These red velvet muffins are soft, fluffy, easy to make, and filled with a gooey cream cheese filling. They come together in one bowl and you don’t need an electric mixer. The filling is made from four ingredients and comes together in no time. They're the perfect muffin for breakfast, brunch, or snacking.
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Why you will LOVE this recipe:
- Easy: These muffins come together in one bowl without an electric mixer.
- Filling: They’re filled with a creamy, easy cream cheese filling that makes the middles perfectly gooey.
- Texture: They’re soft, fluffy and moist!
- Red velvet: Tangy and slightly chocolatey. They’re a stunning red colour with all the red velvet flavour.
Jump to:
The best muffin texture
I love the texture that vegetable oil gives muffins but I'm not sold on the flavour. So in these red velvet muffins, I added part melted butter and part vegetable oil. That gives them the best flavour and texture.
If you're in a pinch, you can substitute all of the butter with vegetable oil.
The filling
Muffins with a filling are like a healthy cupcake. The filling is made of cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream.
You don't need an electric mixer for the filling, just whisk everything together by hand.
How to store muffins
These muffins need to be stored in the fridge because they have a cream cheese filling. You can store them in a cupcake container or in a regular container. They will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge.
The filled muffins will also freeze well. Freeze in an airtight container for up to two months.
The best way to eat muffins
Make sure they're at room temperature. This will help soften up the butter inside the red velvet muffins and make them much more tender.
I recommend heating the muffins up slightly in the microwave or in the oven so that they taste freshly baked. Don't heat them up too much or the filling will melt completely.
Key ingredients
Full steps and ingredients in recipe card below. But read through these for all the tips you will need for success!
Butter: Good quality real butter will give the best flavour. You can use salted butter if you prefer, just omit the salt in the recipe.
Cream cheese: good quality, full fat cream cheese will give the best results but you can use lower fat cream cheese if you prefer.
Red gel food colouring: Use a gel food colouring to prevent adding too much liquid to the batter. You can also use a powdered red food colouring.
All purpose flour: Weigh the flour to get the most accurate results. If you don’t have a scale, measure properly by stirring the bag and spooning gently into a measuring cup. Scrape the excess off the top with the flat edge off a knife without packing it into the cup.
Step by step: batter
Step 1 - In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until thickened. Add melted cooled butter and oil. Whisk until combined.
Step 2 - Add vinegar, buttermilk, salt, vanilla extract, and whisk. Add as much gel food colouring as you need to make it bright red. I added about half a teaspoon. Whisk until fully combined.
Step 3 - Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder right into the same bowl. Fold until a thick batter forms.
Step 4 - Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C). Prepare muffin tin by lining the cups with muffin liners. While the oven preheats, let the batter rest for 15 minutes in the fridge. This helps the batter thicken and gives the muffins a more even texture.
Step 5 - Scoop the muffin batter into the lined muffin tins, filling them ¾ of the way up. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out mostly clean with a few crumbs attached.
Step 6 - Let the muffins cool until room temperature. Make the filling while it cools.
Step by step: filling & assembly
Step 1 - Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together until smooth.
Step 2 - Add vanilla extract and whisk. Add heavy whipping cream a tablespoon at a time until you get a creamy and thick consistency. Transfer to a resealable bag or piping bag.
Step 3 - Take a chopstick, skewer, or the back of a spoon and poke it halfway through the middle of a muffin. Twist it around to make an opening for the filling.
Step 4 - Cut the end off the resealable bag or piping bag and insert the tip all the way down into muffin. Squeeze in as much filling as you can while lifting the bag with the filling out of the muffin. Enjoy!
FAQ
Yes you can, the texture will be slightly different but it will work out great.
I recommend filling the muffins as soon as the filling is made. The filling is softer and it's a lot easier to fill them up.
Yes! More chocolate chips will make the muffins even better.
Check out these other recipes:
Happy baking!
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📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Muffins
Equipment
- twelve compartment muffin tin
Ingredients
Muffin batter
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup butter melted and cooled
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Red gel food colouring
- 2 cups all purpose flour 240 g
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Filling
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream cold
Instructions
Muffin batter
- In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar until thickened. Add melted cooled butter and oil. Whisk until combined.2 large eggs, 1 cup granulated sugar, ¼ cup butter, ¼ cup vegetable oil
- Add vinegar, buttermilk, salt, vanilla extract, and whisk. Add as much gel food colouring as you need to make it bright red. I added about half a teaspoon. Whisk until fully combined.1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 cup buttermilk, ¼ teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, Red gel food colouring
- Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder right into the same bowl. Fold until a thick batter forms.2 cups all purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C). Prepare muffin tin by lining the cups with muffin liners (I used jumbo but you can use regular - reduce baking time by 2 minutes). While the oven preheats, let the batter rest for 15 minutes in the fridge. This helps the batter thicken and gives the muffins a more even texture.
- Scoop the muffin batter into the lined muffin tins, filling them ¾ of the way up. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Bake for 13-15 minutes in preheated oven. A toothpick inserted into the middle should come out mostly clean with a few crumbs attached.½ cup mini chocolate chips
- Let the muffins cool until room temperature. Make the filling while it cools.
Filling
- Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar in a large bowl. Whisk together until smooth.6 oz cream cheese, ½ cup powdered sugar
- Add vanilla extract and whisk. Add heavy whipping cream a tablespoon at a time until you get a creamy and thick consistency. Transfer to a resealable bag or piping bag.½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 4 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Assembly
- Take a chopstick, skewer, or the back of a spoon and poke it halfway through the middle of a muffin. Twist it around to make an opening for the filling.
- Cut the end off the resealable bag or piping bag and insert the tip all the way down into muffin. Squeeze in as much filling as you can while lifting the bag with the filling out of the muffin.
Maddy
Do you think it would be possible to make these as mini muffins or would it just be too hard to fill?
Mary
I think it would be possible! Just watch the bake time, you will need to reduce it.
Cat
Hi! I’m confused about the muffin size and quantity this recipe makes. It says to use a 12 cup muffin tin and that it makes 12. But you said you made jumbo and that if making regular to reduce the baking time listed here, which means that the recipe is written for jumbo. But jumbo tins don’t come in 12? Thank you for clarifying.
Mary
Hi, so sorry for the confusion! I used a regular muffin tin and added jumbo baking cups into the regular pan to make jumbo muffins.