Tender, moist, and rich red velvet cupcakes, spiked with Dr. Pepper for ultra-unique flavor. These Dr. Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes are topped with creamy, fluffy, tangy cream cheese frosting, of course. No red velvet cupcake is complete without it! These Dr. Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes are absolutely killer!
I say this every year, so you guys probably already know what I’m going to say, but this is my favorite time of year. I love football season, and I wait all year for it. I’ve been a huge football fan for years, and I look forward to rooting on my college team. Football parties and get-togethers are such a big part of that. I revel in the camaraderie of rooting with fellow fans of my team, and I even enjoy talking to fans of other teams. College football wouldn’t be what it is without good rivalries.
For the first day of college football season, we had pizza, actually. I also cracked open a few cans of Dr Pepper to go along with the pizza. I love that Dr Pepper has such an original flavor – there’s no other soda quite like it. It hits the spot for a refreshing drink when I’m watching college football.
I wanted to round out the entire meal for football-watching, and I’m a baker and sweet-tooth at heart, of course, so we needed a dessert. I used a can of Dr Pepper to spruce up a red velvet cake mix for these Dr. Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes. I have several recipes for cola cake on the blog, and cola cake is a long-standing favorite recipe in my family.
I usually make it from scratch, and it’s typically with chocolate and cola. Instead of making the traditional version, I decided to use red velvet cake mix and Dr Pepper to come up with these Dr. Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes. The flavors together were delicious, especially when topped with my favorite cream cheese frosting.
Food is such a big part of the football-watching experience for me, and I always look forward to planning football parties and get-togethers, and what food I’m going to make. These Dr. Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes were a great addition to our usual fare!
Dr Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For Dr Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes:
- 1 box red velvet cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 c. vegetable oil
- 1 - 12 oz. can Dr Pepper
For Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/2 c. butter softened
- 4 oz. cream cheese softened
- 2 c. powdered sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 - 2 tbsp. cream
Instructions
For Dr Pepper Red Velvet Cupcakes:
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In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, eggs, vegetable oil, and soda, stirring until combined.
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Place paper liners in 24 regular-sized muffin cups.
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Fill muffin cups 1/2 full with cake batter.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
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Remove to wire racks to cool completely.
For Cream Cheese Frosting:
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In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth.
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Add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until light and fluffy.
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If needed, add 1-2 tablespoons cream to achieve desired consistency. It should be thick and fluffy, but pipable.
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Pipe or spread frosting onto cupcakes.
Blair @ The Seasoned Mom says
October 1, 2016 at 8:29 pmBeautiful! I’m watching college football right now, and NOW I’m craving a cupcake! 🙂
Sarah says
October 2, 2016 at 1:23 pmLOL!!! Sorry to do that to you. Haha. 🙂
Stephanie says
October 3, 2016 at 1:55 pmOh my goodness… this look AMAZING! Definitely adding this to our next college football watching menu! #client
Sarah says
October 4, 2016 at 7:29 pmDefinitely!! Thank you, Stephanie!
Alix @A Hedgehog in the Kitchen says
October 22, 2016 at 2:08 pmWe LOVE red velvet everything so much that even our wedding cake was a red velvet cake! Thank you so much for this lovely red velvet cupcake recipe! 🙂
Sarah says
October 26, 2016 at 12:59 pmThat’s awesome. It’s a top favorite of mine too, for sure. Nothing beats a perfect red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting. Thanks, Alix.
Elizabeth says
July 27, 2017 at 6:24 pmWill this work as a cake… or just the cupcakes?
Sarah says
July 27, 2017 at 8:09 pmIt will totally work as a sheet cake or layer cake too!! I would just make sure to adjust the baking times. It’s going to take a bit longer, of course!
Kerstern says
June 14, 2019 at 7:33 pmWhat kind of cream are you referring to with regard to 1-2/TBS of cream…whipped, heavy whipping???
Sarah says
June 15, 2019 at 1:32 pmYep!
L says
February 13, 2020 at 5:14 pmScrolled alllll the way down a food blog, for a box mix cheat recipe. Not cool.
Sarah says
February 13, 2020 at 7:12 pmMany people LOVE cake mix and short-cut recipes! They’re some of my most popular here. If they’re not for you, then move along, as you probably have. But I don’t know why you’d rate a recipe you’ve never even tried…. that doesn’t provide valuable information at all about whether it turned out properly or not.
Kim says
March 23, 2020 at 6:41 pmCould I add chocolate chips to your Dr Pepper red velvet
Sarah says
March 23, 2020 at 8:37 pmYes, absolutely!