These Green Velvet Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting have cute shamrocks toppers that are just right for celebrating St Patrick's day! What a delicious way to serve a green dessert to celebrate this holiday.
The perfect twist on red velvet for Saint Patrick's day. Get out your cupcake pans and let's start making this easy recipe. You won't regret making these moist delicious cupcakes with creamy frosting.
Make some of my Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes or Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes too if you want some variety on the dessert table.
Green Velvet Cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day
These scratch green velvet cupcakes recipe is a festive way to celebrate St. Patrick's day. The edible shamrock toppers are a fun addition. Kids and adults alike will love these green cupcakes.
How to Make Green Velvet Cupcakes
Here I'll walk you through the process of making these St. Patrick's Day cupcakes. Grab the printable recipe card below.
The recipe makes one dozen regular size cupcakes.
Ingredients
Here is everything you will need to make the green velvet cupcakes, frosting and shamrock toppers.
Green Velvet Cupcakes:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon high-quality cocoa powder
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon green food coloring (gel type)
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- ½ stick (¼ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 4 ounces softened cream cheese (half a block)
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Decoration:
- 3-4 oz. green rolling fondant
- ¼ cup golden and white pearl sprinkles
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and oil.
Add milk and egg and stir. Finally, add white vinegar and mix.
Slowly add the flour mixture into wet ingredients.
Once batter is formed, add gel green food coloring. Mix thoroughly until batter is fully combined and evenly tinted.
Spoon the cake batter into the paper liners in cupcake tin until each section is filled about ⅔ of the way.
Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. They are fully baked when a toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes pulls clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack before decorating.
To make the frosting, beat all ingredients: butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla, in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Start on low speed and gradually increase to high.
Once ingredients are well-combined, smooth and form fluffy semi-stiff peaks, the cream cheese frosting is ready.
Scoop into a piping bag with a star tip (Wilton tip #21 works great!) and frost each green velvet cupcake.
Shape the green fondant into St. Patrick’s clovers. To make one, roll out 6 spheres, about half of an inch thick.
Take two spheres and press them together, giving them a point on one end. This will create a heart shape. Repeat for the other 2 pairs of spheres.
Press the three fondant hearts together, with one in the center and the other two on the side, slightly angled.
Repeat 11 more times to have enough for the dozen cupcakes.
Arrange a clover on each cupcake. Garnish the cupcake with pearl sprinkles. Serve and enjoy! I hope you enjoy these fun sweet treats.
More St. Patrick's Day Desserts
- Leprechaun Balls: A St. Patrick's Day Dessert for Grown-Ups
- Green Crinkle Cookies
- Leprechaun Gold Cookies: Edible Gold Coated Oreo Coins
- St. Patrick's Day Popcorn Recipe: Leprechaun Popcorn
Green Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon high-quality cocoa powder
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon green gel food coloring
For the cream cheese frosting:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter softened (½ stick)
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
To decorate:
- 3-4 oz. green rolling fondant
- ¼ cup golden and white pearl sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder.
- In a separate bowl, cream together sugar and oil.
- Add milk and egg and stir.
- Add white vinegar and mix. Slowly add dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
- Once batter is formed, add gel food coloring. Mix thoroughly until batter is smooth and food coloring is evenly distributed..
- Fill lined muffin tin until each section is filled about ⅔ of the way.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack before decorating.
- To make the frosting, beat all ingredients in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Star on low speed and gradually increase to high.
- Once ingredients are well-combined, smooth, fluffy and form semi-stiff peaks, the frosting is ready.
- Scoop into a piping bag with a star tip (Wilton tip #21 works great!) and frost each cupcake.
- Shape the green fondant into St. Patrick’s clovers. To make one, roll out 6 spheres, about half of an inch thick.
- Take two spheres and press them together, giving them a point on one end. This will create a heart shape. Repeat for the other 2 pairs of spheres.
- Press the three fondant hearts together, with one in the center and the other two on the side, slightly angled.
- Repeat 11 more times to have enough for the dozen cupcakes.
- Arrange a clover on each cupcake. Garnish the cupcake with pearl sprinkles. Serve and enjoy!
Traci Kenworth says
How adorable!
Robin Gagnon says
Thanks. I thought they were fun for St Patrick's 🙂