If you are looking for an easy recipe for Green Velvet Cupcakes or a Green Velvet Cake for St. Patrick’s Day, I’ve got you covered! These easy St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes have been of my most popular holiday recipes for years. This simple green velvet recipe is fun, festive and delicious, especially when topped with cream cheese frosting!
Red velvet cake is all the rage for Valentine’s Day, so naturally St. Patrick’s Day brings visions of green velvet cupcakes and green velvet cake. How many things could one make with a batch of green velvet cake batter? How about green velvet cupcakes, green velvet mini cupcakes, green velvet whoopie pies and green velvet cake pops. Oh, and you can also make green velvet cake, of course! These are the perfect easy St. Patrick’s Day desserts.
Green Velvet Cake
For the record I made all of them. Also for the record, yes, I am crazy. I am also Irish, which somehow seems like a good defense for making four different items clock full of green food coloring to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. Though most likely it has far more to do with my being crazy.
I’ll be spreading these out over a few different blog posts, but let’s start with making the green velvet cake recipe. Here’s what you need…
Green Velvet Cupcakes
Grease your cake pans, muffin tins, whoopie pie pans, whatever method you decide to go with. Or be crazy like me and do them all. Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with whisk. Add in remaining liquid ingredients. Whisk until blended and sit aside. I waited until the very end to add the food coloring, because frankly, that much food coloring scares me and I had to work out the courage to do it.
Place all dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together well.
Now take a deep breath and dump all that food coloring, yes the entire bottle, into the wet ingredients.
Not too bad. But now stir…
Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or two until well combined and green as the day is long. Note, this is NOT the time to accidentally crank the Kitcheaid on to high. Unless you want a green, and slightly vinegar smelling kitchen. Avoid that at all costs, nobody needs that much green velvet in their lives.
Look it’s St. Patrick’s Day in my kitchen!
Pour the batter into cake pans or cupcake pans. I did the cake and cupcakes first, and than added 1/4 cup of flour to the remaining batter to thicken it up a bit before putting it in the whoopie pie pan.
Care to lick the spoon? Me, not so much, which is a first in my cake making history.
Baking times will vary based on what you are using. For one 8″ cake pan, it was about 22 minutes for me.
Regular size cupcakes were around 16, mini cupcakes about 13 and the whoopie pie pan was about 13 as well.
Green Velvet Cake And Green Velvet Cupcakes Recipes
Green Velvet Cake
Ingredients
CAKE
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 Tablespoon cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 oz green food coloring
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 1 package of softened cream cheese
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 bag powdered sugar 2 lb bag
- Milk as needed
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease your cake pans, muffin tins, whoopie pie pans, whatever method you decide to go with.
- Lightly stir eggs in a medium bowl with whisk. Add in remaining liquid ingredients. Whisk until blended, the stir in food coloring and sit aside.
- Place all dry ingredients in your mixing bowl and stir together well.
- Pour your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about a minute or two until well combined.
- Pour the batter into cake pans or cupcake pans.
- Baking times will vary based on what you are using. For one 8″ cake pan, it was about 22 minutes. Regular size cupcakes were around 16 minutes, mini cupcakes and whoopie pie pans were both about 13 minutes.
FROSTING
- Cream together cream cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Gradually add in powdered sugar and continue mixing. Add in milk as needed to reach the desired consistency. Store frosting and frosted cupcakes in refrigerator.
Notes
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
You can frost straight from the bowl, though I use my handy Ziploc bag to pipe on my frosting.
Now frost and decorate until your little heart is content. I used about half of my frosting for the green velvet cupcakes and green velvet whoopie pies, and put the remainder in the fridge to be used to make green velvet cake pops. Here are some of the super sweet cupcakes…
The cute shamrock sprinkles and fun cupcake liners!
Check out how pretty and green they are. My daughter was thrilled! Well at least until I stopped her mid-cupcake realizing that I hadn’t taken a picture of the great green insides of these babies.
And for those that would like something a little smaller – green velvet mini cupcakes…
And best of all, my kitchen somehow came out of this without any big globs of green anywhere. Whew.
These velvet cake recipes are so much fun. Are you looking for a different color velvet than green velvet? I have some yummy options for you in every color of the velvet rainbow, if that’s a thing. First up red velvet cookie bars.
How about pink velvet cupcakes!
Sweetapolita has a gorgeous purple velvet cake.
Sprinkle Bakes has some stunning blue velvet cupcakes.
I even have some orange velvet cupcakes!
And if you look hard enough, you can even find a yellow velvet cake.
Now that we’ve covered the velvet rainbow, check out green velvet whoopie pies!
Jane says
I made my green velvet cupcakes but they got a much darker green which was fine but I would have liked them brighter.
Christi Johnstone says
You can absolutely use as little or as much food coloring as you desire to adjust it to suit your preferences.
Rita says
I’ve been making this this cake since the 60’s. I’ve made every color of the rainbow. I’m 75 and still it’s my favorite cake except RED velvet is my fav.
Annette says
Going to give these a try. Look great.!
Just a thought though, the big solid black areas on your printable version are going to use up half my ink cartridge 😬.
Joanne says
These turned out perfect for St. Patrick’s Day 2018. Will use recipe for Easter but a pastel color.
Jackie says
I had a recipe for Valentine Day that was Red Velvet Oreo cookie style cookie. Any suggestions for GREEN Cookies (oreo style)? TIA
Christi says
Jackie, I’m not sure if I understand correctly, but if you are looking to make a green oreo style cookie vs a red, you can most likely use the recipe you worked with before and change the food coloring. The color in all of the “velvet” recipes, in my opinion, is just for looks and has no impact on the taste, so switch to any color you like.
Anne says
I thought 2 T, dark cacoa was too little; the flour mixture was barely tinted brown. So I checked against the red plaid “Better Homes & Garden (ringed) Cookbook’s” red velvet recipe, calling for 1/2 C. dark cocoa. So this is what I’ve added. I want to thank-you for such an adorable cupcake for St. Pat’s, in this case before then. It was exactly what I was looking for in my search. A very dear, elderly friend of mine sufferred breaking her hip, as he son-in-law fell atop her. She in undergoing PT in a rehab center, but her spirits are low, missing her home. She is all German, but I told her everyone is Irish on St.Pat’s. I’m bringing the cupcakes in for her and the rehab staff, along with silly things, like a cloverleaf scarf for her to wear, cheapie shamrock earrings to wear, shamrock glasses! All for fun, and all to lift her spirits. Cupcakes baking. Thanks for the cute idea!
Alicia says
Sorry, can’t help myself. It’s “Paddy’s” not “Patty’s”. From “Padraig” not “Patricia”
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/lifestyle/2014/03/please-dont-call-it-st-pattys-day/
Kim says
I wish I could figure out why mine never have a rounded top? Always come out flat! and the top is hard not soft 🙁
Christi says
Kim, I’ve found mine get a nicer top when I have my rack lower in my oven. If yours is high or in the middle, try moving it down a bit and see if that makes a difference for you.
Lisa King says
Great idea! When I sent the link to my daughter, she commented, “why not blue for Elvis’s birthday””. I guess blue velvet is kind of like blue suede…
Jen says
Love these cupcakes! I featured them in a round up of St. Patrick’s Day cookies and cupcakes on my blog. Cheers. http://www.kitchencounterchronicle.com/2014/02/st-patricks-day-cookies-and-cupcakes.html
Christi says
Thanks so much Jen!