Ohai, cupcakes.
I’m kind of at a loss for words with these. Can you imagine how good they were by looking at the pictures? Because let me assure you… they were BETTER than whatever you’re thinking.
Kiddo and I wanted to do something lovely for our local police force because they are awesome. They always take the time to say hi to Kiddo and all the other kids when they’re cruising our neighborhood, they do all they can to help with the issue of our neighbor’s dog that will. not. quit. barking. ever. and they solved both lame crimes of which we’ve been a victim in the last year. They’re awesome. So what better for the boys in blue than blue velvet cupcakes?
I found this recipe at the incredible Sprinkle Bakes. Aren’t those great? She was SO helpful in helping me adapt the recipe to the food coloring I had to that perfect Cookie Monster shade of blue she showcases. It’s exactly what I wanted them to look like! She adapted her cupcake recipe from Paula Deen’s recipe; I adapted it with Sprinkle Bake’s help only to use all gel food coloring. The frosting is all Sprinkle Bakes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 Tbsp Wilton royal blue gel food coloring
- 1 small dab of violet gel food coloring (I dipped in a toothpick and used that much)
- 2 ½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 pound cream cheese, softened
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (I hate sifting; I whir it up in the food processor instead to aerate and get lumps out)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 F and line cupcake pans with liners
- Cream sugar and butter in mixing bowl till light and fluffy, then add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg
- Mix cocoa and food coloring together to make a paste -- this took a while to mix thoroughly with all gel, but it came together nicely; add this paste to sugar mixture and mix well again
- Sift (or buzz in food processor) flour and salt, and add to creamed mixture a bit at a time, alternating with buttermilk, then mix in vanilla
- Combine baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl and add to cake batter; mix just to combine
- Scoop thick batter into cupcake liners, filling about 2/3 full, and bake for probably 25-30 minutes, but start checking at 20 -- mine were done at about the 22/23 minute mark; watch for toothpick inserted in center to come out clean
- Remove cupcakes from oven and allow cool completely on a wire rack
- Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer until nice and smooth
- Add sugar gradually and beat on low till combined, then beat on high speed until very light and very fluffy
Frosting time! I use a giant star tip from Bake it Pretty, or The Place I Could Spend All My Monies (and the stardust). I dusted on a little edible blue glitter on top because hey, why not.
These are beautiful!! What a great idea to give these to the men in blue. I’m sure they loved them.
These muffins are absolutely stunning!!! I especially like the last photo. Wow.
So beautiful I am afraid to dig my teeth in and ruin the aesthetic! I wonder if whipped cream cheese would make a big difference in the frosting? YUM
I would think that if you did it by weight you’d be fine, since you’re whipping it anyway. Worth a shot if that’s all you have!
Oh my gosh…I love these. Can you imagine the blue tongues afterwards?? My daughter and I will definitely be trying these.
Lisa
My two sons would love Blue Velvet Cupcakes! I’m sure my daughter would too, lol. But blue is so cool for boys! Such a good idea to make them for your local police force! Love the last pic as well.
Wow, great color in those!
That last photo is simply stunning. LOVE the black and white background that contrasts the color of the cupcake so well. And that is the PERFECT shade of blue!
Wowie! Those certainly are BLUE!
I had never thought about making blue cupcakes, but these look so fun will have to give it a try some time.
This would be awesome for a school bake sale…I can just hear little kids gasping and oohing and awing over them.
Thanks for sharing them with us!
Those are so pretty! I’m sure they’re delicious too, but I’m loving the bright blue color. Fun!
What happens if you didn’t use the violet coloring? Does it not turn that blue?
It’s not as vibrant and pretty, I hear. Sprinkle Bakes is really the expert on the coloring!
Wow, what a beautiful blue. Think it would work with green food coloring? I’m thinking Green Velvet cupcakes for Saint Patty’s day…
What a great idea!! I bet it would work!
OMG! That IS the exact color of Cookie Monster!! I know my “Sesame Street” and “Muppets” characters, so I can fully attest to that.
I want to do green ones for St. Patty’s!
Those are beautiful!
If I had them here I wouldn’t want to eat them. I would drool in admiration.
And so ..
How about a deep purple? Turquoise? Stark white?
Is there a black cake? One that did not take so long in the oven and burnt? I hope to see more colors!
Awesome! I came across Blue Velvet Cupcakes in Knoxville, TN and never saw them again.
http://taylortakesataste.com/magpies-mini-cupcakes-knoxvilletn/
Love the post!
These made me chuckle. When I was about 7 years old, on an overnight at my grandmother’s house I baked a cake and colored it liberally with blue food coloring, cake as well as frosting. I thought it was absolutely beautiful. My grandma soon set me straight, however. She just looked at that cake, shook her head and said, “Oh Honey, people don’t eat blue food.” I believed her and to this day, over 50 years later, I still can’t bring myself to eat blue food. These cupcakes are so pretty they could almost (but not quite) change my ways!
Aww… what a cute story!!
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I made these AWESOME cupcakes last night. My daughter took one to a friend a school this morning and her friend actcually sang a song to the cupcake. YUM!
I was VERY excited to try the blue velvet. My dad’s 90th (yes, 9-0!) birthday celebration will be open to the whole world (or at least his small town!). We decided to do about 300 cupcakes for the celebration. I absolutely refused to anything red, especially with white icing, because my dad (like most of my family) graduated from Auburn University and we are orange and blue. Our cross-state rivals are red and white. One problem…..my blue velvet turned out more turquoise. Any idea what happened?
Wait, you made 300 of these cupcakes? You are a SUPERSTAR!!! Not sure about the turquoise issue — did you add the little drop of violet coloring? ~Erin
thank you so much for the color tip, my cupcakes turned out the most beautiful shade of blue and they were such a hit!
[...] green sprinkles were added to the tops of the cupcakes. This was the first time I attempted this recipe and the second time ever making cupcakes from scratch. I was a bit apprehensive because the last [...]
I made these cupcakes! Color was AWESOME, taste was great. (I frosted them with regular buttercream.) But I have officially renamed them the “Blue Poo” cupcakes. Just to warn you
Oh my word! I love these!!!! And the fact you made them for your local police warms my heart! My hubby is a police officer and it is so nice to see people who actually appreciate them! Going to have to make a batch to send with him to work!
It’s about time for us to make another batch over here too! ~ Erin
Oh do it! They made perfect copcakes.
[...] Blue Velvet Cake adapted from One Particular Kitchen [...]
[...] I didn’t have time to eat it on the way home, so I tossed it in the fridge till I could savor the moment. The husband was gone with the boys and I decided to give it a try. I took a bite and the flavors danced on my tongue like the most beautifully indulgent serenade. I found my blue heaven, these things were to die for! I quickly began to scour the internet for a recipe because the Farmer’s Market is only once a week, and well I wanted to see if I could replicate. I ran across a few variations when I stumbled across this one. [...]
Beautiful! We made these tonight and alas they came out tasting like muffins, not cupcakes. I am sure we must have done something wrong, we are not experts. Wondering though if anyone else had this issue and if they know what we did wrong?
Oh no, Kimberly! Like muffins how? Dense? Not sweet enough?
These turned out perfect!! I accidentally added the coco powder and food coloring directly into the batter instead of mixing the two and then adding it, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. And I used malt vinegar because I was out of any kind of white vinegar. Blue is my favorite color so I HAD to try these. The whole family loves them!!
Wow, that last photo is stunning. I love the color – amazing!!!
I found you today at Remodelholic. These cupcakes are so funny and cute. They would be perfect for Chanakah. I’m not Jewish but I’d love to share this in my blog in Early December. If that is ok with you (I’ll give you credit).
~Erin
Well sure! thanks for asking!
Katherine–OMG! you are soooo right! they would be GREAT for Chanukah! i WILL be making these! thank you for the great suggestion.
Oh my gosh! I am a high school teacher, and our school colors are blue & white. We have a cupcake club that raises money for wonderful charities and local organizations benefits. I am TOTALLY going to bake these this school year to sell at our bake sales! Thanks so much <3
I am so glad that I came across this! These are beautiful and the blue color is an absolutely PERFECT match to my best friend’s wedding color! I’m her MOH and baking her wedding & bridal shower cakes and I would love to make the inside of her bridal shower cake this color! Thank you!
[...] Blue Velvet Cake adapted from One Particular Kitchen [...]
[...] {Sources} 1. Ice Cold Beer | 2. Pepperoni Pizza Puffs | 3. Fresh Homemade Guacamole | 4. Chicken and White Bean Chili | 5. Apricot Glazed BBQ Chicken | 6. Blue Velvet Cupcakes [...]
OMG! I love this… I will definitely try and make some, very soon.
This is a red velvet recipe, right? but used blue coloring instead? I have a different recipe with oil added, would that make a difference with the blue coloring?
It is! I think the oil would be fine — let me know how they turn out!
Cant wait to try these. I am making them for my daughters baby shower and yes its a boy, her 4th boy. so heres hoping they are as amazing in taste as the picture projects them to be. ill let you know. glow
I’m actually making these for my friend’s 20th birthday.
I have a question…
In step to you say “Cream sugar and butter…” what do you mean by cream? Do you mean the buttermilk? Because further down you talk about the butter milk. Also, I see no cream in your recipe, so what do you mean?
Hi Lex: that’s cream (verb); as in to beat one or more ingredients until the mixture is soft, homogeneous, and smooth, i.e. “creamy.” So you’re just combining the sugar and butter till they’re thoroughly mixed and creamy, then moving on to the next step.
It’s my friend’s 20th birthday and I’m trying to make these cupcakes a little last minute. I was wondering, on step 2 you say “Cream sugar and butter…” what is the cream? I don’t see it in your recipe, and it’s not the butter milk because that’s not until step 4.
Also, I had a hard time finding food coloring. My aunt ended up just picking up normal food coloring. It’s liquid not gel will this still work?
Oh, and yes, the liquid food coloring will work fine.
If you end up using a lot of it to get the color you want, then leave out an equal amount of buttermilk so your total liquid amount is still the same.
Oh, thank you very much. I feel a little like an idiot. I’ve just recently got into baking, so I’m very newb, and this is the first time I’m doing it from scratch.
You can do it! Let me know how it goes.
I certainly will, thank so much.
I’m using your recipe this week to make my best friend’s bridal shower cake. I’m guilty of only ever using boxed cake mixes and this will be the first time I’ve made one from scratch. Will it make a huge difference if I use all-purpose flour rather than cake flour? I’m honestly not really sure what the difference is. Please help!
It will be good either way! An easy way to cheat cake flour is to put 2 Tbsp. cornstarch in a measuring cup, then fill it up the rest of the way with AP flour — instant 1 cup of cake flour!
Great! Thank you very much Erin!
No problem! Have fun with them!
[...] Blue Velvet Cupcakes [...]
How can I make these orange for a Thanksgiving party? These look really yummy I am looking forward to making them…
Ooh what a fun idea! I would definitely use gel food coloring for that because it would probably take quite a bit to get a good, vibrant color. Do you have a Joann, Michael’s or Hobby Lobby near you where you can find Wilton gel coloring? I’d start with a Tbsp. or orange and go from there, adding more if you need it.
The only food/icing colors I have or use is Americolor. Thats what I use for my cakes that I make. Can I use those? I am an hour away from Michaels or Hobby Lobby…Live in a small town…
Oh I think those would work just fine! They’re gel, right? Just play around with it till it’s the orange you like.
The orange coloring has turned out great! I hope they taste as good as they look. I still have to ice them but not too bad for my first non-cakemix cupcake! Oh I picked up some fall sprinkles to have on top to give it the right Thanksgiving look!
Thanks for the idea!
I’m so glad, Jenny!! I’d love to see a pic when they’re all done. What a fun idea!
I sent you an email with a picture of the Orange Velvet cupcake I made…Thanks again
I made these today for my sons Superhero party BUT the tops were hard as a rock. I cooked them for 20 minutes and the cake was super dense. Any thoughts. They were a bit time consuming (I have 3 kids so most things are time consuming for me lol) but I think if they weren’t so hard they would be awesome!
Oh no! My guess is over mixing — that can definitely toughen them up. Did you use cake flour? I’m so sorry they didn’t turn out right, but happy birthday to your son!
Hi live your idea, I’m doing a bake off on Friday and would live to make these, how long would you suggest baking mini cupcakes?
Ooh fun! Mini cupcakes are tricky because theyre so tiny. I would start checking after 10 minutes or so? Good luck!
These look awesome…and so is the reason for coming up w/ this recipe!! Thank you for thinking of those that protect and serve. I have just started a small home baking business and will be donating a part of my profits to the local chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors, married to a retired officer and have family in law enforcement. I will be using this recipe, that is, if it is ok w/ you!
I’d be honored, Tina!
just put them in the oven….fingers crossed!!! Trying them out so i can make them for my sons ‘smufday’!:)
This cake worked well for my son’s Thomas the Train cake for his birthday. I did make some changes which made it better. I only used 1.5 C of sugar, increased cocoa power to 2T, increased the bakin soda form 1/2tsp to 2tsp(it made it rise up better), I added 1/2tsp of coconut flavor and I added 1/2 cup more of flour. This made it have more flavor and the kids liked it much better.
I made them last tuesday for a birthdayparty, and they where yummy!! everyone loved them!! I wil definitely be making these again:)
I made these last year and they were well enjoyed amongst friends. The shade of blue was the quintessential cookie monster blue and made it so much fun to put together from start to finish. The cream cheese frosting went really well with the cake and it was an experience to eat them.
Wanted to know if they blue in the cake stains your teeth and lips?
It didn’t for me, no! I think blue frosting would, but blue cake didn’t.
Made these cupcakes tonight and they turned out wonderful!! I’ve never seen such a rich shade of blue in a cake before. . .amazing!
IDK what I did wrong on the frosting but it is not “frosting like” I have made cream cheese frosting before and it was stiff like frosting but mine turned out like a batter. Maybe the butter? I used salted sweet cream butter. It still tastes great just doesn’t look like frosting and its off white.
Oh no! I would guess the butter too.
at least the flavor was good? I believe there’s a way to thicken it — I’ll try to find out.
How many does this make? I am helping out with a boy baby shower this weekend and wanted to make these. The theme is Blue Green and Brown so Blue Velvet Cupcakes will be perfect.
How fun! I got 24.
Is this recipe the same as a boxed cake mix? I am interested in making a tiered cake for a baby shower. Would I have to double the recipe?
The amount is roughly the same, yes — I think a single recipe would work fine.
I will use your tip to get the color blue that you show. I make these for Penn State tailgating in the fall – blue velvet cupcakes with White Out icing!
You say Wilton royal blue gel food coloring…just got home with all the ingredients and the gel says “decorating gel”. Is that the same thing or does it need to say food coloring? It does say royal blue!
Yep, I just checked mine and it says Wilton decorating gel. You’re good to go!
I’d like to use this recipe to make cookie monster cupcakes, thing is, I need the cupcake to “puff up” so I can make a cm head and stick a cookie in it. If I fill the liners higher will they get a nice dome on top that I can cut into and stick a cookie in?
They SHOULD, yes, although I haven’t tried that myself. Good luck!
Hi Erin
I dont have the wilton colouring gel can i use the wilton icing colour instead. For your kind advise please. Thanks!
Sure can!
Thanks for ur reply. Is it the same measurement as 1 Tbsp coloring gel and 1 dap of violet? or i have to add lesser for the wilton icing colour? sorry for my ignorance question. Rgds
Sorry, I wasn’t totally clear there — is it the same thing? Does it say it’s gel?
what i mean is should i use the same amount for the colouring gel 1 TBsp coz what i have is wilton icing colours Royal blue concentrated paste – should i follow exactly the recipe call for coz it concentrated paste. sorry to make you confused
Oh! Okay, got it. Yes, it should be the same amount.
Thanks Erin! I made this BV cupcakes it turns out well taste is perfect the texture of the CC is moist colour is vibrant. Love it!
A blue cupcake!!! Omg, Percy Jackson! (squeal!!)
Where do you find the coloring gel? I would love to try and make these for our wedding rehearsal dinner but live in a small town and am not quite sure where to find it. You help would be greatly appreciated!
Congrats on the upcoming wedding!
I got the gel at Joann Fabrics, but I’m pretty sure Michael’s and Hobby Lobby have it too. Any of those nearby?
[...] found this while lurking around on the internet. They are called Blue Velvet Cupcakes, from the blog, One Particular [...]
Oh my goodness! Just came across these from Pinterest! I can just hear the kids yelling for them now! Will for sure be trying these!
Wow, amazing color, and so delicious!! I made these for my own birthday, since blue is my favorite color and our Vancouver Canucks were playing that night. I used green sprinkles on top and called them Canuck-cakes; they were a hit with my kids and family–shocked everyone with the color when you bite into them, awesome!!
OMG! These look amazing.
I attempted and it was a disaster. Not only are they not blue, they are more like muffins. And sunk in the middle!! I am by no means a professional, but I do bake from scratch. I used a whole tube of blue icing, and dab of violet, an they came out tan?!?! I did use AP flour instead of Cake flour, can that account for all of my problems? I saw your post to use cornstarch. I will try again, because I really want to make these. Thanks!
Oh no! I’m so sorry it was a disaster. The cake flour/cornstarch bit will definitely help the texture be more cake-ey than muffin-ey. I’m not sure what to tell you about the color — did you use gel? As far as the falling in the middle, it could be caused by the heavier AP flour, could be over-mixing the batter, or could be that your oven runs cooler than it thinks; those are the usual culprits. I hope the second time’s the charm! Please let me know.
Will be making these for 4th of July with red velvet ones as well. now, can oil be used instead of butter?
How many does this recipe yeild?
*yield.
I got 26 cupcakes
Hi, I actually got this from sprinkle bakes. I just got a kitchaid stand mixer today and wanted to try and make these. I bake from scratch all the time but I’ve never used a stand mixer before. I was def a little slow getting it together. I baked in two batched the first batch was sunk in. I watched the 2nd batch. They raised up beautifully and then one by one fell.
I followed the sprinkle recipe which only calls for 2 cups of the flour instead of 2 1/2 but for the life of me idk what I did wrong.
Hi there! My immediate guess is over-mixing with that shiny new mixer!
Those Kitchenaid mixers are crazy efficient and you may have over-beaten the batter. As SOON as everything is combined in the end cut off the mixer — see if that helps?
Wow I was just thinking about this, decided to Google and I found this!! Brilliant.. I am going to try them out tonight!! To answer someone else’s question.. yes u can use black food coloring and a bit of licorice flavor and u have divine licorice cupcakes!!!
These look GREAT! Can’t wait to try them! Thank you for sharing!
So glad I found these on Pinterest! I am throwing a surprise Doctor Who party and these look TARDIS blue. MUCH easier than trying to make a TARDIS cake.
Had trouble finding gel food coloring. Wilton does not make it anymore that I can see. Will try the decorating gel someone else mentioned. Thanks!
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My daughter loves purple. Do you have a suggestion on adapting this to be a Purple Velvet?
The violet that I said to use just a dab of in this recipe — if you do all violet instead I think it would be beautiful!
Hi!! =) My school is having a cupcake war and I want to make these for the fundraiser, but I don’t have a standmixer, do you think I can mix it well enough by hand? Thanks. =)
I sure do! I think they’ll be just fine.
Good luck!!
Mine did not turn out blue
What did I do wrong?
Oh no! What did they look like?
Erin,
I made these last April for my granddaughter. She wanted blue cupcakes with orange frosting and after scouring the internet, I found this recipe. They turned out great and with the orange frosting looked awesome. I am making them again and couldn’t fine the Wilton color and bought Americolor. Would you reccomend on cutting back a little on the buttermilk? Americolor is not as liquidy(is that a word?haha) as the kind you get in the grocery store but it is definitely not a gel. Also, your frosting looks beautiful in the picture. Is it holding its shape so well because you chilled it in the fridge first? If so, does that mean after frosting these the will need to be refridgerated? I fear this because I don’t want the cake to be hard(I always feel that cake is it’s softest when at room temperature). Thank you so much for this great recipe!
Hi Cindy! Yes, I declare liquidy a word (my spell check is arguing that with me).
I would maybe cut the buttermilk by a Tbsp. or so, but shouldn’t be much. Thank you, re: the frosting! I actually think it’s holding its shape so well because of the awesome decorating tips I use — I didn’t chill the frosting first.
I hear that cream cheese frosting does have to be refrigerated, and better safe than sorry and all. When I made these for a bake sale I made the cupcakes, wrapped them snugly in saran wrap and then foil and froze them. The day of the bake sale I thawed them still wrapped at room temperature, then frosted them, and they tasted great. Could you maybe frost them at the last minute?
~ Erin
[...] Blue velvet cupcakes [...]
THIS RECIPE IS AWESOME I MADE ONE LAST NIGHT FOR MY BROTHER BECAUSE IT HIS BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CAN U TEACH ME HOW TO MAKE WOG TONGS I JUST LOVE TTHEMMM TTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS A LOT erin PLS. PLEASE ANSWER+ CAN I CALL U E FOR SORT?
How many does this recipe make? Thanks!
I got 26 the first batch, 24 the second.
[...] of something you could do. I don’t have a recipe from me to give you but the here is the Blue Velvet Cupcakes recipe I used. Also, if you’d prefer not to make it from scratch Betty Crocker has a [...]