Our Red Velvet Cake is a hybrid recipe taking its inspiration from several versions of this classic southern dessert cake that I’ve tried over the years.
The Best Red Velvet Cake
In general, I’ve found that the simpler the recipe, the better the cake. This recipe really could not be more simple; it just combines the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately and then brings them together to form a very pourable batter, which produces a very moist cake.
I’ve seen some recipes that also include an outrageous amount of red food colouring, which I am not particularly fond of using in general. Infrequently , I will for special occasions and this recipe uses a very reasonable 1 1/2 tsp of liquid red food colouring.
The upcoming Canada Day weekend seemed like a good time to feature the red in this cake with the white of our double cream cheese frosting, the two colours of our national flag.
Recipes also vary greatly on the amount of cocoa in a Red Velvet Cake, ranging from only a teaspoon to several tablespoons. I prefer the higher end of the cocoa scale for just a little more chocolate edge to this terrific cake. Some folks object to this because it produces a more brownish red cake.
If this is a concern, you can cut back on the cocoa if you like but do not omit it altogether, the red velvet purists will hunt you down for that crime against cake! I’ve read from several sources that toasted pecans in the frosting between the layers is also a critical component.
I’m going to call it optional but since I really love lightly toasted pecans, I think they add outstanding flavour and a crunchy component that I find irresistible.
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2017 Update: The success of this recipe set me off on a journey to create other velvet cake recipes using a different but still simple method for a very soft, tender and moist texture. They have turned out to be the most successful cake recipes of our last 10 years.
The White Velvet and Lemon Velvet cakes in particular have been incredible successes with almost 1 Million page views between them on this website. Find the Velvet Cake Collection here.
The Velvet Cake Collection
- 1¼ cups all purpose flour
- 1¼ cups cake flour
- 1½ cups sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 2 large eggs
- 1½ tsp liquid red food coloring
- 1½ teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup chopped toasted pecans (optional for garnish)
- 1½ cups (12 ounces) cream cheese
- ¾ cup butter
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 kilo bag of icing sugar (About 8 cups)
- 1-3 tbsp milk; enough to bring the frosting to a spreadable consistency
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Grease two 9 inch cake pans and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
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Sift together the flour, cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cocoa.
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In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together well, the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla extract.
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Mix in the dry ingredients all at once and blend until smooth. Do not over mix the batter. As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, pour into the two prepared 9 inch cake pans.
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Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
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Turn cakes onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper and allow to cool completely. When the cake is completely cool, you can cut the two layers into 4 using a sharp serrated bread knife if you like or just have 2 layers in you prefer. I think the four layers helps to get a good ratio of cake to frosting in each bite.
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If you are adding the toasted pecans, sprinkle ¼ cup of them over each layer of frosting as you construct the cake.
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Mix all the ingredients together and beat well until smooth and fluffy.
The frosting in this recipe does make enough for 4 layers or to frost a 2 layer cake completely on all sides. If you would just like to serve it as a 2 layer with no frosting on the sides, just half the frosting recipe.
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Karen
June 26, 2012 at 10:37 amlove this, can’t wait to try. I think I will replace the nuts with some fruits like strawberries 😉
Anonymous
June 9, 2013 at 5:54 pmGreat recipe – you should try the traditional Red Velvet frosting though. It takes the cake to a whole new level. Cream Cheese frosting is not the traditional frosting for this cake.
Search for cooked flour or roux frosting. Sometimes it is also called Ermine frosting. It is simply amazing with this cake (make sure you use granulated sugar, not powdered sugar in those recipes for the frosting!!)
Anonymous
December 5, 2013 at 8:06 pmLove Red Velvet Cake.My absolute fav.My comment is what exactly is icing sugar?Is this the same as powdered sugar?
Barry C. Parsons
December 5, 2013 at 8:14 pmYes icing sugar is powdered sugar.
KarenTrina
February 11, 2014 at 6:53 pmHelp me out here- I’ve never understood the attraction to red velvet cake (or anything red velvet). It seems like a cake with lots of red color and a little chocolate. Is it the flavor that people love? (maybe I have never tasted good red velvet) Is it the color? I just don’t like the idea of that much coloring in my food.
On a positive note, love your food photos and recipes.
KIM
October 21, 2018 at 3:11 pmI am thinking just a tad more buttermilk, and leave in the vinegar, leave out the food coloring! Any suggestions?
Barry C. Parsons
February 12, 2014 at 4:32 pmI know what you mean. Red velvet is an acquired taste for some but Southerners who were raised with it have the most appreciation for it. Try and get vegetable based food color. This recipe uses far less than some recipes I’ve seen.
Anonymous
February 16, 2014 at 5:12 pmI just made this cake for Valentine’s Day and it was awesome! Very easy recipe and delish!!
Kristina
July 16, 2014 at 2:29 amWasn’t Red Velvet Cake originally made with red beets? I’ve always wondered about the attraction. I know my taste buds are a bit different than most people’s, don’t even get me started on how nasty blue peanut M&Ms are, but why waste a perfectly good chocolate cake by dumping food coloring in it, even if it isn’t a whole bottle?
Barry C. Parsons
July 16, 2014 at 11:50 amI’ve read about the beets thing too and seen a few recipes. I also resisted the food coloring idea for a long time but the texture of this cake won me over and I decided to try to make a recipe that used much less than many I encountered. Red Velvet is not meant to be a chocolate cake IMHO. I think the true die-hard lovers of Red Velvet actually grew up with it.
Jasmine
May 6, 2015 at 9:53 amWhat if i have gel food colouring? (it’s all i could’ve gotten) will that be fine? or should I use less?
Margaret McAree
July 4, 2015 at 3:46 pmWould love to try this but what weight is cups please?
Barry C. Parsons
July 7, 2015 at 10:19 amI always say use 240ml of flour to replace a cup but if you still want to weigh, Google found me this from AllRecipes http://dish.allrecipes.com/cup-to-gram-conversions/
Dana
June 4, 2016 at 8:56 pmThank you for your wonderful recipes! I want to make this recipe into a wedding cake for a 10″ and 12″. How should I adjust the ingredient amounts? Thank you!
Barry C. Parsons
August 19, 2016 at 12:23 pmA single recipe should fit the 10 inch pan. add about 1/4 to the recipe for the 12 inch pan.
Katrina
February 13, 2017 at 9:47 amHi,
Is it possible to freeze this recipe (with or without the icing)?
Thanks
Barry C. Parsons
February 14, 2017 at 10:05 amI never have. I’m not a big fan of freezing dessert cakes.
elaine
March 26, 2017 at 2:09 pmHi Barry I note that in the ingredients it states 1 1/4 cups of both ours-is that correct. will try this one.
Dana Lin
April 19, 2017 at 4:56 amHi Barry, are there any adjustments besides baking time that needed when making this recipe into cupcakes? Is baking powder needed? Thanks
Barry C. Parsons
April 19, 2017 at 3:07 pmNo other adjustments? I’m not sure I understand your question about baking power though?
Stephanie
June 26, 2017 at 11:46 amI’m going to give this recipe a try for my mothers birthday, she’s a huge fan of red velvet cakes and cupcakes with cream cheese frosting! I want to know if I can use stick margarine instead of butter in the frosting? I don’t usually have butter on hand, but if it makes all the difference I’ll pick some up. Thanks for the recipe!
Janice
July 8, 2017 at 8:20 pmI made this for Canada Day and it was a hit! Now I want to make it again for daughter’s birthday, only I want to make cupcakes. How many cupcakes would I get with this recipe?
Barry C. Parsons
July 11, 2017 at 10:06 amDepends on the cupcake pan size. They do vary. Just fill them 2/3 to 3/4 full. Use the toothpick test to determine baking time. I’d test at 15 minutes first.
Christine
July 26, 2017 at 11:03 pmHi Barry. If I use a gel food coloring, how much would I use and can I use sherry vinegar verse white? I’d guess it would cut the acidity a little? Thanks.
Barry C. Parsons
July 27, 2017 at 11:30 amIt’s really up to you how much to use to get the colour the way you want it. I’ve always used white vinegar? is there really a difference in acidity? I’ve never noticed.
Christine
July 27, 2017 at 12:21 pmBarry, I’ve heard there is but I’m not sure. I’m not a Red velvet fan but was requested it by a bride, so I’m really trying my hardest to find a good recipe that stacks well and can pair with a white cake (possibly your white velvet).
Barry C. Parsons
July 27, 2017 at 12:48 pmThe acid in the buttermilk and vinegar is important to developing the flavour of red velvet and to boosting the rising action. A good red velvet cake should be light textured so you’ll have to use a supporting structure to stack. How many layers? What size layers?
Kim
March 12, 2018 at 2:46 amI’ve made the red velvet and the lemon velvet and both were delicious and very moist. Fantastic recipe!!!
Critter
November 17, 2018 at 9:06 pmI’ve also made the lemon, orange, and white velvets here and they are reliable, go to recipes. Always get compliments on them. Thanks! Now I’m considering red velvet… the mother of all velvets. (?)