Bloody Red Velvet Cupcakes

Create a hauntingly beautiful presentation at your Halloween party with these Bloody Red Velvet Cupcakes. They’re topped with a generous swirl of cream cheese frosting and a tantalizing drizzle of raspberry coulis “blood” cascades down, creating a macabre and scrumptious dessert capturing the essence of spooky season.

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Bloody Red Velvet Cupcakes

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Difficulty: Easy

Prep time: 30 minutes

Bake time:  20 minutes

Servings: 12- 14 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes – 

1 ¼ c flour

½ t baking soda

½ t salt

1 T. cocoa powder

¾ c sugar

¾ c oil

1 egg

½ c buttermilk

½ T liquid red food coloring

1 t vanilla

1 t vinegar

For the cream cheese buttercream – 

1 c unsalted butter, softened

8 oz cream cheese, softened

1 t salt

1 t vanilla

2-3 T milk (if needed)

4 c powdered sugar

For the raspberry coulis “blood” – 

12 oz fresh raspberries

½ c sugar

2 t lemon juice

Zest from one lemon

Directions:

For the cupcakes – preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare your muffin pans by placing liners – set aside. 

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda – whisk to combine.  Set aside. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the sugar, egg and oil. 

In another medium bowl, combine the butter milk, vanilla, food color and vinegar.  Whisk to combine. 

Add the red buttermilk mixture to the bowl of the stand mixer.  Combine well. 

Pour in the dry ingredients and mix well.  Scrape the sides and mix again. 

Pour about ¼ cup worth of batter in each cupcake liner – they should be about ⅔ full.  Bake in preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until set and a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow to cool. 

Meanwhile, begin making the coulis.  In a saucepan, combine the raspberries, lemon juice, sugar and lemon zest. 

Simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes or until slightly thickened. 

Pour through a strainer into a small bowl and allow to cool.  Store in the fridge until ready to use.  

To make the buttercream frosting – in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt.  Cream until smooth. 

Add in the powdered sugar and mix on slow until combined.  If needed, add in one tablespoon of milk if the mixture looks dry.  Whip on high speed for a minute.  

Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip. 

Pipe a dollop of frosting on each cupcake once they’ve cooled. 

Drizzle with a spoonful of chilled coulis and allow it to drip down the sides.  

Notes: Cupcakes can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days.  

We made a homemade raspberry coulis – which is super easy, for the “blood”.  If you prefer, they also sell edible blood in grocery stores and online. 

The nutrition information is calculated using a third party resource. The accuracy varies according to the brands you use, the portion sizes you serve, and so on. This information should only be used as a guide.