This Red Velvet Cake recipe is made from scratch for the best flavor and a moist, tender crumb that pairs wonderfully with a tangy, sweet cream cheese frosting. This is a classic cake recipe for a 2-layer red velvet cake that is quite possibly the best red velvet cake recipe in the world.
This is the best Red Velvet Cake recipe I’ve ever made. So moist, tangy and perfect! I make one every year and each year try a different recipe, but I found this is the keeper. ~ Jennifer
Table of Contents
- What is Red Velvet Cake?
- Why this recipe for Red Velvet Cake Works
- Homemade Red Velvet Cake Ingredients
- How to make Red Velvet Cake
- Decorating Ideas for Red Velvet Cake
- Recipe Tips
- Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe Storage
- FAQs for Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe from Scratch
- More Cake Recipes
- More Favorites from House of Nash Eats
- Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe Recipe
We are a house divided on red velvet cake. Some of us love it, while others turn up their noses at it for being inferior to chocolate cake. Food normally brings us together, but every now and then it proves divisive, and this cake flavor just happens to be one of those controversial desserts for some people.
But if you DO love it, this easy red velvet cake recipe is made from scratch and is pretty darn incredible. It makes the softest, most tender, moist, fluffy, impossibly velvety (it’s aptly named, after all) cake ever. We love it in cupcake form too!
Red velvet cake is more than just a white cake dyed red, but it’s 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.
I set out to find my favorite red velvet cake recipe once and for all, and this is definitely it!
If you agree that making cake from scratch is far superior to any box mix, then you should definitely check out my Best Homemade German Chocolate Cake, Homemade Funfetti Cake, and Yellow Cake with Chocolate Frosting!
What is Red Velvet Cake?
Red velvet cake is a classic cake flavor developed and popularized in the southern United States that uses a small amount of cocoa powder, buttermilk, and vinegar along with red food coloring (affiliate link) for its unique color and taste. It’s tangy and light, with a moist, tender crumb and most commonly frosted with cream cheese frosting these days, although ermine frosting is another popular choice.
Why this recipe for Red Velvet Cake Works
- Super moist! We use a combination of butter and oil for the best flavor and texture.
- Hint of cocoa. This red velvet cake recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder which is double or triple the amount in most other versions. It helps those cocoa notes come through a little bit more. Even with that slight adjustment, this still doesn’t taste like a chocolate cake to me.
- Perfectly red. The chemical reactions of buttermilk, cocoa powder, baking soda and vinegar give this cake it’s flavor and subtle red tint, which is enhanced with some red food coloring (affiliate link).
- Holiday favorite. Red velvet cake is perfect for almost any occasion, but the bold red and white colors make this the perfect cake for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and patriotic holidays like the Fourth of July or Memorial Day.
Homemade Red Velvet Cake Ingredients
- Flour: If you don’t have cake flour, you can use all-purpose flour with a little cornstarch to help improve the texture. But cake flour really does result in a lighter, softer cake with the classic velvety texture that is this cake’s namesake.
- Use a combination of oil and butter: Like many baked goods, when deciding on the fat to use you sometimes have to weigh flavor with texture. I find that using some butter with some oil rather than all of one or the other gives me the best of both worlds – the added moistness from oil with the wonderful flavor from the butter.
- Food coloring: Red food coloring is needed for the vibrant red color. You can use either liquid or gel food coloring (affiliate link), but you will need more of the liquid kind (2-3 tablespoons) to get the vibrant red color that is the hallmark of red velvet cake.
- Cocoa powder: Both Dutch-process or natural cocoa powder will work for this red velvet cake recipe. I use 3 tablespoons for a slightly more noticeable chocolate taste to the cake, but 2 tablespoons is pretty standard for most red velvet cakes.
How to make Red Velvet Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and prep your cake pans by lining them with circles of parchment paper in the bottoms, then spray bottoms and sides with cooking spray.
- Whisk all the dry ingredients together first – flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt – and set them aside.
- Beat butter and sugar together until light and creamy – about 3-4 minutes using a hand mixer or stand mixer. Then add the oil and beat again, scraping down the sides of the bowl. The mixture will look a little curdled, but there’s nothing to worry about.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition, and vanilla. Then mix in the vinegar and food coloring.
- Alternately add ⅓ of the dry ingredients with ⅓ of the buttermilk, mixing just until combined after each addition and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl, repeating until everything has been added.
- Pour the batter evenly between the two cake pans, then bake for 30-35 minutes (for 9-inch pans) or 38-43 minutes (for 8-inch pans), or until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean with just a few crumbs. Be sure not to overbake.
- 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.
- Cool completely before leveling off the tops of each cake layer, if needed. Frost with cream cheese or ermine frosting.
Decorating Ideas for Red Velvet Cake
I’m a big fan of keeping things simple when it comes to cake decorating. My favorite approach is to sprinkle some of the red velvet cake crumbs from leveling off the cake layers on top of the cake to indicate what is inside. You could also pipe swirls of frosting around the border of the cake for a more decorative look. Another approach would be to decorate the cake with red or white flowers like baby’s breath or roses, which is particularly lovely if you are making this for a wedding cake, shower, or other special occasion.
Recipe Tips
- Storage: Red velvet cake should be stored in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese frosting. It will stay good for about 5 days. We think it is best when it has 1-2 hours to sit out of the fridge to come up to room temperature before serving.
- Freezing: You can freeze the assembled cake or individual slices. I recommend freezing them for 1-2 hours until the frosting on the outside is solid before wrapping in a couple of layers of plastic wrap to protect it. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge before enjoying.
- Make-Ahead: You can make this red velvet cake in advance by baking the cake layers and freezing them for 2-3 months before thawing and assembling with freshly made frosting.
- Cake Pans: This recipe can be made with either two 8-inch or 9-inch baking pans to create two layers. I like using my 8-inch pans for nice, thick layers like you see in these photos. The baking time is 30-35 minutes for 9-inch pans and 38-43 minutes for 8-inch pans.
Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe Storage
Red velvet cake should be stored in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese frosting. It will stay good for about 5 days. We think it is best when it has 1-2 hours to sit out of the fridge to come up to room temperature before serving.
Freezing: You can freeze the assembled cake or individual slices. I recommend freezing them for 1-2 hours until the frosting on the outside is solid before wrapping in a couple of layers of plastic wrap to protect it. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge before enjoying.
FAQs for Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe from Scratch
The history of the original red velvet cake recipe goes all the way back to the 1800’s. Back then cocoa powder was processed differently and the chemical reaction between it, the buttermilk, and the baking soda produced a natural reddish hue that is more intense than what we see today. Nowadays we use red food coloring to achieve the same result. This New York Times article has even more interesting history about it if you are curious to know more.
The two most popular frosting choices for red velvet cake are cream cheese frosting or an ermine buttercream frosting (the original choice for most velvet cakes and what I use on my black forest cake if you want to try it here). Ermine frosting is a light, less sweet frosting, which is fantastic if you find most frostings too sweet. But vanilla buttercream frosting, rainbow chip frosting, cookies & cream frosting, or swiss meringue buttercream (from my San Jose Burnt Almond Cake) would also all work well here.
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.
Although there is cocoa powder in red velvet cake, the flavor isn’t one that you could describe as chocolate. It is more of just a hint of cocoa unless you add extra cocoa powder or chocolate chips to boost the chocolate flavor.
Historically it was the reaction of vinegar with non-Dutch processed cocoa powder that created the reddish hue that famously gave red velvet cake its name. But cocoa powder is no longer processed the way it was when the cake was originally invented, so to achieve the vibrant red color bakers need to add red food coloring to their red velvet cake batter.
This is one of the most difficult questions to answer because red velvet is a flavor all its own! I think of it as a buttery, sweet, mild cocoa flavored cake. My recipe does use a little bit more cocoa powder than some other red velvet cake recipes in order to boost that chocolate flavor a smidge, since that’s how we like it best.
More Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Oreo Cookies & Cream Cake
- Best Carrot Cake
- Coca Cola Cake
- Homemade Funfetti Cake
More Favorites from House of Nash Eats
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Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups cake flour, scooped & leveled (354g)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (22g)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup salted butter, softened (113g)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 1 cup vegetable oil (224g)
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 Tablespoon distilled white vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons red liquid food coloring (affiliate link) (or 1 Tablespoon gel food coloring (affiliate link))
- 1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (240g)
Frosting
- 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup salted butter, softened (113g)
- 4 cups powdered sugar (520g)
- 2-3 Tablespoons cream or milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two 9-inch or 8-inch cake pans with circles of parchment paper in the bottoms and spray the sides. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Beat the butter and sugar together on high speed for 3-4 minutes in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment until light and creamy. Add the oil and mix again, scraping the sides of the bowl.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and vanilla, beating on medium-high speed between each addition until combined. Add vinegar and food coloring (affiliate link), using as much food coloring (affiliate link) as needed to get the desired color.
- Turn mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk in 2-3 additions, mixing just until combined between each addition and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Transfer batter to the prepared pans and bake for 30-35 minutes (for 9-inch pans) or 38-43 minutes (for 8-inch pans) until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean with just a few crumbs. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and cool completely.
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.
Assembly
- Level the cakes (if needed) so the tops are flat. Save scraps to crumble and use for decorating. Frost with cream cheese frosting and sprinkle the top of the cake with the reserved crumbs. Slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- Cake Flour Substitute: If you don’t have cake flour, use 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour with ⅓ cup cornstarch instead.
- Cupcakes: Fill cupcake liners ½ to ⅔ of the way full. Bake for 19-21 minutes until the tops spring back at a touch or a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
- Storage: Red velvet cake should be stored in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese frosting. It will stay good for about 5 days. We think it is best when it has 1-2 hours to sit out of the fridge to come up to room temperature before serving.
- Freezing: You can freeze the assembled cake or individual slices. I recommend freezing them for 1-2 hours until the frosting on the outside is solid before wrapping in a couple of layers of plastic wrap to protect it. Thaw on the counter or in the fridge before enjoying.
- Make-Ahead: You can make this red velvet cake in advance by baking the cake layers and freezing them for 2-3 months before thawing and assembling with freshly made frosting.
- Cake Pans: This recipe can be made with either two 8-inch or 9-inch baking pans to create two layers. I like using my 8-inch pans for nice, thick layers like you see in these photos. The baking time is 30-35 minutes for 9-inch pans and 38-43 minutes for 8-inch pans.
Nutrition
This post was originally published in January, 2019. The photos and content were updated in January, 2022.
Hello, hoping to try this recipe, I have 2 questions: can I use 10″ round pans as I want to make 2 layer cake. And can I substitute butter with applesauce in the cake recipe?
Thanks so much!
Yes, you could replace some of the butter with applesauce (I wouldn’t do more than half though or it can compromise the texture and lead to more of a rubbery sponge). And 10″ pans should work but the layers will be much thinner.