Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Sweet but not overly so with that tang from the cream cheese.
Texture: This is definitely the (and I hate to use this word) most MOIST red velvet cake I’ve ever tasted.
Ease: You are going to dirty dishes and spend a couple of hours to get this cake made but it is definitely worth it, especially if you or your family are red velvet lovers.
Appearance: This is what red velvet cake is all about. I’ve experimented and only red gel food coloring gives that intensely red hue.
Pros: Super moist cake with an unbelievable frosting. My go-to recipe for red velvet now.
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Yes, especially for birthdays.
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I’m very excited to share this recipe for Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting with you today, but first, I have something to say that may shock you…
I’m not a huge fan of red velvet.
I know it’s tremendously popular. But most red velvet type desserts that I’ve tasted have always been bland, dry, or sickeningly sweet. Plus, there can never be enough chocolate in my book so the tease of cocoa in red velvet cake kind of angers me if I’m being honest!
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I’m happy to say I created a fabulous recipe that even I enjoy eating. This doesn’t mean I plan on giving up my chocolate cake anytime soon, but now I have a go-to red velvet cake recipe.
This cake is absolutely perfect for birthdays, Valentine’s Day, 4th of July, Christmas, or any time the red velvet flavor craving strikes. I wanted to make this recipe super easy, so you don’t need any cake flour!
How to Make Red Velvet Cake
What is Red Velvet Cake? Is Red Velvet Cake Just a Chocolate Cake with Red Food Coloring?
Red Velvet Cake is a popular dish in the Southern United States. Although traditional recipes vary from modern ones, it’s now typically made with a small amount of cocoa powder, buttermilk, vinegar, and red food coloring as staple ingredients. Its name references both its color as well as its soft, velvety smooth texture. It’s not really a chocolate cake, but simply has a hint of chocolate flavor.
Best Red Velvet Cake Baking Tip: Use ROOM TEMPERATURE Ingredients!
With the exception of the hot coffee / hot water, you really want to make sure your eggs and buttermilk are brought completely to room temperature. This will help to form a uniform and cohesive batter and cake.
Why Use Hot Coffee or Hot Water in a Cake Recipe?
Just like in my Best Chocolate Cake recipe, this Red Velvet Cake uses hot coffee as a staple ingredient. If you don’t have coffee, you can just use hot water. The coffee does help to enhance that hint of chocolate flavor, and the heat of the liquid helps to ‘bloom’ the cocoa, bringing out its full flavor.
What if I Don’t Have Buttermilk?
Buttermilk works best in this recipe to provide a rich and tender cake. It is traditional (along with the vinegar too!). You can learn more about the science of buttermilk in my Buttermilk 101 article here. I would not recommend using a buttermilk substitute. If you must, use whole milk instead but note the cake’s final taste and texture will be different.
What Kind of Food Coloring is Best for Red Velvet Cake?
I would highly recommend using gel food coloring for red velvet cake and not liquid or ‘natural’ food coloring (I did a whole experiment with natural food coloring – check it out here!). You’ll need at least 3 teaspoons, possibly more depending on the brand, so don’t buy just one small bottle (0.75 oz). Opt for a larger bottle or buy two smaller ones. I like Americolor or Chefmaster gel food coloring.
Overview Instructions of How to Make Red Velvet Cake:
Make the Red Velvet Cake Batter:
- Prepare three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment rounds, spraying parchment and sides of pans generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- Whisk together the hot coffee and cocoa powder, setting aside for 5 minutes. Whisk in a separate medium bowl the dry ingredients of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, and melted butter. Add in eggs and egg yolk, whisking until well combined. Add buttermilk, vanilla, and food coloring, and whisk to combine.
- Whisk in the vinegar and coffee mixture. Sift the flour mixture in thirds into the wet ingredients, folding until incorporated.
- Pour the batter evenly between your prepared pans. Tap the bottoms against the counter several times.
- Bake at 325°F for 25-30 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Place the cake pans on a cooling rack. Once cool to the touch, run a thin knife around the edges to loosen the cake, and invert onto the cooling racks. Cool completely.
Make the Cream Cheese Icing:
- Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until light, creamy, and smooth.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure no clumps remain.
- Add vanilla and beat until combined.
- Gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar on low speed and beat until the buttercream frosting is fluffy.
Assemble:
- Lay one of the cake layers flat-side up on a cake plate or pedestal.
- Use about a third of the frosting to fill the bottom cake layer, then top with the second cake layer and repeat. Place the final cake layer flat-side up. Use the rest of the frosting to ice the sides and top of the cake, using an offset spatula to smooth the icing.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve!
What Kind of Baking Pans to Use for Red Velvet Cake?
Use three 8-inch cake pans for this recipe. My favorite brand of cake pan is Fat Daddio’s, they bake evenly and wash up easily. Don’t use darkly coated nonstick cake pans or you may end up with dry or overbaked cake edges.
Can I Use 9-inch Cake Pans Instead?
Although this recipe was specifically designed for 8-inch cake pans, you may be able to bake in two 9-inch cake pans. Fill each 3/4 full and increase the baking time by about 5 to 10 minutes because there will be more batter in each pan.
How to Prevent Red Velvet Cake from Sticking:
Be sure to line each cake pan with parchment rounds. I like these ones which have tabs to easily pull out the baked cake layers. Spray the sides of the pans and the parchment generously with nonstick cooking spray.
What Kind of Frosting is Best with Red Velvet Cake?
Cream cheese frosting is the classic choice for red velvet cake! Its tangy flavor complements the sweetness of the cake layers. If you’d prefer something more sturdy or want to make special cake decorations, opt for my Best Buttercream instead.
Favorite Tools for Layer Cakes:
Can I Make Red Velvet Cupcakes Instead?
I actually have a Red Velvet Cupcake recipe here! It’s the same base recipe as this Red Velvet Cake, but with a few tiny tweaks to result in perfect cupcakes.
How to Make Cake Ahead of Time & How to Freeze Red Velvet Cake:
You can wrap unfrosted un-cut cooled cake layers completely in several layers of plastic wrap. Place inside a freezer bag or airtight container. Store at room temperature for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge (do not thaw at room temperature or you will end up with mushy cake).
How to Store Homemade Red Velvet Cake Recipe:
Cover with a cake keeper and store at room temperature for up to 6 hours, then refrigerate for up to 3 days.
More Red Velvet Recipes:
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup of plain hot coffee or boiling water
- 1/4 cup (21 grams) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2 1/4 cups (279 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional
- 2 cups (400 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (109 grams) fresh vegetable oil
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons red gel food coloring, plus more if needed*
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 16 ounces (454 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 sticks (227 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups (500 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line three 8-inch cake pans with parchment rounds and spray parchment and sides of pans generously with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a glass measuring cup, whisk the hot coffee and cocoa powder. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, and melted butter. Add in the eggs and yolk and whisk for twenty seconds, or until very well combined. Add in the buttermilk, vanilla and food coloring and whisk to combine. Whisk in the vinegar and coffee mixture. Using a fine mesh sieve, sift the flour mixture into the batter in three additions, whisking until each addition is incorporated.
- Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans. Tap the bottoms of the pans against the counter several times to release any air bubbles.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. It’s normal for the cake to look slightly spongy on top. Place the cake pans on cooling racks. When the pans are cool enough to touch, run a thin knife around the edges of the pans to loosen the cakes. Invert onto the wire racks. Let cool completely.
For the frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until very light, creamy, and smooth. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure no clumps remain. Add in the vanilla and beat until combined. On low speed, gradually add in the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. If the frosting is too thick, add a splash of milk or cream. If it’s too thin, add more sifted powdered sugar.
To assemble:
- Lay one cake layer flat-side up on a cake plate or pedestal. Tuck in strips of baking paper under the cake edges to keep the plate clean.
- Use about a third of the frosting to fill the bottom cake layer, then top with the second cake layer and repeat. Place the final cake layer flat-side up. Use the rest of the frosting to ice the whole cake. Serve.
- The cake can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
This post was originally published in 2013 and updated in 2022 with recipe improvements and new photos. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
February Baking Challenge
This recipe was the February 2022 selection for our monthly baking challenge! Every month you can join the challenge by baking the recipe and snapping a photo for a chance to win prizes! Learn more about my monthly baking challenges here. Check out some of the cakes (and cupcakes!) baked by you guys:
This is so good!! I got no complaints of being overly sweet like some other that I’ve tried. I wonder though, how can I make the frosting as chocolate. Should I just add cocoa or melted chocolate?
So happy you love our recipe! We haven’t tried this, but I’d try adding about 1/4 cup sifted cocoa powder to the frosting and go from there until it’s to your desired taste. Let us know how it goes!
Loved the flavor of the recipe! However, it came out very dense….any suggestions? I did use a 9″ pan, so I expected it to be thinner, but was very dense.
I have made this cake at least 6 times now and it never fails. It is really the best red velvet cake I have ever had!
Hi there.. I want try and make this recipe again, the last time I tried it it looked more brown like chocolate cake instead of red like red velvet. Maybe it was because I used red food colouring liquid than the gel.. in that that case how much food colouring should I have put? If there is something else that may have caused this please let me know and how I can make a more successful red velvet cake
Hi Temwa! You’re correct, we recommend using a gel food coloring for the most vibrant color. Liquid food coloring doesn’t work as well in baking. Check out Tessa’s favorites here. I can’t wait to hear how your next attempt goes! Feel free to upload a pic along with your review so we can see 🙂 Good luck!
I’ve loved every recipe I’ve made from this site. For this recipe, I was wondering if anyone has ever used beet powder instead of the red dye. My daughter loves red velvet cake, but I don’t love the idea of so much red dye. Thanks!
Hi Anitra! We actually tested using beet root powder in place of the red dye in our Red Velvet Cupcakes! You can read our findings here. If you’d rather not use red dye in this recipe, I’d suggest just omitting it rather than substituting for it. Omitting won’t affect the texture of the cake, just the color.
Hello! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe! I am going to give it a try and gift it to someone. I wanted to ask if this cake is heavy in weight after assembling? I want to ensure that it will hold up during travel and doesn’t need support added to it since it will be 3 layers.
Hi April, if you’re traveling any significant distance, I’d recommend adding a couple wooden cake dowels just to be safe. Any cake made with a cream cheese frosting is going to be slightly less sturdy than one made with a stiff American buttercream. I also highly recommend using a Silpat or nonslip drawer liner to place underneath the container carrying your cake if you don’t have someone carrying it by hand. Lastly, I’d recommend getting the cake nice and cold in the back of the fridge before removing to transport to ensure the frosting doesn’t get too warm. Good luck!
Recipes from Handle the Heat NEVER disappoint! I made this for my husband’s birthday. I cut the recipe in half and used 2 small round cake pans for a double layer cake. It was moist and delicious! Will definitely make it again!
I made this for my husband for Father’s Day! Everything turned out amazing!
Your cake is so beautiful!
I was wondering about the instructions to put the flat side of the first and last cake layers “up”. Does that mean the bottom of the cake is the flat side? Does it make the cake wobbly for the top of the cake layer to be on the bottom? Sorry for my inexperience, I just want to do it right! My family and my kids’ friends LOVE your cookie and brownie recipes. Now I want to bake great cakes!
Hi Denise! You got it, you’ll flip the bottom and top layers of the cake so that the flat side (aka the bottom) is the top of each. Doing this makes it a bit easier to ice and decorate the cake. These layers are relatively thin and don’t puff up very much when they’re baked, so the cake will not be wobbly. I hope that helps! Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
Can I make this cake in one cake pan?
Hi Nura! We haven’t tested this recipe using only one cake pan, as it was written to fill either 3 8-inch cake pans or 2 9-inch cake pans. If you wish to just make one large cake layer, you may need to do some experimenting, as the bake time will be much longer. Alternatively, you could try halving the recipe and using a single cake pan. Remember to fill the cake pan only about ¾ of the way full to ensure even baking and to prevent spillage. Let us know how it goes! Happy baking!
Did you try it in one cake pan? I am wanting to make a 9 x 13 but am scared to try it, not sure it will turn out.
I need to make a 1/2 sheet red velvet cake and wanted to know if your 9×13 worked?
My family is not a huge fan of red velvet, in fact they would prefer not to eat any. I had a request to make a red velvet cake and O.M.G!!! This is the BEST red velvet we have ever had. They even say this is now #1. Thank you so much!!
This talks about vinegar in the chocolate mixture but there is no amount to add in the recipe list
Hi Jennifer! The distilled white vinegar is the last ingredient listed in the cake section of the ingredient list :)We can’t wait to hear how your cake turns out! Happy baking 🙂