Valentine’s Day Cupcakes are fluffy vanilla cakes with festive pink and red colors with buttercream frosting. Perfect for parties or gifts!
This easy Holiday Recipe takes a classic Vanilla Cake Base to make delicious cupcakes, perfect for the season. The bright red and pink Buttercream Frosting make Valentine Cupcakes as adorable as they are delicious!
Sabrina’s Valentine’s Day Cupcakes
Making fun Valentine Cupcakes is a great activity to enjoy with your kids in the days leading up to Valentine’s. Use gel food coloring to make the bright frosting colors and top them off with as many fun sprinkles as you’d like. Decorating is one of the best parts of this recipe so I like to go all out. If you’re making it a family activity put out bowls of sprinkles, pink heart candy, cinnamon hearts, Hershey’s kisses, and any other festive toppings you can think of.
Recipe Card
Ingredients
Vanilla Cupcakes:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup whole milk
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 6-8 drops red food coloring , or more if needed
Instructions
Vanilla Cupcakes:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tray with liner cups.
- To a stand mixer, add the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs, vanilla, and milk until smooth.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt and add it to the stand mixer on the lowest speed setting until just combined.
- Separate the batter into three bowls.
- Whisk pink food coloring into one until fully combined.
- Whisk red food coloring into the second bowl until fully combined.
- Do not add filling to the third bowl.
- Using an ice cream scoop fill the cups with 2 tablespoons of pink batter.
- Using an ice cream scoop fill the cups with 2 tablespoons of red batter.
- Using an ice cream scoop fill the cups with 2 tablespoons of regular white batter.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool completely.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
- To your stand mixer on low speed, cream the butter then start adding in the powdered sugar in ½ cup increments until fully combined then raise the speed to medium-high for 1 additional minute.
- Add in the vanilla and heavy cream and beat until light and fluffy for 30 seconds.
- Separate frosting into two bowls.
- Whisk pink food coloring into one until fully combined.
- Whisk red food coloring into the second bowl until fully combined.
- Add frostings to piping bags and frost cupcakes.
- Top with desired sprinkles.
Nutrition
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Table of Contents
Chef’s Note
If you want more variety to your holiday cupcake baking, try using the same frosting to top a chocolate cupcake recipe or Red Velvet Cupcakes. To make a chocolate cupcake recipe only use ¾ cup all-purpose flour and add ½ cup cocoa powder to your dry ingredients.
Once you’ve made Valentine Cupcakes, you can package them up in gift boxes for an edible gift. Send them out as a homemade gift to share with friends, family, and neighbors. They’re sure to add a little extra brightness to the holiday!
How to Store
- Serve: Once the cupcakes are cooled, you can cover them to store in your pantry for 1-2 days.
- Store: To keep them longer, put the cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 week.
- Freeze: You can also freeze vanilla cupcakes for up to 3 months.
Variations
- White Chocolate: Try adding a white chocolate drizzle to the top of the cupcakes. Melt white chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl and mix until smooth. Drizzle the chocolate on top and let it set before serving.
- Cream Cheese Frosting: If you prefer the flavor, use Cream Cheese Frosting instead of Buttercream.
- Strawberry Glaze: You could also make a homemade strawberry glaze to go on top. To make a strawberry glaze combine
- Fresh Raspberry Buttercream: To make a fresh raspberry buttercream add 1 cup of fresh raspberries to the buttercream mixture. Blend the raspberries until pureed and then mix them in.
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