Moist and fluffy red velvet muffins loaded with white chocolate chips and filled with a sweetened cream cheese center!
Although red velvet is really nothing more than something with a mild chocolate flavor and a vibrant red hue, there’s just something about it that draws me in every time. I’m not sure if it’s the nice flavor medium between chocolate and vanilla, or the bright bold red, but regardless, it’s a classic flavor that I’ll definitely enjoy into my 100’s. (Yes, I do plan on eating delicious sugar-laden treats into my centenarian years.)
Although I’ve made Red Velvet Cupcakes, Red Velvet Sugar Cookies, Red Velvet Brownies, and even Red Velvet Cinnamon Rolls, I still had yet to create a recipe for red velvet muffins. And seeing as Valentine’s Day is just around the corner, what better time than now to introduce a treat that would be absolutely perfect for the occasion?
These Red Velvet Cream Cheese Muffins are deliciously moist, and BRIMMING with white chocolate chips and sweet cream cheese filling. They’re definitely not your average breakfast muffins. In fact, they’re pretty much cupcakes disguised as muffins!
Then again, isn’t that true for most muffins? At least, the GOOD muffins??
When it comes down to the muffin itself, it’s pretty standard to most muffin recipes. However, there is one thing that makes it a little different from most red velvet recipes.
Now, I might be breaking one of the cardinal rules of red velvet baking, but this recipe does not have any buttermilk in it. Buttermilk is commonly added to provide a slight tanginess and a significant amount of moisture to the baked good. Since I’m a bit of a rebel when it comes to the kitchen (at least I like to think I am), I tend to experiment with different ingredients whenever possible. Greek yogurt is not only an ingredient that I always have on hand, but it produces the same moist and tangy results as buttermilk. And if you can’t find greek yogurt, plain yogurt works just as well!
To avoid over-mixing the batter, I prefer to add the red food coloring to the wet ingredients before incorporating the dry ingredients. Depending on the type of food coloring (gel or liquid), it’s a little difficult to gauge exactly how much should be added in order to get the vibrant hue you’re trying to achieve. I tend to add a few drops at a time, stir, add a few more drops, stir, etc. Obviously, this results in a lot of stirring which flour doesn’t like. Well, I haven’t personally asked the flour, but I do know that it’s not going to produce the tall rounded muffin tops if you keep pushing it around.
Speaking of tall rounded muffin tops, the key to achieving those lofty results is to place the muffins into a 425ºF oven for 5 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 375ºF for the remainder of the baking time. The high temperature in the very beginning encourages the muffin to rise faster since it causes the batter to puff and extend upwards out of the liner, creating a taller, more domed appearance. It’s also important to fill the muffin wells almost to the top. There should be about one centimeter between the batter and the top of the pan or paper liner. You don’t have to worry about the batter spilling over the pan since the batter is quite thick and the high temperature also sets the outer surface.
Of course, before you even bake the batter, you need to fill them first! The filling is just a simple sweetened cream cheese, made with two ingredients–cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat these two ingredients together until smooth and creamy, and you have your filling!
To fill the muffins, just spread about a heaping tablespoon of batter into the bottom of the muffin well, or enough to cover the bottom. I like to create a little bit of an indentation in the center of the batter to mark the spot for the cream cheese filling. Then place the filling (about two teaspoons) into the center. Cover the filling with batter, and make sure that it’s fully surrounded by batter. Some of the filling might peak out a little on some muffins, but that’s ok. Just try your best to conceal the filling as much as possible, so that it’s a nice surprise when people bite into it!
Aside from the rich white chocolate chips and incredibly moist crumb in these muffins, I love that every bite is accompanied with luscious cream cheese filling. No slather of butter is required on these muffins because they’re absolutely loaded with flavor and deliciousness!
Red Velvet Cream Cheese Muffins
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ⅔ cup powdered sugar
Muffins:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- 2 Tablespoons natural cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)*
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cup Greek yogurt or plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- Red food coloring
- ¾ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the Filling:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth and creamy. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Make the Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spray a standard-sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Once melted, turn off the heat and stir in the cocoa powder. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined; set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk both sugars and the eggs together until thickened and combined, about 45 seconds. Whisk in the melted butter-cocoa mixture and the oil. Add the yogurt and vanilla, and continue whisking until combined. Blend in food coloring until desired shade is achieved.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until almost combined. Pour in the chocolate chips, folding until just combined. Batter should still be lumpy with a few spots of flour.
Assembling the muffins:
- Fill each muffin well with a heaping tablespoon of batter, or just enough to cover the bottom of the pan/liner. Spoon a small dollop (about 2 teaspoons) into the center of each muffin well. Cover the cream cheese completely with more batter, filling muffin wells to nearly the top of the liner; there should only be about one centimeter of space at the top.
- Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and continue to bake for another 8-11 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
**For muffins that have cooled to room temperature, I highly suggest reheating them in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to allow the white chocolate chips to soften and the filling to become extra creamy.