SUBSCRIBE FOR UPDATES!

Kitchen Trials

Red Velvet Cake

By 40 Comments

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

Ok, not to like, brag, or toot my own horn, but this is seriously THE BEST red velvet cake ever! First off though, I’ve got to come clean. These pics are from the first time I’d ever made a red velvet cake myself. I know, I KNOW. How the hell can I be proclaiming it’s the BEST RED VELVET CAKE EVER the first time I make it?

Easy. I have eaten a verifiable shit ton of red velvet cake slices and cupcakes in my 37 years. Also, I’ve made it a few more times since the summer, and haven’t changed a damn thing. This baby, she’s the bees knees.

Seriously though, why didn’t I make a red velvet cake sooner? Umm, I may have been a little scared, thinking it was going to be a complicated process. I assumed there were tons of steps. I was positive that getting the red colouring right would be a pain in the ass. It was none of those things.

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

If I’m being completely honest, I was happy enough before to just buy a slice when I felt like it. I didn’t realize the kids were such fans until we threw a Toronto Raptors driveway party last summer and the neighbours brought red velvet cupcakes over (thanks again Elisa and Ramzi!)

The Road To Red Velvet Cake

But then, Oliver turned 10 this summer. Literally THE DAY BEFORE HIS PARTY he asked me to make him a red velvet cake (on top of the 4 other cakes I was already making). Awesome Mom that I am, I told him “Of course hunny!”. Then I started quietly stomping (yes, this is a thing Mom’s have perfected) into the other room. I may have also been cursing under my breath.

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

Into the office I went, and off the shelves came every one of the seventy-two thousand cook books I own. That’s another reason this red velvet cake turned out so damn good. I put in the work on this baby!

Hours were spent pouring over red velvet cake recipes. Post it note scribbles of what was the same in all of them (buttermilk, vinegar, cocoa powder) were sticking out of dozens of cookbooks. The same goes for what was different (how much of all that crap, holy variation!). I really didn’t have time to mess this one up.

What Makes Red Velvet Cake So Damn Special

I even spent time reading up on WHY red velvet cake is so special, especially in the Southern US. So many people think this is just a chocolate cake loaded up with red food colouring (it’s not). Other people refer to it as vanilla cake with red food colouring. For the record, those people are wrong too.

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

Red velvet cake is totally its own thing. There’s such a small amount of cocoa powder, it just kinda kisses the batter with chocolate. The chocolate flavour isn’t over-powering at all.

For me, this cake is all about the tang. You won’t even really notice it’s there unless you’re looking for it. The buttermilk and vinegar add just enough tartness that the cake doesn’t feel overpoweringly sweet. It’s also what makes red velvet cake the perfect base for a thickly swirled cream cheese frosting.

Other favourite cakes of mine

Just incase you’re a nut like me who makes multiple cakes at the same time, I’ve got to share my absolute favourite cake with you. This salted caramel cake is the one I make for my birthday every year. It is PHENOMENAL!

I’m also a sucker for a galvanized steel cake stand, as you can see in the picture below.

This vanilla and salted caramel cake is exactly the same as the one we spent $160 on at an upscale bakery. Moist layers of vanilla sponge cake, smothered with a homemade salted caramel sauce, and surrounded with salted caramel buttercream.

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Alright, I hope I’ve got you excited about trying this recipe. The entire family went bananas for it at the birthday party. With the holiday’s right around the corner now, I feel like it’s just begging to be made again. I mean, it’s red and white, it’s basically a Santa cake without any fuss!

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

Hit me with any questions you have down in the comments, I feel like I’m a red velvet cake expert at this point. When you make it, make sure to let me know what you thought too!

Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

Red Velvet Cake

Yield: 3 layer cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Additional Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes

Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting is a southern staple for good reason, it's freaking amazing! Here's my super easy, incredibly delicious recipe.

Ingredients

3 Layer Red Velvet Cake (2 layer cake in notes)

  • 4 1/2 cups cake flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3 cups white sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 6 large eggs (room temperature), whites and yolks separated
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, room temperature
  • 2 - 3 teaspoons red gel food colouring

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 2 packages of cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 4 1/2 cups icing sugar
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla

Instructions

Red Velvet Cake

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F using the convection setting. Grease and line three 8" or 9" round cake pans with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Set aside.
  4. In your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the oil, egg yolks, vanilla, and vinegar. Beat on high for an additional 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
  5. With the mixer on low, add half of the flour mixture, followed with half of the buttermilk, Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk.
  6. Add the red gel food colouring and beat on medium speed just until combined.
  7. Take the bowl off of the stand mixer and use a spatula to gently fold in the egg whites.
  8. Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared pans, and bake for 30-35 minutes, depending on your oven. The cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  9. Let the cakes cool completely on wire racks before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

While the cakes are cooling make the cream cheese frosting. This gives you enough to do the rustic style like I did. If you want to cover the side of the cake as well, you should 1.5x the recipe for the frosting.

  1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat together the butter and cream cheese on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  2. Sift the icing sugar into the bowl of the stand mixer to avoid any lumps.
  3. Add the milk and vanilla, then beat on low speed for 30 seconds, just until incorporated. Increase the mixer speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes more.
  4. If the frosting seems too runny, you can add some more icing sugar, a few tablespoons at a time. If it's too thick to spread, add a little bit more milk.

Assembling

Make sure the cake layers are completely cool before assembling. If they're still warm they will melt the frosting.

  1. Level the cake layers. Use a bread knife to slice off the top of each cake so that it's nice and level. Save the scraps for decorating the top.
  2. Put the first layer onto your serving dish cut side up. Top with a layer of cream cheese frosting about 1/2" thick.
  3. Put the second layer onto the cake, cut side down. Top with another 1/2" of frosting. Top with the third layer, cut side down.
  4. Put a thin layer of cream cheese frosting on the outside of the cake, then a thicker layer on the top.
  5. Store the cake in the fridge until ready to serve.


Notes

Two Layer Cake: If you want to make this a two layer cake, reduce the cake ingredients as follows:

3 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs (room temperature), whites and yolks separated
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 teaspoons red gel food colouring

Buttermilk: If you don't have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own. However, I really do feel it's worth it to buy actual buttermilk for this recipe. When I make it at home in a jam, it never quite packs the same punch. If you're in a jam though, for every 1 cup of buttermilk you need, put 1 tablespoon of white vinegar into a glass measuring cup, and fill up with milk to the 1 cup mark. Stir together, then let sit for 5 minutes to thicken up a bit.

Make It Ahead: If you want to save a bit of time, you can make the frosting a couple of days ahead of time. Just store it in an air tight container in the fridge, but take it out an hour before you need to use it so it can soften enough to spread. You could also put it back in the mixer and give it a quick whip to soften it.

The cake can also be made a day ahead of time. Just let cool completely after baking, then wrap in two layers of plastic wrap and store in a cool, dry place on your counter.

© Katrina
Cuisine: American / Category: Cake
Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe
Red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. S

    Hi Katrina

    I don’t usually do this but I had to let you know how wonderful this recipe is!

    I baked this for my colleagues yesterday, as it was our first time seeing each other since we locked down 7 months ago, and I know they’re a tough crowd.

    The fluffiness and texture was just utterly perfect! So thank you!

    I am based in London, UK, so wasn’t sure I’d get this right with all of the different measurements, but thanks to Google it all went well. However, I somehow couldn’t nail the cream cheese frosting, it became very watery, so cheated a little with some Betty Crocker store bought “cream cheese” icing. Still, it was so nice.

    Thanks again!

    S

    Reply

  3. Alekhya

    Hi dear.. I follow your recipes. They are the best. My family loves red velvet cake and I would like to bake one. I would be grateful if you can tell me the measurement of ingredients for smaller cake. Thank u very much 😊

    Reply

    • Katrina

      Here are reduced measurements for a 2 layer cake for you. The instructions for making it will stay the same, and so will the baking time 🙂 Sorry it took me a bit to get back to you, I hope this helps though!

      3 LAYER RED VELVET CAKE (2 LAYER CAKE IN NOTES)
      3 cups cake flour
      1 teaspoon baking soda
      2 tablespoons cocoa powder
      1/2 teaspoon salt
      1/2 cup butter
      2 cups white sugar
      1 cups vegetable oil
      4 large eggs (room temperature), whites and yolks separated
      1 tablespoon vanilla extract
      1 teaspoon white vinegar
      1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
      2 teaspoons red gel food colouring

      CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
      1 packages of cream cheese, softened
      1/4 cup butter, softened
      2 1/4 cups icing sugar
      1/2 tablespoon milk
      1 teaspoons vanilla

      Reply

  6. James Scotlin

    I really like your blog. You have added a great content. Infact, I also enjoyed the red velvet cake.

    Reply

  10. Employee Management System

    Having a centralized database and driving employee engagement are some of the few reasons that can enhance productivity of a team. But when we add other features like Online recruitment, easy documentation and cost effectiveness into the mix, it truly helps organizations even more.

    Reply

  11. Kristin Hoover

    Great Article! Its really amazing delicious Cake recipes. and helpful for me and easy to make delicious Cake very time. Thank you for sharing it such interesting articles.

    Reply

  13. amazon coupon code 20 off any item

    Black Friday is the quintessential shopping holiday in the United States. The end-of-year shopping holiday season happens to be the best day of the entire year to grab the best Amazon deals Black Friday on appliances, electronics, houseware, fashion, clothing, and more.

    Reply

  15. Banff dentist

    We offer customized dental care plans that will perfectly suit your needs. Our best dentist in Banff AB is dedicated to providing you high-quality dental care.

    Reply

  17. assume world

    I think this is one of the most significant information for me. And i’m glad reading your article. But should remark on some general things, The web site style is perfect, the articles is really great : D. Good job, cheers

    Reply

  22. Anonymous

    I needed to thank you for this incredible read!! I unquestionably adored each and every piece of it. I have you bookmarked your site to look at the new stuff you post. Google Rank

    Reply

  26. Anonymous

    To start with You got an awesome blog .I will be keen on more comparative points. I see you got extremely exceptionally valuable themes, I will be continually checking your blog much appreciated

    Reply

  27. Anonymous

    To start with You got an awesome blog .I will be keen on more comparative points. I see you got extremely exceptionally valuable themes, I will be continually checking your blog much appreciated 오피아트

    Reply

  28. Gassia

    Hi! Can I know how much in grams is the cream cheese packages you referred to in the frosting please

    Reply

  32. Anonymous

    Thanks for this post. I definitely agree with what you are saying. I have been talking about this subject a lot lately with my mother so hopefully this will get him to see my point of view. Fingers crossed 조 호르 다룰 탁짐 fc

    Reply

  34. Anonymous

    Một nội dung tuyệt vời cũng như một bố cục tuyệt vời. Trang web của bạn xứng đáng nhận được tất cả những phản hồi tích cực. k8vn

    Reply

Let me know below!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe