The most incredible Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting! Fluffy, soft, buttery and moist with the most perfect velvet texture!
Super easy to make Red Velvet Cake is similar to the original recipe that started it all! Made entirely from scratch with a few tips and tricks, this is one cake that takes centre stage! Softer than most cakes with a mouth-watering velvet-like texture in each bite.
Any cake that layered and slathered with a cream cheese frosting (carrot cake comes to mind) can sit by me with a huge spoon. Out of all cakes on this blog, this one is my favourite.
Red Velvet Cake
Is it chocolate? Is it vanilla? WHAT IS IT! Essentially it’s a chocolate cake made with little cocoa powder. The cocoa reacts with the acidic vinegar and buttermilk, and in turn keeps the cake moist, light, and fluffy. The chocolate taste is fairly mild but the flavours are delicately rich.
How To Make Red Velvet Cake
This red velvet cake has been adapted from The New York Times, with slight adjustments to the ingredients and the addition of oil for an even softer, richer and buttery melt-in-your-mouth cake. We tested a few versions with just butter, some with only oil, and some with half a dozen eggs! Truthfully, the one we are publishing is the best and received high praise from everyone who tried it. Both young and old!
With all the testing I have a few tips to get you the best results!
- Cake flour — We tried this version with both all purpose/plain flour and cake flour, and the cake flour version resulted in a softer, velvety cake, fooling everyone into thinking we had purchased it from an expensive baker! You can certainly use all purpose though if that’s all you have. You will still get an incredible cake.
- Oil — This addition guarantees a moist sponge. Mix it together with your cocoa powder and red dye so the three incorporate really well into the cake batter. This ensures the cocoa powder is mostly dissolved before being mixed through.
- Buttermilk OR milk with vinegar – We tried one version using buttermilk plus vinegar and one version making our own buttermilk, souring full cream milk with 1-2 teaspoons of vinegar before starting. Both worked INCREDIBLY well!
The batter is then split into two separate 8-inch baking pans to create two layers. We tried it with 9-inch pans and while the texture was good, the layers were a little too thin for our liking. We trimmed the dome on top away so the top layer sits better on the bottom layer. When trimming, you will feel how moist this cake really is! Try to save these pieces to decorate the cake with later! (Good luck not sneaking some pieces to eat! If you start, you won’t be able to stop.)
Just like my Best Fudgy Chocolate Cake, this one is so super addictive it’s hard to stop at one piece! Not overly sweet, but perfectly rich at the same time. You’ll see what I mean when you try it!
Looking for more red velvet recipes
Red Velvet French Toast | The Best Red Velvet Churros | Red Velvet Marble Waffles
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) caster sugar (or fine white granulated sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1 tablespoon (10g) unsweetened cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon extra for dusting
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (45ml) red food colouring (liquid, not gel)
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon (20ml) white vinegar
- 2 1/2 cups (350g) plain cake flour, sifted (or all purpose/plain flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda (bi-carb soda)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (250ml) buttermilk*
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 14 ounces (400g) cream cheese (not spreadable), at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners (or icing) sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional -- adds subtle hint of lemon)
Instructions
For Cake:
- Heat oven to 350°F | 175°C. Lightly grease two 8-inch cake pans with butter or nonstick oil spray and lightly dust with 1 tablespoon of the sifted cocoa powder.
- Cream butter and sugar together until light in colour. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition to combine well.
- In a smaller bowl, mix together oil, remaining cocoa powder, red food colouring and vanilla until smooth. Stir colour mixture and vinegar through the creamed sugar mixture to combine.
- Sift together flour, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Add half of the dry ingredients and half of the buttermilk to the wet ingredients; mix well. Repeat with remaining dry ingredients and buttermilk.
- Divide batter among the 2 prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack completely.
For Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until smooth lighter in colour (about 3-4 minutes). Beat in icing sugar until frosting is light and fluffy (if frosting is too thin, add more icing sugar and beat again until reaching your desired consistency).Optional if using: mix in the lemon juice.
Assemble Cake:
- Transfer 1 cake onto a serving dish/plate, flat-side down. Trim the top dome off of the cake to create a flat bottom later. Scoop about 1 1/2 - 2 cups of frosting onto cake and spread evenly over the top.
- Place second cake layer on top and use remaining frosting to cover top and sides of cake.
- Crumble trimmed pieces of cake to decorate.Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Katie says
I just made this for Valentines day and it is AMAZING!!! Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Navalika Singh says
Hi Karina ! I baked this cake for Valentines this year and it was just too good. Turned out to be the most amazing cake. I was always very sceptical about the Red velvet cakes because of the amount of colour that is used. However in this cake the quantity of colour used was quite less had still it had a beautiful red colour. Thanks for the lovely recipe.
Farrah Rafique says
I made this cake today and also this was my first time even making red velvet cake … the result was phenomenal … perfect !!! Everyone loved it !!! The cream cheese frosting was just as divine !!! Thanks so much for this recipe.
Bridget says
Karina,
I have made many cakes but never really found the perfect Red Velvet! All I can say is this cake is Amazeballs. It didn’t crumble and was so full of flavor and dense. It definitely won my guests over. I used regular flour and it worked just fine. I also made it onto cupcakes. For me becuase I love decorating I would modify the cream cheese frosting. The one you included was very good but I life stiffer frosting to do more flowers etc.
Thanks again and Happy Baking.
Karina says
I’m so happy to hear that Bridget!
Anne says
Hi! How long did you bake the cupcakes for? Thanks!!
Anne says
Hi Karina
This recipe sounds perfect. I’ll try it soon. I want to ask that can I use the same recipe for the red velvet cupcakes? If yes then how many cupcakes will this recipe yield?
Thank you.
Anne says
Hi karina
This reciepe sounds really good and perfect. Im going to try this soon.
Can I use.the same recipe for the red velvet cupcakes? What will be the temperature and the timings?
Regards,
Anne.
Vrithi says
Hi Karina,
Can I bake the cake a day before frosting it??. Will it affect the texture in any way?
Donna M says
Fantastic cake!. I was a little leery about the use of vinegar (I made my “buttermilk” and added the additional vinegar in with the batter) but my worry was baseless. Recipe can be easily halved or doubled—I made a full batch for Christmas cupcakes and wound up with 24 perfect moist, pretty cupcakes. I made another 12 just 3 days later. The frosting is heaven. Thanks for my new favorite recipe.
Diane says
How long and what temp did you bake?
Zee says
Hi i am from UK and will be using plain flour do I need to add baking powder?
Kim C says
Hi Karina,
I want to know if I can double this recipe to kill time on making 2 of them. Would that mess up the cake?? Also would you recommend refrigerating frosting first so it wont run down? Thanks
Karina says
Hi Kim! You can definitely double the recipe without any issues. And yes, refrigerate the frosting while the cake is in the oven, and frost when it has completely cooled down to room temperature. If you feel heat in the centre of the cake with the palm of your hand, the frosting will heat through and run. I hope that helps!
Alex says
Hi Karina,
I’m planning to make this cake for a Christmas party and I was wondering how I would adjust the recipient for 9″ round cake pans? I’ve used this recipient before to make cupcakes and they turned out amazing!
Thanks for the help
Karina says
Hi Alex! We’ve baked it in a 9” and didn’t need to adjust the recipe! The layers were just a tiny bit thinner but it still bakes the same!
I’m so glad the muffins turned out! Please let me know how you go Xx
Cristina says
Hi Karina,
I don’t know where to begin to thank you for the greatest red velvet cake recipe ever!!!!!!
For the first time in years my red velvet cake turned out perfect, just like in a profesional bakery!
Thank you so, so much! You are the best!!!
Karina says
Hi Cristina!
Thanks for much for the great feedback. I am so glad that the recipe turned out exactly how you wished. This makes my day to hear! Thanks so much for following along with me!! xo
Nitu says
Can i bake this cake in a 11 inch pan ? If yes, whats the temperature to bake and how many minutes needed?
Pls help, i am new to baking..
Karina says
Hey Nitu,
Unfortunatley I have not tried this in that size of pan to know exactly what to tell you. I get the best results when I my recipe. Thanks for the comments and for following along with me!! xo
Jasmine says
Hi,
I am planning to make this cake for school this Thursday. I was wondering if I could use Apple vinegar instead of white? Because I can’t seem to find it in the shops (I live in Austria and everything is in german).I have Apple vinegar at home, I was just wondering if it would leave a strange after taste in the cake.
By the way this cake looks delicious!
Gabi says
I tried other cakes with apple vinegar instead of white one and turned out great.i usually put the baking soda in a spoon over the mixing bowl and then pour the apple vinegar (or any vinegar I use) on top of it slowly until it’s all disolved. Hope this helped 😊
Ariya says
Hi Karina,
Your recipe was just awesome. Have tried so many recipes before. Nothing came up to my expectation. But your recipe was so so good. It was velvety, smooth, and of course tasty. Very happy that I found the perfect recipe finally..
Love
Ariya.
Anushree says
Hi Karina! Thank you very much for this wonderful recipe. I have baked red velvet cake quite a few times now and everytime, everyone have enjoyed it and complimented me, all credit to you and your recipe.
It would really help if you could guide me on how to make eggless version of this cake.
Thank you ?
Jhun says
Hi Karina, thanks for the recipe.
I’ll make one for the 1st time.
What did you use, cake flour or all purpose flour?
Karina says
I use cake flour but either flour works great! Enjoy your Red Velvet Cake! XO
Joanna says
Hello!
I am making this cake for my best friend next week! But I have a few question – (I am not a great baker!!)
1) I’m based in the UK so we don’t have cream cheese bricks – only cream cheese in tubs. Is there anything I can add to the mixture to improve results? Will it still be ok with non-brick cream cheese?
2) I can’t seem to find white vinegar… What other substitute of vinegar can I use?
3) As I only have one baking tin, I just want to make one cake (without cutting it in the middle), so I just want frosting around the cake. Can I use your measurements and make one giant cake? Or should I have it?
Thank you very much!!! 🙂
Karina says
1. Yes, that is just fine!
2. white distilled vinegar. It is usually in the baking isle or my the seasonings.
3. Yes, you can make one cake. That will be great!
Enjoy! XO
Radhika says
Hi,
Planning to make this cake tomo as a ‘book’ cake for my daughter’s birthday.
What tweaks would you recommend please, if I need to male this in a rectangular roasting pan about an A4 size?
Thanks from Christchurch, New Zealand!
Karina says
Oh fun! That will be great! I hope to see pictures or know how it turned out. I would recommend adding time on the cake. You will have to keep a watch on it.
Melodie says
I made this cake yesterday for my son’s birthday. It was quite good. The icing was superb. All the guests 18+ finished their cake and seemed to enjoy it. No pieces left on plates which in my book means they liked it. The layers were very even and the cake looked beautiful. The layers did not rise a lot and were generally flat. But this worked well as the layers were quite even. I made 9″ layers because I wanted a bigger cake. With the large amount of icing between the layers the cake was a nice height. I wish I could upload a pic. I decorated it with chocolate sugar sprinkles all around and extra crumbs around the edges as you suggested. I placed a mound of raspberries in the middle of the cake and a raspberry every 6 inches or so around the bottom of the cake. The presentation was lovely. Thanks so much for this recipe. I love to try new recipes and this one was right on! I hope others will bake as well.
Elaine Kennedy says
Hi Karina
Just made the cake, looks great but I made the icing with Philadelphia full fat thinking this would be firm enough, it wasn’t! ? I’m in England and don’t know what brand of soft cheese to use, I couldn’t see what I thought I needed in the supermarket, any suggestions? Many thanks, Elaine
Karina says
HMM! I am not sure why that did not set up. I usually purchase the cream cheese that is in a rectangle form and use that when mixing for my frosting. I am sorry it didn’t set up well for you. This is a delicious cake. Adding more milk to the mixture could have helped too. Thanks for choosing one of my recipes! XO
Jenny Evans says
If I bake this using homemade buttermilk do I still add the extra vinegar to the cake mix? Thanks!
Karina says
No, that should work great! Thanks for following along with me! XO
Karina says
Yes, that is correct! Thanks for choosing one of my recipes! Good luck!XO
Caroline says
Hi! I am going to make this cake today, but a quick question. Can the cooking oil be substituted for extra light virgin olive oil or canola oil? Thanks!
Karina says
Yes, it will alter the taste of the cake though.
Genna says
The cake looks great, can you freeze the cream cheese frosting? I’m wanting to mirror glaze it but would need to freeze it first.
Karina says
Yes, you can freeze it. That sounds great! Enjoy! XO
Wendy says
Hi,
I am planning to make this cake in a 6inch pan as I need a 6 inch cake. )I know there will be extra batter which I will just bake in another pan.) Just wondering how high to fill the batter in my 6inch pan? Is it halfway or 2/3 full? Thanks!
Karina says
I would recommend about 2/3 of the cake pan full. Hope that helps! XO
Kathleen says
Hello, I was going to attempt to make your cake today. I only have 38ml of red food colouring. Should I add less cocoa powder to ensure the cake is red and not brown?
Thanks ?
Karina says
Hi Kathleen! Absolutely! 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder should be fine. If your cocoa powder is darker than regular cocoa powder, like Dutch cocoa for example, then 2 teaspoons will suffice. Good luck! Happy baking!
Saanya says
Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe! Have made 2 batches in the last 2 days and it’s delicious!! Everyone from my family and friends to colleagues at work can’t stop praising it!!
Denise says
Can the red velvet cake be frozen (before decorating) ?
Karina says
Yes, that would be a great idea.
Denise Robson uk says
Does it really bake ‘Red’ as I want to make it for a Ruby Wedding? How much in mls is 1/4 cup if oil?
Did you use self raising flour or plain?
Karina says
Yes, it is a nice deep, dark red! Enjoy! It is one of my favorite recipes! I used plain flour.
Gladys says
Is there a video for this recipe? It would really be helpful… thanks
Karina says
I don’t have one at this time but I will keep that in mind and make one ASAP. Thanks so much for choosing one of my recipes. XO
Sandra says
Would using that much liquid food color impact on the flavor of the cake?
Karina says
No, the flavor will not be altered. It is flavorless and adds that rich red color.
Rumana says
Hi Katrina,
Thanks for this
Just to confirm is it 350 grams flour ir 300??
need to make this tomorrow
Karina says
It is 350 grams
Gladys says
Hi! Is it possible to use just 1 8″ pan and just cut the cake in half for frosting? If so, how long should I bake the cake & which temperature? Thanks
Karina says
I would not recommend only having one cake pan. The batter is meant for two and it would overflow in the oven or would not bake in the center with too much batter. You could half the recipe and try it that way if that is easier for you.
Aike says
Is there a reason the food coloring has to be liquid? I’m asking because I don’t have enough liquid red food coloring, but I do have lots of gel food coloring and I’m wondering if I could use that instead?
Karina says
In cakes the food coloring is best if it is liquid rather than the gel but the gel will still bake great and taste even better ;)!
Francesca says
Hi, i love your receipe!!! just want to clarify, it says 2.5cups of flour (350g), shouldn’t that be 300g. please kindly let me know as I am looking to make this amazing receipe soon.
Much love.. x
khadijah says
Hi Karina!
Even though I never had red velvet, I tried this recipe and it turned out well…seriously the cake was yummy,moist and fluffy!!
I used ermine..too good I say
looking forward to the fudge cake!!!
Karina says
OH YAY!! That sounds great! Thank you so much for sharing! XO
Khadijah says
Hi Karina! I tried this recipe, even though I never had red velvet before, Mashallah!!! the cake was yummy,moist and fluffy…I frosted with ermine
it was salty since I dnt omit the 1tsp salt besides using salted margarine..hehe my mistake
otherwise..it’s a five star!!!
Looking forward to your fudge cake recipe
Emily says
can you make this without sifting the flour?
Yvonne says
Thanks Karina. Will definately try this recipe and bring feedback.
Suliyat O'Balogun says
Fantastic recipe! The first red velvet cake I have made from scratch and it was a definite winner with my family!!
Carla Ashford says
I’m making this cake because the reviews are great. My husband coworkers birthday. They requested a red velvet cake. I’m glad I found yours. I will keep you posted. Thank you Carla in north Carolina
Sulikha says
Is it possible to use fine dark coco powder rather than unsweetened coco power?
Karina says
Hi Sulikha yes it is. Use only 1 teaspoon to ensure the cake gets its red colour.
Dana says
Made the fudgy chocolate cake a few days ago to break in some new cake pans…lol. OMG…the moistest cake I’ve ever had. Making the red velvet for my daughter’s bday tomorrow per her request. Looking forward to it!!
Marianne says
How long in advance can you make and keep the cake.
Karina says
You can make and keep this cake for up to 4 to 5 days in the fridge if it lasts that long;)!! Enjoy!
NANCY says
I would like to use this batter for cupcakes. What temperature and how long would you recommend I bake them for?
Karina says
That sounds fun and great! I would recommend baking them at 350* for 18 to 20 minutes checking on them. I have not tried them this way but it sounds fun!!
Erin says
Hi Nancy – how did your cupcakes go? I am going to make some on Saturday and am wondering if Karina’s suggestion of 350 for 18-20 minutes worked out?
Jane says
Been looking for a recipe that uses both butter and oil! Glad i found your blog.
A friend of mine ordered 200 red velvet cupcakes and made her using this recipe with meringue icing and it was a hit, Her boss loved it.
My eldest son said this is the best red velvet cupcake he ever tasted.
Thank you so much.
Karina says
That is great to hear! I am so glad that you found me! Thank you so much for letting me know and following along with me!
Maria, Malta EU says
Super delicious <3 Wonderful recipe!! Made it or my partner's bday and the result was everyone praising me 😀 will def make again and again and again…..
Keli R Lee says
I’d it 2Tbsp plus 1 for dusting or is it 3Tbsp plus 1? The missy jug ingredients offs different than the written instructions.
Karina says
It is 2 TBSP plus 1 for dusting.
Mairi says
We have made this cake a cake a couple of times and the taste and texture is wonderful.
Our only problem is that it isn’t red despite halving the quantity of cocoa.
Ara says
Two words: food coma! But it will be a blissful journey.
Esse says
Hi, is it possible to use less sugar without altering the end result? thanks!
Karina says
Yes, you are always welcome to try new things with my recipes and make them your own! Good luck! I hope they turn out for you! Let me know what you think! Thanks so much!
Michelle says
Can I use this recipe to make cupcakes? Also can this be made a day ahead and then frost the day of?
Karina says
Yes and yes!! Great idea!!
Kate says
Oh my gosh, this cake looks insane!!! What a great recipe! Definitely, I have to try this.
Karina says
It is a MUST!! SO GOOD! Save me a piece;)!
Aznorsha says
wonderful recipe!
Lucy says
It’s my son’s birthday this coming Saturday I had already settled for your fudgy chocolate cake but with this red velvet recipe I guess am baking him two cakes…perfect timing.Love your blog all the way from Tanzania,Africa.
Karina says
AW! That is great to hear! I am so glad that you were able to find this recipe for him! Happy birthday to your son! Thanks for following along with me from Africa!