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. 😉
Ian says
This is a great recipe. You also state not to mix the measurements. I know there is about 5 or 6 different cup/spoon measurements across the world. Excellent advice. I always use gram/kilogram weight. It provides a better accurate measurement. For the frosting I use Cream Cup shortening instead of butter, used in Posh Bakeries as you describe it. “15kg PTL CREME SHORTENING MED (CREAM CUP)” It makes a light fluffy icing better than butter. When I make my cream cheese icing the comments I always receive, it is so light and fluffy. But most people will not want to buy 15 kg of this product. If you want to purchase this product, it is available from Southern Cross Supplies, Address:
2/42 Birnie Avenue, Lidcombe, NSW, 2141, Australia .
Southern Cross Supplies do sell to the public, see their website for details. http://www.southerncrosssupplies.com.au
sue winter says
Hi Nagi, have just discovered you while I was trawling for a red velvet cake recipe (NZ). I have some lovely Fresh As icing powders, could I flavour the cream cheese icing please or should it really look white/plain? Thanks in advance 🙂
Nagi says
Hi Sue – I’m not familiar with that product. You could flavour your icing if you wish but traditionally it’s left plain. N x
Wafaa Mussa says
can we use any oil instead of vegetable oil.
Nagi says
Any neutral flavoured oil will work here – N x
Danielle says
Made this today for my daughters birthday i only have had one problem it sunk in the middle how do I stop this from happening again. (In the UK)
Merlyn says
Can I use olive oil instead of vegetable oil
Nagi says
Hi Merlyn, you want a neutral flavoured oil that won’t overpower the cake here – I wouldn’t recommend olive oil! N x
Jill says
Great cake but mine was huge! I would reduce ingredients next time to make a smaller cake. Mine fed 10.
Samantha Karpf says
hi , if I want to make this in a 6 inch pan instead of 8inch. How should I alter the ingredient quanitites? Thanks
Nagi says
Hi Samantha, if you want to use 2 x 6″ instead of 2 x 8″, I would scale the recipe down to 8 servings 🙂 N x
Loria Nardini says
I just want to say thank you for your detailed recipe with notes! I live in Scotland so your notes were very useful indeed. I made double the recipe for my son’s celebration cake. It turned out beautifully! I will be covering it in fondant icing and decorating it. Thank goodness for your notes about UK Philadelphia! It would have been perfect as it was but I had to add a little more icing sugar as I wanted it a little stiffer (for the purpose of crumb coating).
Great recipe!
Nagi says
Thank you so much for the great feedback Loria, that’s fantastic to hear! N x
Anna says
I’m excited to make this!! If I wanted to make just 12 cupcakes, would I just half all quantities in the recipe?
Nagi says
Hi Anna, yes you can half the ingredients 🙂 N x
Alexis says
The cake tasted REALLY good, and it was really easy to make. I would totally make this everyday if I could
Claire Seiler says
I made this for my daughter’s birthday cake and it was a massive hit. The cake is delicious, so moist, and the icing is just right, not too sweet. I am in the UK and used Tesco’s full fat soft cheese, I drained off the liquid and it was just right. I used plain flour, it worked very well. Thanks for a great recipe xx
Fortune says
Hello Nagi, thanks for the recipe. Can I substitute butter with margarine, will it work? Thank you!
Nagi says
Hi Fortune, it’s not quite the same here unfortunately & will affect the final texture! N x
Lily says
This is certainly the best red velvet recipe EVER!!! I got so many compliments from it and even made the cupcake version… so delish!!!
Thank you so much. Please do post more dessert recipes. Love following so many of your videos. Everything ive made so far are all SOOO good!!
Nagi says
Wahoo, that’s so good to hear Lily!! Thanks so much 🙂 N x
Maru says
Hi Nagi,
I was searching for a red velvet cake recipe that would suit the taste of Japanese people and I came across your recipe. I made it exactly as you instructed (except for the cream cheese, I used the cream cheese from Hokkaido) and it came out very good and my japanese friends loved it.
Nagi says
Excellent! So they all agreed it was totally NOT “zaru zaru”, as my mother claimed it was before I fixed it??? 😂
Faz says
Hi Nagi, if I want to make this into a small 6 inch 3 layer cake then should I halve this recipe? Thanks so much for sharing this gorgeous looking recipe
Nagi says
Hi Faz, I would do one quantity of the recipe split over 3 pans here – Love to know how you go! N x
Bec Wiltshire says
I just made this on Friday for my birthday (made my own cake as we’re stuck in Melbourne lockdown!). I’ve made quite a few red velvet cakes before and really loved this recipe! Hubby said it was “one of the best cakes he’s ever eaten”. Thanks Nagi.
Deduni Kuruppu says
Hi Nagi,
I live in Australia, can i use self raising flour instead of cake flour?
If i use self raising flour do i need to add baking soda?
Thanks
Nagi says
Hi Deduni – Woolworths and Coles sell cake flour. If you can’t get it, the sub is listed in the recipe notes. Self raising flour isn’t really suitable here though. N x
Deduni Kuruppu says
Sure. Thanks for the reply Nagi.
farain zainal says
Hi Nagi , im from Malaysia. It is so hard to find Buttermilk in our store, but once in a blue moon i will see a Low fat Buttermilk instead 🙁 , do you think it will work for this recipe ?
Appreciate your guide ,thank you !
Nagi says
Hi Farain, you want the full fat here. If you can’t get it, just sub with 1 cup room temperature whole (not skim) milk + 1 tsp white vinegar or lemon juice. Let stand for 5 minutes until curdled, then use per recipe. N x
Farain zainal says
Ok will do , thank you for sharing and guiding me ,thanx so much !!
Jen says
Hi Nagi,
I have perused hundreds of cooking blogs and used as many recipes from them, never feeling compelled to leave a comment … until now.
Your blog really is a cut above the rest … Easy to follow, the blend of Eastern and Western techniques and above all measurements in ‘Aussie’ for all of us ‘Down Under’.
I have made the Shokupan several times now and it always turns out perfectly. My kids love it!!!
Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
Somya Chhabra says
Hi, how do I adjust the timings for a convection oven?
Nagi says
Hi Somya, convection is the same as fan – just cook as per the recipe as the temp is the same for all oven types. N x
Hughsie says
My cakes have turned out quite flat – is that normal for this recipe?
Nagi says
Hi Hughsie – how tall are they? They shouldn’t be flat, do they resemble the height in my pictures? N x