Red Velvet Cake!
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A delicious & light and moreish red velvet cake smothered in cream cheese frosting – hello cake heaven!
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Red Velvet
Red velvet cake is one of those ‘in things’ that all coffee shops will sell at some point, and the recipe that everyone wants to have and use, but its one of the most inconsistent cakes to make at home that I have come across! I use this as a base for all things red velvet – red velvet NYC cookies, red velvet brownies, red velvet loaf cake and red velvet cupcakes… the list goes on!
After trying out a few recipes from other websites and such I decided that developing my own was best – as some recipes were so unreliable I just didn’t feel comfortable! It really is science when it comes to red velvet, and whilst the classic was really a beetroot cake, this is my more modern version of a red velvet cake.
Food colouring
I would definitely say the key to the recipe is good quality food colouring – using the little liquid bottles you can buy from the supermarket, will NOT work! You will end up having to use about 5 bottle to make it work, and it’ll just taste nasty.
I use Sugarflair food colouring for all of my baking, and this is no different! I use the Sugarflair Red Extra food colouring which you can buy, which comes in at about £5/£6 a pot, but it lasts for sooooo long that this doesn’t matter! Also, the key of using the buttermilk, bicarbonate of soda, and vinegar means that the red colouring will be brought out even more, and you will get the classic velvet cake texture!
I find the reason that peoples red velvet cakes can fail is because of using lower quality food colouring, not mixing it with the cocoa powder (which is the ingredient that makes the colouring not work sometimes!!) and then not taking their time with the making of the cake. Gradually adding in all of the ingredients in the order specified makes a deliciously moist cake, that comes out super super SUPER bright red!
Frosting
The cake has a delicious mix of the flavours of chocolate and vanilla, which is utter heaven to me!! The cream cheese frosting on top is sweet, delicious, and marries with the cake perfectly – but cream cheese frosting can always be a liiiittle bit runny in comparison to others, thats its nature, however – as long as you don’t over beat it too much – it’ll be lovely and delicious!
I love this cake so so so much, so I really hope you guys do too! For the cream cheese frosting, you have to make sure that your cream cheese has no extra excess liquid, and try not to over mix the mixture. Also, room temperature butter is important so there is no lumps. Take a look at this blog post for a whole post dedicated to cream cheese frosting.
Red Velvet Cake!
Ingredients
Cake
- 125 g unsalted butter
- 300 g caster sugar
- 3 medium eggs
- 30 g cocoa powder
- 1 heaped tsp Sugarflair Red Extra food colouring
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 250 ml buttermilk
- 300 g plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tsp white wine vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 150 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
- 150 g icing sugar
- 300 g full fat cream cheese
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat your oven to 170ºC/150ºC fan and line/grease two 8" cake tins - leave to the side for now.
- Beat together the unsalted butter and caster sugar in a stand mixer until smooth and fluffy like you would a normal cake, and then gradually beat in the egg so that it doesn't curdle (if it doesn't curdle, beat in a little flour to bring it back)
- In a small bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, Sugarflair red extra food colouring, and vanilla extract to a thick dark paste (if it is struggling to become a paste, then add in a little milk to make it runnier and mix better - it needs to be smooth!) - it may take a couple of minutes but this will make it easier to add to the rest of the mixture if you do it this way - and the sponge will be more red!
- Add this mixture to the unsalted butter and caster sugar mixture and beat until combined and evenly coloured.
- Turn the speed down to slow, and pour in half of the buttermilk.
- Add in half of the plain flour and beat again, and then the other half of the buttermilk & beat, and then the other half of the flour & beat (I realise this is faffy, but it works!).
- Beat in the bicarbonate of soda and white wine vinegar.
- Beat again for a couple of minutes until everything is smooth and incorporated well.
- Separate into the two tins and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes until the middle of the cake comes out clean when poked with a skewer!
- Once the cakes are baked, leave to cool fully on a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Make sure your unsalted butter is at room temperature. I leave mine out overnight when it's cold weather, but in the hotter months this can take as little as 30 minutes!
- Beat your butter on it's own for a few minutes to loosen it.
- Add in the icing sugar, and beat again - I beat this for about 5 minutes, to make it really smooth.
- Make sure your cream cheese doesn't have any excess water - I find it best to add it to a bowl first just to make sure.
- Add in the cream cheese, vanilla and beat. At first, it may look a little weird, but just keep on beating.
- I end up beating it for a few minutes - it can go through a lumpy stage first, but eventually the lumps beat out and it's smooth and thick!
- Once beaten - it should be lovely and thick.
- Pipe/spread 1/2 of the frosting onto the top of one sponge.
- Add the other sponge on top, then pipe/spread the other half of the frosting onto the top and decorate with sponge crumbs if you fancy!
Notes
- I really really really recommend in investing in good quality Sugarflair Red Extra food colouring for a red velvet cake - I use Sugarflair paste colours which you can buy online, or in cake decorating shops etc - but they don't have a funny taste to them, you use far less to make them work, and they last so much longer!!
- This cake will last in the fridge for up to 3 days, covered, or you can freeze it for up to 3 months!
- I use these 8" Cake Tins
- I use this red food colouring
- I use this Vanilla extract
- I use these piping bags
- I use this Medium 2D Closed Star Piping Tip
- If you would like the original cream cheese frosting recipe it is:
- 125g room temperature unsalted butter, 280g full fat cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 400-600g icing sugar.
- Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth, and add the vanilla extract.
- Gradually add the icing sugar until thick and delicious.
ENJOY!
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J x
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Hi Jane, I want to make this cake tomorrow but with 7inch tins and 3 layers. If I do 1.5 of the mix will that be okay? Thanks! Love ur recipes🥰
Hiya! Yeah I’m sure that would work x
Did you use sandwich tins for this? Or deep cake tins?
Hiya! I use deep 8″ cake tins. Hope this helps! x
Hi Jane,
Thanks for this recipe! If i wanted to make a 3 layer 4inch cake, how should I scale the recipe?
Ooh gosh I am not sure! That is a very small cake!
Hi Jane
I have been asked to make this cake as a gluten free version – would I simply swap the plain flour for a gluten free plain flour?
Thanks
That should be fine yes! x
Hello
Can this recipe be used in 2×6″. I want to double the recipe to make a 4 layer 6″ would that work?
It would probably be too much for a 6″ cake, as its designed for an 8″ (which is about 1/3 bigger!). I would suggest using just another half rather than doubling x
Hi Jane
Can i use this recipe in 2 x 6″ to create 4 layer cake? Or should i double your recipe.
Thanks
Thanks so much for this recipe and the detailed instructions- this recipe worked a treat and the cake is delicious! I only had regular Sainsbury’s food colouring so used 3 teaspoons and it worked great! I really struggled to make the paste though – is it ok to use a good bit of milk? I used regular milk but should it have been buttermilk? And finally, does it matter if it’s salted or unsalted block butter – is one better than the other for cakes generally? Thanks so much x
I always use unsalted butter when baking personally – and if you struggle to make a paste that’s okay, if you have a good mixer you can add it in! I use the buttermilk for the paste bit x
Hi,
Thanks for all the recipes I love them!
I was wondering if it is possible to use Christmas red food colouring instead of red extra?
TIA x
yes that should work! Just might need a little more x
I love all your recipes and want to try this one for my birthday. I know you have had loads of comments saying the same but I want to make 3 layers but do you recommend making the batch as normal and then a half one to make the third layer or just put 1.5x all ingredients in a batch together? I’m just worried about overmixing xx
You would be able to make the 1.5x in one batch! Xx
Hi Jane,
I have loved all of your recipes that I have baked so far. Never made a red velvet cake before, can I use vanilla American buttercream with this instead of the frosting or does it not go so well?
Thank you x
Oh yes you definitely can! Buttercream lasts much longer and you don’t have to refrigerate the cake x
Thank you xx
Hey Jane,
I tried making this cake last week & used the extra red food colouring suggested. However, it was more of a burgundy colour than a bright red like yours. Do you have any tips? X
It might have been a bit less than I used, or you used a bit more cocoa powder so it darkened it slightly!
Would more food colouring work?
Likely, yes!! x
Would it help if I used more food colouring?
Likely, yes!! x
Hi Jane love your blog!! I’m going to make this for my sisters birthday does it matter what type of butter to use? which is the butter you use? thank you 🙂
For the cake you can use block butter or spread, for the topping you need to use block butter x
Hi, I’ve been asked to make this for a friend for her birthday. How many days will this cake last? Also, can I use cream cheese frosting round the sides or do I need to use buttercream and cream cheese frosting in middle?
Hiya! This will last for around 3 days covered in the fridge, and you can absolutely use cream cheese frosting for the entire cake! Enjoy! x
Hi Jane I’m making this tomorrow for my mums birthday and I only have baking powder not bicarbonate soda will this still work?
Unfortunately not – the bicarb reacts with the vinegar and baking powder doesn’t work the same x
Hi Jane, thank you for sharing so many good recipes! Could you please advise me how much cake mix I need to bake it in 9×9 inch tin?
Did you want one layer or two still?
One layer with frosting on top. Hope it will be fine as well. What do you think?
Ooh I’m not actually too sure! I would say the recipe as it is should be okay measurements wise, but I’m unsure on timings! x
Thank you Jane! I will need to try, possibly couple of times, to get it right 😊
Hi Jane, just a quick update. I have used the recipe as per your advice and baked the cake 55 minutes at 150 degrees (fan oven). It is perfect! Thank you 🙂
Hi jane I wanted to make this cake for my brothers birthday but instead use 3 8 inch cake slices as I want the cake to be tall so need the sponge to be thick. Would would I need to change please ? Thank you
You would need to use another half of the recipe and split between three tins!
Hi Jane,
Does the buttermilk need to be at room temperature before adding to the mixture?
Thank you,
Made this today with my daughter and it turned out perfectly. Another fab recipe, thank you x
Hi Jane. Just wondering if it possible to freeze this cake (just the sponges, not decorated). I’ve baked it for a birthday tomorrow but someone has tested positive for covid so the party isn’t going ahead to next week. Love this recipe have used it lots of times before just never have frozen.
Thanks.
Yes they can definitely be frozen!! xx