Red Wine Cupcakes

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Wine cupcakes pair two of your favorite things in one delicious treat – red wine and chocolate! The addition of red wine to chocolate cupcakes makes them incredibly flavorful and decadent.

Red wine velvet cupcakes, one with a bite eaten

The recipe for these fabulous red wine cupcakes comes from Stella Parks’ fabulous book, Bravetart [paid link] (it’s one of the best baking books out there). She dubs them red wine velvet cupcakes and offers them as an alternative to the heavily food-colored red velvet cupcakes. These are like a grown up red velvet cupcake.

Which Wine Works Best in Wine Cupcakes?

I suggest using a dry red wine. You don’t need anything super sweet as there is plenty of sugar in the cupcakes. Go for something inexpensive. Save the good stuff for drinking!

Red wine

Some dry red wines good for baking are:

  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Pinot Noir
  • Syrah
  • Merlot
  • Malbec

How to Make Wine CupcakesRed wine velvet cupcakes, frosted and unfrosted

 

If you’ve never made cupcakes before, read my post on how to make cupcakes for some cupcake baking basics before getting started.

To make these cupcakes:
Sift flour and cocoa powder together into a small bowl. This helps to make the cupcakes as light as possible.

Combine butter, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when needed to make sure that all of the ingredients are well incorporated.

Brown sugar and butter mixed in a stand mixer

With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is fully incorporated before adding the next.

Adding eggs to batter in a stand mixer

Reduce speed to low and sprinkle in one-third of the flour/cocoa mixture, followed by a third of the red wine. Alternate between the two, allowing each addition to be roughly incorporated before adding the next.

Mixing in dry ingredients to chocolate cupcake batter in a stand mixer

Fold batter with a flexible spatula to ensure that is it is well-mixed from the bottom up.

Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake emerges with only a few crumbs attached.

Frosting for Wine Cupcakes

Overhead view of cream cheese frosting in a piping bag sitting near some cupcakes

Red wine cupcakes are amazing with cream cheese frosting. My basic cream cheese frosting recipe is super easy – its ingredients are just cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar – and comes together in minutes.

Another option for these cupcakes is to top them with a caramel frosting or a ganache!

Did you make this recipe? Leave a review!
Red Wine Velvet Cupcakes
Print Pin
3.85 from 13 votes

Red Wine Cupcakes

Wine and chocolate come together in these delicious red wine cupcakes!
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 18 cupcakes
Calories 149kcal
Author Stefani

Ingredients

  • 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 6 tablespoons raw cocoa powder [paid link] 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons; Any cocoa powder will work, but raw cocoa powder has a reaction with the baking soda that causes the cupcakes to have a slightly - very subtle - red hue. Plus, it has a great flavor!
  • 1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons, soft but cool
  • 1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
  • 1 1/8 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 3 large large eggs room temperature
  • 3/4 cup dry red wine
  • cream cheese frosting

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F.
  • Sift flour and cocoa powder together into a small bowl.
  • Combine butter, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
  • Mix on low to medium speed to moisten, then increase to medium and cream until fluffy and light, about five minutes pausing to scrape the bowl and beater halfway through.
  • With the mixer running, add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is fully incorporated before adding the next.
  • Reduce speed to low and sprinkle in one-third of the flour/cocoa, followed by a third of the red wine. Alternate between the two, allowing each addition to be roughly incorporated before adding the next.
  • Fold batter with a flexible spatula to ensure that is it is well mixed from the bottom up.
  • Fill cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcakes emerges with only a few crumbs attached.
  • Once cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Video

Notes

Recipe printed with permission from Stella Parks.
Frost with a simple cream cheese frosting.
Use an inexpensive wine for baking. Good wine won't make it taste any better. Try any of the following dry reds:
  • Cabernet Sauvignon
  • Pinot Noir
  • Syrah
  • Merlot
  • Malbec

Nutrition

Calories: 149kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 54mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 315IU | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 0.5mg
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