these cupcakes for my best friend’s birthday every year for the past 3 years, and I saw that you recently changed the recipe! Is there anywhere on your website where I can find the old recipe? Or can I get it emailed to me? I really like how it turns out, and it is almost time for me to make it for her birthday again. Thanks so much!
I made these and they turned out incredibly. Â I gave them as a present and they were all gone within a day. This recipe was very easy to half. No partial eggs! Phew. Don’t hesitate to make a half batch if you’re worried that they might not turn out. They totally do. They are the BEST cupcake recipe I’ve ever found. Super impressive, decadent, and I didn’t even mess them up.Â
Yay! I’m so glad you like them!! 🙂
did you cake the red velvet first for a little bit then the cheesecake? or all at the same time?
No they both get layered in the pan and baked all at once!
4th of July Cupcakes… these look simply amazing! I can’t wait to make these! Quick question: For the cheesecake, does it take (2) 16ounce containers of cream cheese or (2) containers equaling 16ounces? I just wished to be sure so not to mess up the recipe! 🙂 Thank you!
2 8 ounce packages – that equal 16. 🙂 Sorry that was unclear!
No problem. Thank you! 🙂
These cheesecake cupcakes look amazing
I followed the frosting recipe but it came out more like icing and i couldn’t get it to form to where I could frost the cupcakes with it. Any suggestions?
Cream cheese frosting is more liquid (gummy) consistency than a regular buttercream. If it’s too thin when you first make it (from softening the butter and cc) you can chill it and it will firm up. If that doesn’t work, try adding more powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments until it’s the consistency you want!
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