Pink Velvet Cupcakes

Yes those are indeed some pink cupcakes. In case you haven’t noticed, it’s breast cancer awareness month and everywhere people are sporting pretty pink to honor and recognize breast cancer. When even my Green Bay Packers start wearing hot pink in their uniform, I know its time to jump on board. Luckily, Erin and Cassie set up a week of pink and cancer-fighting recipes to spread the word on the blog-land. I was happy to be a part of it. Since breast cancer affects 1-8 women, chances are most of us have been impacted at one point in our lives.

I wanted to make something pink and pretty that would bring a smile to anyone’s face. These pink girly cake-lets are just the thing. How could you not be happy biting into something so delicously colorful? I brought these to some lady friends earlier this week and they were just delighted. I’m telling you- pink and sparkly is the way to go.

What is pink velvet anyway? Well- here’s a secret. I’m pretty sure it’s just vanilla cake that has pink food coloring in it. I don’t care though. There is something about a pink cake that just tastes a bit differently….or at least I’m convinced it does. :) Also, it doesn’t hurt that this is an amazing cake recipe to begin with. It is light and fluffy without being too sweet. That’s easily taken care of with a nice dollop of fluffy buttercream. (Or another frosting of your choice.)

Pink Velvet Cupcakes

Pink Velvet Cupcakes

Yield: 20 -24 cupcakes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1-1/4 cups sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon pink paste food coloring
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 2 sticks of unsalted butter, softened
  • 4-5 cups powdered sugar, sifted
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2-3 tablespoons milk or cream
  • a drop of red food coloring
  • sprinkles for decorating

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar and food coloring until light and fluffy.
  2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
  3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition.
  4. Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full.
  5. Bake at 350° for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
  6. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely.

For the Buttercream

  1. Using an electric mixer, whip the butter until creamy and pale.
  2. Add the powdered sugar. Mixture will be dry so add the vanilla and milk and food coloring gradually until frosting reaches a good piping and frosting consistency.
  3. Decorate cooled cupcakes with frosting and sprinkles.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g

Did you make this recipe?

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Cupcake recipe from: Taste of Home

28 Comments

  1. Not to take anything from the cause, but more women die of lung cancer every year than breast, cervical, uterine and colon cancer COMBINED. More research and treatment options are needed for ALL cancer.

  2. They’re so pretty Audra, and look so moist and indulgent. The odd on breast cancer are scary aren’t they.

    I’ve seen that my local decorating store sells tiny pink awareness ribbon sprinkles, I was planning to make some awareness cake pops but they’re not in stock until the 25th when it’s almost over, sadly. I’ll have to show my support by making some pink velvet cuppies too. :)

  3. why does this recipe call for a drop of red food coloring but in the directions it never asks for it? doesn’t’ t the pink paste food coloring turn the batter pink?

  4. Thanks for catching my mistake!
    The pink coloring is for the cake- you want to use a pink gel coloring to get that bright vibrant color.

    The drop of red coloring is to tint the frosting a pale pink. Make sense? :)

    1. I tried this recipe for my daughters daycare birthday party and they turned out a little dry. I tried the recipe for her birthday cake and ommited 1/4c flour and added an additional tsp of vannila and the cake is super moist and still dense, yum!

  5. These are so pink that I just had to try them for my kiddo. I’m a vegan and she’s a vegetarian who is allergic to eggs, so I made these vegan by using soy milk, earth balance vegan butter, and ener-g egg replacer and they are so yummy! This was the first recipe where I really went for it and used a good quantity of the Wilton gel dye and it was so worth it.

    Thank you!

  6. Hey I’m planning on making these for valentines day but I want to know how many cupcakes does this reciepe make?

  7. I am going to make these for a bridal shower. Just to clarify, I can use a pink concentrated gel for the cupcakes? I can’t seem to find pink paste…

  8. I don’t want to be mean or rude here, but these are the worst cupcakes I have ever made or tried to eat. I threw the entire batch, frosting and all in the trash. I don’t know if it was the flour, maybe should be cake flour instead of regular flour? The cupcakes tasted awful. Tasted like raw flour. They actually had no taste at all. I was so disappointment they were not edible at all and all went in the trash. Find a different recipe, do not make this one. Maybe if it’s tweeked a bit like I said about using a different flour, but as is…absolutely don’t waste your time.

  9. Would cake and pastry flour work well? I have so much of it and itching to use it! Thanks
    -ashley

  10. Would I be able to use this recipe to make a cake? If so, how much? I plan on using an 8” round cake pan by the way. Also, it would need to be eggless, so any ideas on what I can substitute eggs with?

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