Whisk the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Beat butter and sugar together, then add the oil and beat again. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla, vinegar, and food coloring.
Alternately add ⅓ of the dry ingredients with ⅓ of the buttermilk, mixing just until combined after each addition. Repeating until everything has been added.
Pour the batter evenly between the two cake pans, then bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together in a large bowl using a handheld mixer until smooth, about 1-2 minutes.
Add the powdered sugar and cream or milk and mix on low speed until incorporated, then increase speed and beat for 2 minutes. Add vanilla and salt and beat again.
This frosting is ready to go! Yum!
Cool completely before leveling off the tops of each cake layer, if needed. Save scraps to crumble and use for decorating.
Assemble the cake with a layer of frosting in the middle.
(Try not to eat the cake before you're finished making it)
Frost the entire cake with the cream cheese frosting.
Now it's time to sprinkle the top of the cake with the reserved crumbs!
The cake is ready to slice and serve! Red Velvet Cake is amazing for holidays - that lush red is perfect for Valentine's, Christmas, and Patriotic Holidays!
Red velvet cake is more than just cake dyed red, yet also not a full-fledged chocolate cake. Instead, it has buttery, slight chocolate undertones. Red velvet cake has a pretty unique flavor with an old-fashioned, from-scratch quality that I love.
Truly no boxed red velvet cake mix can compare!
If you don't have buttermilk on hand for this red velvet cake recipe, you can make an easy substitute by pouring 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice into a 1 cup measuring cup, then fill the rest of the way with milk and let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle. Or you could whisk ¾ cup plain yogurt with ¼ cup of milk instead.