A moist, classic Red Velvet Cake!! Made from scratch, and surprisingly easy when a few specific, simple steps are followed. This iconic cake has a soft “velvet” texture, just like what you get from the best top end fine bakeries, and is topped with soft, cream cheese frosting.
After Red Velvet Cupcakes? Here they are! UK readers: Please read note 7.
Red Velvet Cake recipe – tried and tested favourite!
This Red Velvet Cake has been taste tested and given a big thumbs up by many people because it’s a rather large cake and I’ve made it 5 times in the last two weeks.
“FIVE TIMES??!!”, I hear you exclaim (out loud or in your head). “You’re MAD!!”
If getting this cake exactly to my taste, as close as I can get it to the cakes you get from posh bakeries, and ensuring it works using both US and metric (i.e. rest of the world!!) measures means that I’m a mad baker, I’ll take that title. 😉
Besides, I’m really enjoying baking at the moment. There is something so satisfying about making something as pretty as Red Velvet Cake.
To tell you the honest truth, the reason I made it so many times in recent weeks is because my original recipe got a “so-so” response from the two toughest taste-testers I know: my mother and brother.
“The sponge is zara-zara”, my mother declared on first bite.
What the….?? Zara-zara? What on earth does that mean??
“Zara-zara” means “rough” in Japanese. The Japanese language has a handful of words which sound like what it means. “Zara-zara” being a perfect example. Usually it cracks me up. Not that day.
I gasped, indignant, and grabbed a spoon to shovel a bite into my mouth, ready to argue. And I realised – she was right. It was not as velvety as it could be. As it should be.
NOT HAPPY.
So I improved it. 🙂
What is Red Velvet Cake?
Red Velvet Cake is not just a chocolate cake with red food colouring added. This cake is softer than most, “velvet-like”, and the chocolate taste is actually quite mild. It’s more like a cross between a vanilla and chocolate cake with a very subtle tang from buttermilk. And it is generously smothered in a fluffy cream cheese frosting.
It’s wildly popular in America and there’s a cult following in Australia. Give it a few years, it will become a firm favourite soon!
The cake tastes buttery and moist, because it has butter in it for flavour, and oil for moisture. Yes, you need both, I promise you. It is not the same if you use only one of them.
Why should you use THIS Red Velvet Cake!
There are 3 more specific things about this recipe which might be a bit different to other Red Velvet recipes you have seen, but there’s a reason for it.
1. Cake flour – it’s a must! It’s key to achieving that soft silky sponge, just like what you get from posh bakeries. However, if you really can’t find it, please see the notes for a substitute;
2. Only 2 eggs – I’ve seen some recipes call for up to 5 eggs. I only use 2. It’s enough to hold the cake together just fine – any more than 2, and find the cake begins to start tasting “eggy”; and
3. Buttermilk – For almost every other baking recipe that I make using buttermilk, I say that you can substitute with lemon juice + milk which, when left for 5 minutes, curdles to have the same effect as using buttermilk. Not for this recipe – sorry! It is just not the same – part of the reason mine was “zara zara”. 😂
Oh, and one more rule. There is no substitute for Philadelphia Cream Cheese for the frosting. I’ve tried better value store-brand cream cheese before. It is never the same. Promise. ❤
I bake the layers in 2 separate tins, but if you don’t have two tins, you can make one big one and cut the cake in half. And to make the layers nice and neat, I cut the dome top off.
I like to crumble the off cuts and use it to decorate the cake. I think it looks pretty, don’t you? But that’s purely optional!
I promise you, there is nothing tricky about this cake. All you have to do is ensure you measure the ingredients properly, rather than just eye-balling it. 😉 As long as you do that, it’s actually easy to make, no more difficult than an ordinary sponge cake.
Putting aside fiddly fancy decorated cakes, Red Velvet Cake is surely one of the most striking and stunning cakes around. If you’ve never tried it before, you’re in for a real treat! – Nagi x
Red Velvet Cake
Watch how to make it
How to make Red Velvet Cake – quick tutorial video! Red Velvet Cake for UK readers – please ensure you read Notes 7 and 9.
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Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups (400 g) plain cake flour (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp (10 g) cocoa powder , unsweetened
- 1 tsp (5 g) baking soda / bi-carb soda , NOT baking powder (Note 2)
- Pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter , softened (1 US stick)
- 1 1/2 cups (330 g) caster / superfine white sugar (Note 3a)
- 2 eggs , at room temperature (around 2 oz / 60g each)
- 1 cup (250ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (or essence)
- 1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk , at room temperature (Note 4)
- 2 1/2 tbsp red food colouring liquid (UK: use Gel, Note 7)
Frosting (Note 10)
- 14 oz (400 g) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, block , softened but not too soft (UK see Note 9)
- 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter , softened (but not too soft)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups (450 g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar sifted (Note 3b)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F (all oven types). Butter 2 x 21cm / 8″ round cake pans (sides and base) and dust with cocoa powder.
- Sift the Dry Ingredients and whisk to combine in a bowl.
- Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beater or in stand mixer until smooth and well combined (use paddle attachment if using stand mixer).
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating in between to combine. At first it will look curdle – keep beating until it’s smooth.
- Add vegetable oil, vinegar, vanilla, buttermilk and red food colouring. Beat until combined and smooth (Note 5).
- Add Dry Ingredients. Beat until just combined – some small lumps is ok, that’s better than over mixing.
- Divide batter between cake pans. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes on the same shelf, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Note 6)
- Rest for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool.
Frosting
- Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla for 3 minutes (this makes it really smooth and changes from yellow to almost white). Add icing sugar and beat for 2 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy to your taste. If your frosting seems too runny (depends on quality of cream cheese/ if the cream cheese was too soft), just add more icing sugar.
Frost Cake
- Cut the top off the cake using a serrated knife (to make the layers neat).
- Spread one cake with 1 1/2 cups of frosting. Top with the other cake. Spread top and sides with remaining frosting.
- Optional: Crumble offcuts and use to decorate the top rim and base of the cake.
Recipe Notes:
Let them eat cake! 10 more classic cakes
.Life of Dozer
This is how he starts every day: assessing the surf. 😉
Hi! This is by far my fave RV recipe. Thanks!
Just wondering if you have a RV slab recipe for 9×13 cake tin??? Would it just be a doubled recipe?
Loved this recipe
I’m so glad you loved it Abha! – N x
Hi Nagi! I’m from Australia and have a heap of red gel colouring in my pantry!. can we use that instead of the liquid food colouring? Would you half the amount seeing that gel is thicker and stronger in colour? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth! Yes you can se gel, you’ll need less than regular liquid colouring as it’s more concentrate 🙂
Thanks Nagi! Cake has been baked and frosted – can’t wait to cut it tomorrow and of course taste it!:)
Hi Nagi. There’s no round cake pan smaller than 24cm at my place. Can I use that?
Thank you so much! ❤ It will be my first ever red velvet cake and I chose this recipe to try it out!
Hi Gita, that’s fine – you can use a larger pan (the cakes won’t be as high) just check the cakes at 20 minutes and keep an eye on them in the oven 🙂
Can any type of oil be used eg Sunflower or Olive? and is white vinegar the same as using distilled? Thanks!
Hi Gabby, any neutral oil – I wouldn’t use olive as the flavour is too strong. Yes you could use either white or distilled vinegar here – N x
This cake looks delish! Is it stable enough to use in a multi-tiered cake? The red velvet recipes I’ve tried are typically super velvety soft and tender (which is why they’re called “velvet”) so they don’t hold up well in a tiered cake. Have you used this recipe to make a tiered cake? TIA!
I haven’t Janet, but I would think it would depend on how many levels you were doing.
Wow! What a perfect recipe. I’m not a great baker at all but this has made me one in my household 😊. The sponge just melts in your mouth but the colour was on the darker side. More of a chocolate cake, might have to add more colouring next time.
Was wondering if same recipe can be used for a plain sponge cake
Thanks
Hi Mira, this one is just for red velvet sorry – I do have a sponge here: https://promotown.info/vanilla-sponge-cake%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
This recipe looks amazing. Can this cake be made the day before and refrigerated?
Yes definitely Eleanor – just bring to room temp before serving – N x
Just wondering if the weight of flour is correct? I was under the impression that 1 cup of cake flour weighed about 120-125 grams (as per the label). Just because 400 g would then equate to over 3 cups of flour. Not too sure if I should weigh out 400 g, or use 2 2/3 cups of flour (which would weigh around 320 g). Any advice you can provide would be greatly appreciated!
Hi Nancy, 1 AU cup of flour is 150g. If you’re ever unsure, use the weight as the measurement as there is no discrepancies there – N x
hi,
can i make cup cake with this recipe? how many come out with this ingredients?
Hi Pamela, you sure can – I talk about this in the recipe notes – N x
What brand flour did you use. I used White Wings from Woolworths. But I am interested to know what brand you used.
Hi Sima, I use Lighthouse brand 🙂
Hi Nagi
Thanks for sharing your delicious recipes.
I was just wondering if you could make rainbow cake with this recipe and adjust the food colouring accordingly. Do you think it works?
Hi Sima, I haven’t tried to be honest but don’t see why not!
Hi Nagi
I made the rainbow cake. It turned out great. I divided the batter in seven colours and assembled them with layers of frosting in between and around. And I omitted the cocoa.
Thanks 😊
I am going to try. Fingers crossed 🤞
I made this today (UK) and it turned out well. Like the previous poster my cream frosting seemed a bit runny (followed advice) but it was okay in the end.
One problem I had was the cake needed about 20 minutes extra time to get a clean skewer, this crisped the outside somewhat but didn’t ruin it. Next time I’ll probably try it without the fan assistance as I suspect that didn’t help.
Appreciate the time that went into all this, all the footnotes were a great help as were the metric measures!
What happens if I can’t get buttermilk , do I make my own for what?
Hi Nagi, making this today, can I check the bicarb / cocoa measurement – 2 tablespoons of cocoa and 1 teaspoon of bicarb? The gram measurements next to them look like a different ratio?
Hi Elinor, yes the ratios look different – cocoa is lighter than bicarb 🙂 – N x
Thanks Nagi!! X
Hi Nagi, made this yesterday (UK) and its really lovely. However, the frosting was too runny and a bit sweet for my taste, so didn’t want to add more icing sugar. Can I put a bit of cornflour in it to stiffen it up (same as cornstarch I think?). Thanks.
Hi Gwen! Did you see my notes about UK cream cheese??? I have specific notes in the recipe about your cream cheese – your cream cheese is much softer than the blocks available in much of the rest of the world so you need to use less. 🙂 N xx
this recipe is amazing definitely recommend
Thanks so much Azy!
Hi, I have to make a red velvet cake for an engagement party, there will be four layers of sponge, will the cheese frosting hold the four layers or should I add more butter and less cream cheese to make it stiffer? (I purchased the UK Philadelphia in the tub) x
Hi Louise, I’m not sure it will hold the weight of that many layers unfortunately – N x
WOW! This recipe made the most amazing cake. Texture and flavour devine. Can’t wait for an excuse to make it again. I made two separate batches to make two slab cakes and sandwiched together with a double batch of frosting. Both turned out perfect cooked in 2 different ovens. A big hit with everyone at the birthday party. Thank you for perfecting your recipe for us xx
Sounds like you nailed it Jess! N x
Will this cake freeze? Hoping to make it for my sons birthday and decorate it so need it cooked previously to save time. Thanks
Hi there, I am using your recipe to bake a birthday cake for my little girl tomorrow – thx for the recipe it looks great. I’d like to know if I can sub the veg oil with coconut oil?
Hi Taryn, yes that will be fine – enjoy!
Hi Nagi, just wondering, can I use the dutch process cocoa instead of unsweetened cocoa powder? Thanks
Natural cocoa and the acid in the buttermilk/vinegar react to produce a natural Red tinge. Dutch processed cocoa is alkalized so it kills the reaction but produces a darker, richer looking chocolate. Since this recipe uses food coloring, you can use Dutch processed chocolate.
Sure can Boubou!