Description
Red velvet cream cheese muffins combine classic Southern charm with irresistible bakery appeal. Homemade pastries offer rich cocoa notes and tangy cream cheese filling that elevate morning breakfast or afternoon tea treats.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 oz (225g) cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (115g) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup (120ml) buttermilk
- ¼ cup (25g) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 ¾ cups (220g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp red food coloring
Instructions
- Cream Cheese Preparation: Whip cream cheese mixture into a silky, uniform consistency, integrating sugar and vanilla extract to create a luxurious, smooth filling without any lumps.
- Dry Ingredient Combination: Sift flour, cocoa powder, and baking powder together, eliminating potential clumps and creating a homogeneous dry mixture.
- Wet Ingredient Fusion: Thoroughly blend vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, red food coloring, and white vinegar until the liquid achieves a vibrant, consistent crimson color.
- Batter Assembly: Gently incorporate wet ingredients into dry mixture, stirring minimally to preserve a tender muffin texture, mixing just until ingredients are thoroughly combined.
- Muffin Tin Filling and Cream Cheese Insertion: Line muffin tin with paper liners, fill cavities two-thirds full with batter, create a gentle center indentation, and carefully pipe cream cheese filling into these wells.
- Batter Topping: Cover cream cheese centers with remaining red velvet batter, ensuring partial concealment while maintaining filling visibility.
- Baking Process: Place in preheated oven, baking until muffins rise beautifully, edges crisp slightly, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cooling and Serving: Rest muffins in the tin briefly, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving, allowing flavors to settle and texture to stabilize.
Notes
- Prevent Overmixing: Stir wet and dry ingredients minimally to maintain a tender, soft muffin texture without developing tough gluten strands.
- Achieve Vibrant Color: Use gel-based red food coloring for more intense color and avoid watery consistency that might impact batter structure.
- Ensure Smooth Cream Cheese: Beat cream cheese filling at room temperature to eliminate lumps and create a silky, uniform mixture without cracks.
- Proper Filling Technique: Create a small well in batter center before adding cream cheese filling, ensuring even distribution and preventing overflow during baking.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Breakfast, Snacks, Desserts
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 13
- Calories: 202
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 9g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 27g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 3g
- Cholesterol: 48mg