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.
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
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 Nagi, this cake is fabulous! I’m making it for my friends’ anniversary and baked one yesterday to try it out. The texture really is velvety and the colour is gorgeous! I used kefir instead of buttermilk and that worked out really well. Thanks for this amazing recipe.
Hi Nagi,
Made the Red Velvet Cake, all is good and yummy! just the food coloring wasn’t the right one. Thank you big time for the recipe, loving it.
Hi Nagi, I would love to bake your Red Velvet cake. 1) Would your Cup and Spoon measurement be Australian?
2)Would oven temperature at 180C be Fan force or non Fan force? 3)For 2 x9” round pans, should I increase your recipe by 50%? Thanks
Hi Nagi, is the cake flour in Australia the Lighthouse brand with lower protein plain flour for pastry, cakes and biscuits?
I made this today and it was perfect. I used 23cm pans (that’s just what I have) and cooked on a lower temp (160deg C) for 35 mins. The cakes were perfect with flat tops so nothing to cut off.
In case anyone is wondering, I did the math and it’s 838 calories per slice 😱 (for a 12 slice cake)! Next time I’ll do half the quantity in a small cake tin 😳😁
yikes! I think I’ll do bite-sized cupcakes next time!
Hi Nagi,
I need a large square or rectangle to feed at least 70 people. What size do you recommend. I could do 2 separate cakes
How did you go Tracey. I have to make a 14″ x 14″ cake today.
Temp and Time would be good to know
What size cake tins did you use in this recipie?
Hi Nagi I am in UK and want to try your Red Velvet cake for the first time. With regard to the flour, will it be UK Plain or Self Raising? Many thanks
Hi Nagi,
Any tips for making this one ahead of time? Can the cake be cooled and left on the counter to be assembled next day? Or can the cake be put together the day before, put in the fridge and then left out to come to room temp for serving?
Thank you!
Hi, I made this cake yesterday and making another today.. It is delicious!! Thank you
I have now made red velvet cake recipe twice & each time the cake turns out so moist & fluffy.I used the “weigh everything” method including eggs & cake turned out perfectly thankyou
Hi Nagi,
I absolutely love this recipe and especially like the cake (it’s soo soft and moist!) I was wondering could I make this my regular cake base and if I subbed out the cocoa powder would it affect the cake?
Thank you Soo much for this recipets
I might’ve missed it while scrolling through the info, but you wouldn’t happen to know roughly how many calories are in this? Asking for a Me 🙂
Hi Nagi, I made this lovely red velvet cake once before this and my hubby proclaimed that “it’s the best cake ever”! So, I’m going to make it again and I was just wondering if the cake can be made in advance and kept in the freezer? I’m hoping to bake the cake on Tuesday for a party on Saturday..
Hi Lakshmi – yes you can bake the layers in advance then freeze them wrapped in clingfilm and just frost it the day before or on the day you need it! N x
Thanks so much, Nagi xx love your work!
Thanks so much, Nagi xx love your work!
Hello Nagi~ I recently made this cake for a friends birthday. I had only just recently made a red velvet cake and I was not fully satisfied with it. I came across your recipe and the cake flour struck me as different so I wanted to make it as a comparison.
I feel your take on the cake was a much better version! So much so in fact that when I baked the layers, they flattened while inverted while cooling that I had nothing to trim for the crumbs! I had to make another half layer and baked them as cupcakes for sacrifice to the food processor as crumbs (only 2 of the 12 had to get blitzed). I used my preferred recipe for cream cheese frosting (subs some powered sugar for milk powder for toned down sweetness).
A bit long winded but I loved the result, I would perhaps in the future just stick to making them as cupcakes as they are less work 😛
That’s excellent Ben and I agree that the cake flour makes this one a much nicer texture. Secretly, I often make cupcakes over cake – less work!! N x
Can I use black cocoa instead?
You can, Kim but the colour won’t be bright red! N x
Simply the BEST!!! It was our first baking trial (we never baked cake before) and wanted to give it a go. We love red velvet cakes and did not want to waste our effort for something we don’t like much. The result was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
Thank you zillions for sharing this truly professional recipe.
p.s. The cake is too big for a family of 2 LOLLLL. So, if i want to half the cake size (using 2 x 5″ pans), how should i reduce the quantity of ingredients? Shall i just half all the items or it will taste not as good?
I haven’t tested a pan that small Wasiq but I can tell you that the unfrosted layers freeze well so if you bake two, just freeze one for later and cut the other one in half and stack it to make a half cake! Happy baking! N x
Hi Nagi I live in the UK and have bought some
Caputo Pasticceria soft wheat flour type “OO” is this ok to use as cake flour please!
Thank you
Hi Suzanne – Doppio 0 or OO flour is milled more finely than all purpose flour but it still can vary in protein content. Higher protein flours are better for breads and lower ones for cakes. Check the protein and if it’s less than 12 percent you should be able to sub it for the all purpose. The words “pasticceria” and ‘soft” make me suspect that yours is low protein and will be fine. N x
As a follow up I’m in the uk for the colour I used Sugarflair red extra paste and added until I achieved the colour I wanted. For the Jubilee I’m making red white and blue cakes using this recipe
Thanks for that feedback Janine – very helpful as the red colour is hard to get right there I am led to believe! N x