• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Food Meanderings
  • Start HERE
  • Home
  • About Me
  • Recipes
    • Courses
      • Breakfast and Brunch
        • Pancakes, Waffles & French Toast
        • Breakfast Potluck Ideas
      • Lunch
        • Sandwiches and Burgers
        • Salads
        • Soups, Stew & Chili Recipes
      • Dinner
        • Main dish
        • Pork Recipes
        • Pasta & Pizza Recipes
        • Casseroles
        • Chicken Recipes
        • Beef
        • Beef Recipes
        • Fish & Seafood
      • Desserts
        • Baked Goods
        • Bars and Squares
        • Cake
        • Cookies
        • Cupcakes
        • Frosting and Icing Recipes
        • Frozen Dessert Recipes
        • Healthy Dessert Recipes
        • No Bake Desserts
        • Pie and Pastry Recipes
        • Sweets
    • Cuisine
      • Asian Recipes
      • Italian Recipes
      • Mediterranean Recipes
      • Mexican Recipes
      • Southern Recipes
    • Dish Type
      • Appetizers
        • Dip Recipes
      • Breads
        • Bread Machine Recipes
        • Muffins
      • Side Dishes
        • Vegetables
      • Snacks
      • Sauces, Spreads and Condiments
      • Drinks
        • Smoothies
        • Mocktails
      • One-Pot and One-Pan meals
    • Cooking Style
      • Dinner Party Recipes
      • BBQ & Grilling
      • Healthy Recipes
      • Seasonal Cooking
      • Slow Cooker Recipes
      • Vegetarian
    • Special Diet
      • Gluten-free Recipes
      • Vegan Recipes
      • Vegetarian
      • Weight Watchers Friendly Recipes
    • Holidays
      • Canada Day
      • Christmas Recipes
      • Easter Recipes
      • Earth Day Recipes
      • Father's Day Recipes
      • Cinco de Mayo Recipes
      • 4th of July Recipes
      • Halloween Recipes
      • Mother's Day Recipes
      • New Year's Eve Recipes
      • St. Patrick's Day Recipes
      • Stampede Recipes
      • Thanksgiving Recipes
      • Birthday Recipes
      • Valentine's Day Recipes
      • Game Day Recipes
    • Ingredient
      • Meat
        • Pork
        • Poultry
      • Pasta
      • Beans
      • Potatoes
      • Fruit
      • Rice
      • Egg Recipes
      • Chocolate
  • Meanderings
    • Articles
      • My Weight Watchers (WW) Journey
      • Weight Watchers Tips & Tricks
      • Comfort & Baked Expectations
      • Gingerbread: The Art of Food
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • Start HERE
  • Recipes
  • Easter Recipes
  • About Me
  • Contact Me
×

Home » Recipes » Courses » Desserts » Cupcakes

Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes (from box mix)

Published: Feb 11, 2022 by Terri Gilson · Modified: Feb 1, 2023 · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links · 5 Comments

Sharing is caring!

24 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Reddit
  • Yummly
  • Mix
Jump to Recipe
3 red wine cupcakes on a white plate with a glass of red wine and a tin of cupcakes in the background

These Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes are quick and easy to make from a box cake mix, but taste like they are homemade! They are light and airy and a little fancier than your typical chocolate cake mix cupcake. Although they are a delicious and special treat any time of the year (especially for the wine lover in your life), these cupcakes are ideal for Valentine's Day, a girl's night, a wine lover's birthday, a Galentine's Day celebration, Mother's Day or any special occasion!

3 red wine cupcakes on a white plate

This red wine cupcake was inspired by my Red Wine Chocolate Strawberry Cake on this site, and pairs perfectly with my Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting (with jam). The red wine flavor melds with the chocolate flavor, totally elevating a simple box mix cupcake. Even if you are not a red wine drinker, you'll love these cupcakes!

Jump to:
  • 🥘Ingredients
  • 🔪Instructions
  • ⏲️Baking Time
  • 📖Substitutions & Variations
  • 👪 Serving Size
  • 🍽Equipment
  • 🌡️Storage
  • 📋 Chocolate Red Wine Cupcake Recipe

If you're a fan of light-textured cakes and cupcakes, you'll love this red wine cupcake. Although I love to bake from scratch, so many cake recipes are too dense and heavy for my liking, while doctoring a box cake mix guarantees a light and airy crumb.

I learned to doctor boxed cake mixes (pretty expertly, I might add 🙂 ) during my cake-making and cake-decorating days. Not to mention, it makes for a super fast and easy elegant cupcake. My family couldn't get enough of these cupcakes; I didn't even get the chance to share them with anyone else!

🥘Ingredients

For this chocolate cupcake recipe, you'll need:

ingredients (labelled) needed for chocolate red wine cupcakes
  • chocolate cake mix (from box mix) * I use Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix
  • vegetable oil
  • eggs
  • red wine * I use Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon
  • milk * I use 1%
  • instant coffee

*See recipe card for quantities.

🔪Instructions

Hint: Only fill the cupcake liners up to ⅔ - ¾ full (at most) or they will bake up too high and spill over the muffin tins.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C and line 2 - 12 muffin tins with liners.
  • Add cake mix, eggs, milk, instant coffee, vegetable oil, and red wine (you do NOT need a red wine reduction) to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix on low speed for 20 seconds.
  • Turn the mixer up to medium and beat for another 30- 45 seconds, or until fully incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. *If you are using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
  • Pour batter/chocolate mixture into lined muffin cups to ⅔ - ¾ full, dividing the batter evenly between all 24
red wine chocolate cupcakes in a mixing bowl
chocolate red wine cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl
cupcake batter poured into a red lined muffin tin

⏲️Baking Time

  • Bake for 15 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in tins, then move to a wire rack (cooling rack) to cool.
  • Once cooled, frost cupcakes with your favorite icing, I recommend my Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting - it's the perfect pairing!

📖Substitutions & Variations

  • Diary-free - you can use water instead of milk or dairy-free milk and a dairy-free cake mix. *Find out which cakes mixes are dairy-free HERE
  • Milk - you can use whole milk or 2% milk instead of 1%
  • Gluten-free - use a gluten-free cake mix
  • Cake mix - I prefer to use Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker cake mixes, as I find they taste the best. And for these cupcakes, Devil's Food Chocolate cake mix is ideal
  • Dark Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes - Use a dark chocolate box mix
  • Red Wine- dry red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Pinot Noir, or Merlot work best with this recipe
  • Kid-friendly - use non-alcoholic red wine and decaffeinated coffee
  • Frosting - These cupcakes are ideal with any frosting, but I especially love them with my Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting (with jam). But they are also superb with my Chocolate Frosting (without butter). You could also use a cream cheese frosting.
red wine cupcake on a white plate with bottle of wine, a glass of wine and atray of cupcakes stacked in the background

👪 Serving Size

This red wine chocolate cupcake recipe makes enough frosting for 24 cupcakes or you can make a 1-8 inch chocolate red wine cake. However, you can half, double, or triple the recipe by clicking on the blue serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.

🍽Equipment

You'll need an electric mixer, either a stand mixer or hand mixer , and muffin tins (affiliate links) to make these wine-infused cupcakes. A cake tester (affiliate links) is also a handy tool to check for doneness.

3 red wine cupcakes on a white plate with a glass of red wine and a tin of cupcakes in the background

🌡️Storage

Store these chocolate red wine cupcakes in an airtight container, at room temperature, for up to 5 days. However, if you frost them with a perishable frosting, they need to be refrigerated.

These cupcakes freeze well in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

If you're looking for a red wine chocolate cupcake, you'll love this quick and easy one made from a box mix!

3 red wine cupcakes on a white plate
Food Meandering Logo

📋 Chocolate Red Wine Cupcake Recipe

These Chocolate Red Wine Cupcakes are quick and easy to make from a box mix, but taste homemade! These red wine cupcakes are a delicious treat any time of the year, especially for the wine lover in your life! And these cupcakes are ideal for Valentine's Day, a girl's nights, birthday, a Galentine's Day celebration, Mother's Day or any special occasion!
5 from 3 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate, cupcakes, red wine
Special Diet: Vegetarian
Servings: 24 cupcakes
Calories: 94kcal
Author: Terri Gilson
Prep Time: 5 minutes
15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Prevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

stand mixer
muffin tin
cake tester
pile of varied colored trivets stacked up
trivets

Ingredients

  • 15 oz - box of chocolate cake mix * I use Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker Devil's Food Cake Mix
  • ¾ cup red wine
  • ½ cup milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 2 teaspoon instant coffee
  • ½ cup vegetable oil
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/175 degrees C and line 2 - 12 muffins tins with liners.
  • Add cake mix, eggs, milk, instant coffee, vegetable oil and red wine to a large bowl and mix on low for 20 seconds.
    red wine chocolate cupcakes in a mixing bowl
  • Turn mixer up to medium speed and beat for another 30- 45 seconds, or until fully incorporated, scraping the sides of the bowl. If you're using manual beaters, beat for 2 minutes. *If you are using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment.
    chocolate red wine cupcake ingredients in a mixing bowl
  • Pour batter/chocolate mixture into lined muffin tins, dividing the batter evenly between all 24.
    cupcake batter poured into a red lined muffin tin
  • Bake for 15 minutes or until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Cool in tins for 5 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool.
  • Once cooled, frost cupcakes with your favorite icing and sprinkles, if you desire. I recommend my Strawberry Whipped Cream Frosting and mixed heart sprinkles- this frosting is the perfect pairing for this cupcake and also quick and easy to make! (https://foodmeanderings.com/strawberry-whipped-cream-frosting-with-jam/)

Notes

 
Nutrition Facts
📋 Chocolate Red Wine Cupcake Recipe
Amount Per Serving (1 cupcake)
Calories 94 Calories from Fat 27
% Daily Value*
Fat 3g5%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 21mg7%
Sodium 159mg7%
Potassium 87mg2%
Carbohydrates 14g5%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 7g8%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 40IU1%
Calcium 37mg4%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupcake | Calories: 94kcal (5%) | Carbohydrates: 14g (5%) | Protein: 2g (4%) | Fat: 3g (5%) | Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 21mg (7%) | Sodium: 159mg (7%) | Potassium: 87mg (2%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 7g (8%) | Vitamin A: 40IU (1%) | Calcium: 37mg (4%) | Iron: 1mg (6%)
Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating and review below!
Rate this Recipe

More Cupcakes

  • no churn ice cream cupcake sitting on muffin tin
    No Churn Easy Ice Cream Cupcakes
  • chocolate tiramisu cupcakes on a white cake platter
    Tiramisu Cupcakes (with Raspberry Mascarpone Whipped Cream Frosting)
  • Halloween Candy Cupcakes
    Halloween Jack o'lantern Cupcakes
  • Flower pot cupcake on wooden surface with blue sky background
    Flower Pot Cupcakes

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Bernice

    February 15, 2022 at 2:53 pm

    Wow! What a great way to doctor up a cake mix. You are so right, chocolate and wine go so well together, it's like it was meant to be.

    Reply
  2. Fouzia Husainy

    February 17, 2022 at 8:32 am

    Your cup cakes look amazing! The icing is making them stand out!

    Reply
  3. nancy

    February 17, 2022 at 12:07 pm

    love this easy cheat hack to make things easier

    Reply
  4. Jeanine S.

    July 27, 2022 at 10:41 am

    Do you need to add the instant coffee? Just wondering what it’s purpose is, as I’m not a coffee drinker as not fond of its taste. But these cupcakes sound delicious so I don’t want to leave the coffee out if it enhances the wine flavor?? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Terri Gilson

      July 28, 2022 at 9:00 pm

      Hi Jeanine: Coffee enhances the chocolate flavor, actually, not the wine. You really can't taste it, but maybe if you are super sensitive to it, you will taste it. I love coffee, but don't taste it. But that being said, you don't have to add the coffee, it's just better with the coffee.
      Hope you enjoy it!
      Terri

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

I'm Terri, a passionate home cook and baker, an award-winning recipe developer and a busy working mom that is trying to eat healthy and fit everything into not enough hours in a day! My mission is to share not only my recipes, cooking hacks and tips with you, but also my secrets to successful weight maintenance.

More about me →

Easter Recipes

  • a piece of lemon pie being lifted out of a whole pie, with a lemon cut in half in background
    Old Fashioned Lemon Pie
  • collage of 4 photos of healthy leftover ham recipes with black text on white circle in the middle.
    35 Healthy Leftover Ham Recipes
  • collage of 4 photos of Easter brunch recipes with text in the middle
    Easter Brunch Menu Ideas
  • a slice of daffodil cake on a white plate with lattice trim and a blue material background
    Daffodil Cake

More Easter Recipes --->

Footer

Featured On:

Taste Of Home Logo Parade Logo MSN Logo Master Chef Canada Logo Huffpost Logo Good Housekeeping Logo

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy & Terms of Use
  • Accessibility Policy

Subscribe

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact
  • Work with me

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2023 Foodmeanderings.com

24 shares