How to Make Red Buttercream Frosting

As of yesterday, Valentine’s Day is less than a month away! I myself do not necessarily believe in showering my loved ones in tons of lavish gifts to show my love.

I do however just love the shape of hearts, and the brightness of color it brings which helps make the winter season much more tolerable.

Hearts and stars are my favorite shapes so you bet I am already enjoying the pretty pinks and reds scattered about my home.

Today, I was in the mood to bake and decorate a fresh batch of cupcakes. I love that there is not right or wrong when it comes to decorating cupcakes.

Get the Most Vibrant Red Buttercream Frosting

As long as you have a good frosting base, the rest is a piece of literal “cake”. Since red is such a vibrant color, I decided to take out my storage bag of Wilton Food Gels–my favorite brand, and make some red buttercream frosting.

To make such a deep and vibrant red buttercream frosting, I started with Wilton Christmas Red Food Gel. For such a deep color, I used 1 teaspoon of this product per cup of buttercream frosting.

Buttercream Frosting Tips

You want to make sure your buttercream is just the right temp so work with it when it is not too cold or not too hot and runny.

By working with a colder frosting and the right amount of sifted powdered sugar, you can prevent a runny frosting that flops off your cupcake.

It is a must to always used cooled cupcakes, cakes, or cookies.

For these cupcakes I used Williams Sonoma Vanilla Cake Mix so I cheated a bit–this stuff is so good!

Buttercream Frosting:

• 3 cups of sifted powdered sugar
• 2 stick of butter {room temperature}
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon of milk
• 1 teaspoon of Wilton Christmas Red or Red-Red Food Gel per cup of frosting

Directions:

Cream your butter, and extract for one minute on medium speed.

Adjust speed to low, and add your powdered sugar, and milk to your stand mixer and cream for an additional 1 minute on low speed.

Add food gel by hand, and mix using a hand paddle spoon.

Add Frosting to a bag and ice your Red Buttercream Frosted Valentine’s Day Cupcakes

I hope you and your family enjoy these red buttercream frosting Valentine’s Day inspired cupcakes!