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Red Velvet Cake Recipe

This red velvet cake has the perfect velvety texture and is paired with the perfect cream cheese frosting.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chilling time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Servings 8 cups
Calories 446kcal

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake Ingredients

  • 14 ounces all-purpose flour
  • 14 ounces granulated Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 4 ounces vegetable oil
  • 8 ounces buttermilk room temperature
  • 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter melted but not hot
  • 1 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 Tablespoon red food coloring gel food coloring

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

  • 12 ounces cream cheese softened
  • 8 ounces unsalted butter softened
  • ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or orange extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 26 ounces powdered sugar sifted

Instructions

Red Velvet Cake

  • Preheat your oven to 335°F and prepare two 8" x 2” cake pans with cake goop or your preferred pan release.
  • Combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vinegar, butter, vanilla, and red food coloring in a medium bowl and set it aside.
  • Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix this on low speed for a few seconds to combine.
  • Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix on medium speed until the batter is fully incorporated and smooth (about 1 minute). Don't forget to scrape the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are evenly mixed.
  • Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.
  • Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops bounce back when lightly touched.
  • Cool the cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes, then flip them out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
  • If you are going to layer and frost the same day, pop the cake layers into the freezer for about an hour, no need to wrap them. Otherwise, wrap the layers in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to a week. Pro-Tip: Wrapping the cakes while they’re still warm seals in all of the moisture, making them safe to freeze.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • Place the softened butter in the bowl of your stand mixer with the whisk attachment. Mix on low until it is smooth and lump-free.
  • Add in the softened cream cheese and combine on low until smooth and completely homogeneous. Scrape the bowl to make sure it is all incorporated.
  • Add in the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low to avoid throwing powdered sugar out of the bowl.
  • Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix until just combined and smooth. Do not over-mix.
  • After your cakes are fully cooled, decorate as desired.

Video

Notes

If you do not have buttermilk, you can use an equal amount (by weight) of sour cream or you can add 1 tablespoon of vinegar into regular milk and let it sit a few minutes until it starts to curdle to make homemade buttermilk.
Important Things To Note Before You Start
1. Bring all your ingredients to room temperature or even a little warm (eggs, buttermilk, butter, etc) to ensure your batter does not break or curdle. 
2. Use a scale to weigh your ingredients (including liquids) unless otherwise instructed (Tablespoons, teaspoons, pinch etc). Metric measurements are available in the recipe card. Scaled ingredients are much more accurate than using cups and help ensure the success of your recipe. 
3. Practice Mise en Place (everything in it's place). Measure out your ingredients ahead of time and have them ready before you start mixing to reduce the chances of accidentally leaving something out.
4. Chill your cakes before frosting and filling. You can cover a frosted and chilled cake in fondant if you wish. This cake is also great for stacking. I always keep my cakes chilled in the refrigerator before delivery for easy transporting. 
5. If you do not have buttermilk, you can create your own with one of my buttermilk substitutes
6. For red food coloring, I prefer to use Chefmaster. Use code "SUGARGEEKTEN" to get 10% off your Chefmaster purchase.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 305mg | Potassium: 59mg | Sugar: 45g | Vitamin A: 480IU | Calcium: 32mg | Iron: 1mg