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These green velvet cupcakes are topped with fluffy vanilla frosting and are the perfect holiday sweet treat! Simple to make and delicious to enjoy!
I have a real love for cupcakes.
Especially when they are topped with fluffy vanilla ermine frosting.
That is just a fancy work for flour buttercream. Which sounds weird but is so delicious! Make sure to pop over to grab that recipe so you can top these delicious cupcakes!
Now, these cupcakes are just a festive green spin to your normal red velvet cupcakes.
I ran out of my brighter green food coloring so I mixed it with another color green and it got a little splotchy. It’s fine. It all tastes delicious.
And I’m never one to waste a perfect good cupcake.
This is actually the Magnolia cupcake recipe I grabbed off Epicurious years ago so if you’re familiar with their cupcakes you’ll love this recipe!
Can I use red food dye instead?
Of course!
Traditionally these cupcakes would be made with red food coloring but since I wanted to keep these festive for both St. Patricks Day and Christmas I opted to make them green.
Whatever your favorite color cupcake will work perfect fine here.
What frosting works best with these cupcakes?
I really love my fluffy vanilla ermine frosting for these cupcakes.
I got the recipe from the Magnolia cupcake and it’s just the perfect not too sweet but still ultra creamy frosting I LOVE on a cupcake.
It’s 100% worth the effort to make this frosting.
What type of food coloring works best?
Personally think gel food coloring is the best option.
I actually had 2 different color greens I mixed her and you can see it blended only so/so.
Now, I could have remade the cupcakes but as far as taste goes it was affected and I didn’t feel the need to throw out a bunch of perfect good cupcakes just because the color wasn’t 100%.
If you use the same color green for your cupcakes this will not be an issue.
Learn from my mistakes.
How do I store these cupcakes?
I like to store these green velvet cupcakes in the fridge if they haven’t all gotten eaten in just one day.
Which, once you taste on of these cupcakes you’ll have a hard time not eating them all.
Since the frosting is a type of buttercream (the technical term is Ermine buttercream) it will be fine for about a day at moderate room temperature (read: not sitting in the hot sun or a hothouse) but should be kept refrigerated past that.
Love these green velvet cupcakes?
Why not try a few of my other delicious dessert recipes!
- Black Forest Cake
- Easy Birthday Cake Macarons
- Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Crumb Cake
- Fourth of July Tie Dye Cupcakes
- Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries
Green Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
For cake:
- 3-1/2 cups cake flour
- 3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 6 tablespoons green food coloring
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
- 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1-1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1-1/2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
For Frosting:
- 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups milk
- 4 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
For cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Use 2 muffin pans, each with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups, and line each cup with paper liner.
- In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar 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 food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla. Add to the batter and beat well.
- In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add to the batter in three parts alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.
- Divide the batter among the prepared cupcake tins. Arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and bake the cupcakes, switching positions of the pans halfway through baking, until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely on the rack before icing.
For icing:
- In a medium-size saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk until smooth. Place over medium heat and, stirring constantly, cook until the mixture becomes very thick and begins to bubble, 10-15 minutes. Cover with waxed paper placed directly on the surface and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, on the medium high speed of an electric mixer, beat the butter for 3 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar, beating continuously for 3 minutes until fluffy. Add the vanilla and beat well.
- Add the cooled milk mixture, and continue to beat on the medium high speed for 5 minutes, until very smooth and noticeably whiter in color. Cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes (no less and no longer—set a timer!). Use immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Green velvet cupcakes is such a terrific idea! Very cute and so delicious!
I thought I’d never say this, but your green cupcakes look really yummy!
There are many more icing recipes that don’t call for 4 sticks of butter. That’s way too much. It’s also expensive.
There is no requirement to use that frosting recipe. Feel free to use whatever icing recipe you prefer.
What a great St. P day treat!
Just yummy ingredients and a soft dreamy cupcake! I would give anything to have a few!
Thank you so much for linking up 🙂 I love this cupcake!!!
st pattys day here i come with these! i love the idea.
Fabulous idea! Our family favorite is, surprise, red velvet. Can’t wait to make them. We also celebrated a “gotcha day” on the green holiday; extra special.
Sweets are calling my name right now!!
ATTENTION: Your recipe is most likely wrong. You have that it calls for 1 1/2 TBSP of salt, and I’m pretty sure you mean TSP. It’s a small mistake that makes a huge difference!!!!
Naomi: Thank you for the heads up! I was changing the format on my recipes and I must have mistyped. Thank you! I changed it to be the correct measurement.