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 going to be my 3rd time making this amazing recipe. I was wondering how long the bake time would be if I were to make this in a 9×13 pan? Thank you so much!
A few people have asked this – I will look at testing it at some point but I do not know if it will work. Sorry! N x
Hello
Can i use this recipe under fondant.
Hi Amna. This cake is too delicate to hold up well to fondant. Try my carrot cake or even the blueberry yogurt one which have more body. Thanks! N x
The recipe definitely worked. The sponge is quite oily but very good texture. I made it all in one tin and then split into three sponges which was an easy task, so overall very happy with the sponge. By the way, it was mentioned to use gel for those of us from the UK but not how much of it to use. So I ended up using the whole little tube of it but the sponge is still not very red, more like a chocolate cake, which it is at the end of the day. Anyway, will try to use 1.5-2 tubes of gel (the regular one, from Waitrose), that should be enough. Very good cream too. Overall, good recipe and I appreciated all notes. But it’s all a bit too sweet, and I didn’t even use the whole amount of sugar suggested for cream (I run out of it) and it was still too sweet. But I guess, it’s a question of taste. Good recipe nonetheless, will definitely use it to make red velvet in the future, will just adjust it a bit in terms of sugar and colouring. Thank you very much indeed.
I am so glad you enjoyed it Veronika! N x
Hello, looking forward to trying this recipe. Is there any substitutes for the white vinegar?
Thanks
Jen
You can sub in apple cider vinegar Jen! N x
I never understood the hype about red velvet cake until now. I baked this for my son’s birthday and it was amazing!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kirsty! N x
Hi Nagi!! I baked this recipe yesterday, follow every single steps and gram measurement! oh my it is the most perfect red velvet cake I’ve had!!! Super moist and melts away in mouth… thank you so much for sharing the recipe, huge fan of you now. 🧡 all the way from NZ! xx
So glad you enjoyed it! N x
Hi, question,
I have used your recipes for a while. I love this cake you made and thought it be good to use as a birthday for my little one. Could you possibly tell me how long the temperature is for 3 six inch pans? If i have left over batter i will use as cupcakes. Thanks so much, hope to hear from you.
Hi Dena…I haven’t tested bake time on 6 inch for that one so I am not sure. Just start checking it at 15 minutes and keep checking until it’s done. N x
Sounds good! Thank you!
This was fantastic for my son’s birthday! It came out so moist with a very deep red. I never had a cake color so intense, beautiful, and delicious; That I did too! Thank you!!
Does this cake have to be refrigerated? Or is the icing stable form the amount of sugar you added?
Please reply, I have seen this asked many times, but I have not seen an answer. Thank you.
Hello can’t wait to try .. just wondering how long / temp settings I would need if cooking in a conventional oven my ovens broken atm :/ .. also how long can the cream cheese frosting last outside without melting?could it replace a buttercream frosting for a naked cake ? Thx is heaps 🙂
Hello thanks for you reply.. I had another question.. if I wanted to bake a tall cake with a cake pan 19×6.5cm round could I double the recipe or would there be residual for an additional layer? Thanks again
Hi Daniella…oven settings in the recipe are for all oven types. The frosting will be stable unless it’s very hot there. I recommend storing it in the fridge and taking it out 30 minutes before serving to warm up. The cream cheese frosting will work fine for a naked cake. Thanks! N x
I must have done something wrong – although I’ve triple-checked the measure of all the ingredients.
My cake had literally no flavor. It was the correct texture, but it tasted like bread with cream cheese frosting.
I was so disappointed since red velvet is my favorite cake.
I LOVED this cake!! It tasted great!!! Would you have the measurements for two 9 inch pans?
Hi Wendy, that’s very odd. With the listed ingredients and the right quantities, it certainly has beautiful flavour, as the many feedback from other readers will attest to! I wish I could’ve been there to help troubleshoot. N x
Great recipe! I used less sugar in the frosting, like more of a cream cheese flavor. As she said, it might be runnier so I cooled it and it spread fine. Kept the cake cool until served, it was amazing! <3
I absolutely love this recipe! It is tender and moist..key components in any cake. One question.. can I make this into a swiss roll? Or would I have to sub the butter for more oil?
Hi Anita…sorry I haven’t tested that. N x
This cake is absolutely amazing, so glad I’ve finally found a good red velvet recipe. However an important note for UK- I made the mistake of buying super market cream cheese thinking it would be okay however they carry a lot more water than Philadelphia despite being the same texture!! Definitely worth buying the real thing
Hi Charlotte, you’re 100% correct – I mention this in the notes too 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi
I love this recipe and the cake turned out well. I am wondering though about the cocoa dusted pans. Is it an essential step and what is the benefit of it. Love your website.
It keeps the cake from sticking without leaving white streaks on the edges like flour would! N x
Hi just wondering is it 180 degrees FANBAKE or just standard without fan? (i know, such a noob question).
That’s for all ovens! N x
Hi, I’m wondering if this recipe can be used under fondant cakes
I really love this, and I’ve already made it twice! Could I bake this in a 9×13 pan? What adjustments would I need to make? Thank you!
Hi Nagi!
Do we add the cocoa to the mixing bowl? It’s listed in the Dry ingredients, but you also say to dust the buttered tin with it. In the video I see it’s in the Dry ingredients so I’m going with that but thought it can’t help to check with you.
Mixing mine now, so looking forward to the result. Thanks!
Hi Carly, yes in step 2 when it says to sift the dry ingredients, you’ll be sifting all the dry ingredients listed. N x
this recipe bangs, tasted better than I expected
I seldom make cakes, but during Melbourne lockdown found it hard to order one for my daughter’s 21st birthday. Red Velvet is her favourite cake, so I decided to bake one using this recipe. I was so nervous but the results were amazing. I did exactly what the recipe said and it came out perfectly. I decorated with fresh flowers and it was beautiful to look at and delicious to eat. It was a treat to devour during this lockdown celebration where we had to celebrate at home with no guests. My daughter loved it and felt very special, and now wants me to make one every year! Thank you. X