What's chocolaty, red, tasty and elegant all at once? Red Velvet Cake! This is a great recipe to have in your arsenal for a variety of events. It makes a great wedding cake, it’s a must have for Valentine’s Day, and its color makes it perfect for Christmas as well.
As you may already now, Red Velvet cake is basically a chocolate cake with an added punch of color. The key to getting a nice deep rich red color is mixing the red food color with the cocoa powder to make a paste. The dark brown cocoa with the red food color mixes together to make a deep red that won’t fade.
First, as always a few special notes about some of the ingredients:
Pure Vanilla Extract. While I do use the clear imitation vanilla extract in some frosting recipes where I don’t want the extra color, it is very important to use Pure Vanilla Extract in this recipe to get the full flavor.
Oil instead of butter. You will repeatedly see in my recipes that I use oil and not butter. That is just my preference. I find that oil makes a much more moist cake, and I do not like the texture that butter creates in cakes.
Red Food Color. Buy at least a couple bottles of this. The small bottles have about 3 Tbsp in them. I always find that I’m running a bit low on red food color, so it’s good to have extra.
Cocoa Powder. I’m a huge fan of Hershey’s, whether it’s the cocoa powder or just their chocolate in general. Remember that you’ll be making a paste of the cocoa powder and red food color.
Buttermilk. This will give the cake a nice body and great texture. To make a homemade buttermilk, as I often do, mix 1 Tbsp Vinegar and enough milk to make 1 Cup. Let sit for 5 minutes, and it will be ready to go.
Vinegar and Baking Soda. This part of the recipe is the most fun if you are working with kids. I call it the science experiment part of the recipe (even though baking is one huge science experiment every time!). It’s fun to watch the reaction of the Vinegar and Baking Soda. Be sure to wait to mix these until right before you need them in the recipe.
Room temperature ingredients. Remember to get all of your refrigerated ingredients to room temperature prior to mixing to ensure they mix well and evenly! So important!
Instructions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Also, prepare your cake pans or place your cupcake liners in the pan. I like to not only grease and flour my pans, but I also cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan so that the cake releases well.
With your stand mixer and the whisk attachment, cream the oil and sugar on MEDIUM for two minutes. Add your eggs and beat well until the mixture is combined.
Next, make a paste by combining your red food color and cocoa powder. This will give your cake that brilliant red color. Add this to your mixer and combine well.
In a small bowl, mix the buttermilk, vanilla extract and salt.
Alternate adding the flour and the buttermilk mix. Always start and end with the dry ingredients. Remember when you are measuring your flour to spoon it into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife. You never want to pack the flour down in the measuring cup, as this will lead to a much more dense cake. Mix until just combined.
Finally, combine the vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl. Gently fold this into your cake batter.
Fill cupcake liners ⅔ full. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I typically start checking my cupcakes at 17 minutes and my cakes at 35 minutes. Cook times will vary based on your oven and how full you fill your cupcake liners or cake pans.
Allow cakes or cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes prior to removing them from the pan. Cool completely prior to frosting.
I find that of any of my recipes, this one can be a little more toward the dry side for a large cake. I don’t often have to add simple syrup to a cake for guaranteed moisture, but this is one instance where I do make a homemade chocolate simple syrup and brush each cake layer with it. The result is amazing! Be on the watch for my chocolate simple syrup recipe!
ENJOY!
As you may already now, Red Velvet cake is basically a chocolate cake with an added punch of color. The key to getting a nice deep rich red color is mixing the red food color with the cocoa powder to make a paste. The dark brown cocoa with the red food color mixes together to make a deep red that won’t fade.
First, as always a few special notes about some of the ingredients:
Pure Vanilla Extract. While I do use the clear imitation vanilla extract in some frosting recipes where I don’t want the extra color, it is very important to use Pure Vanilla Extract in this recipe to get the full flavor.
Oil instead of butter. You will repeatedly see in my recipes that I use oil and not butter. That is just my preference. I find that oil makes a much more moist cake, and I do not like the texture that butter creates in cakes.
Red Food Color. Buy at least a couple bottles of this. The small bottles have about 3 Tbsp in them. I always find that I’m running a bit low on red food color, so it’s good to have extra.
Cocoa Powder. I’m a huge fan of Hershey’s, whether it’s the cocoa powder or just their chocolate in general. Remember that you’ll be making a paste of the cocoa powder and red food color.
Buttermilk. This will give the cake a nice body and great texture. To make a homemade buttermilk, as I often do, mix 1 Tbsp Vinegar and enough milk to make 1 Cup. Let sit for 5 minutes, and it will be ready to go.
Vinegar and Baking Soda. This part of the recipe is the most fun if you are working with kids. I call it the science experiment part of the recipe (even though baking is one huge science experiment every time!). It’s fun to watch the reaction of the Vinegar and Baking Soda. Be sure to wait to mix these until right before you need them in the recipe.
Room temperature ingredients. Remember to get all of your refrigerated ingredients to room temperature prior to mixing to ensure they mix well and evenly! So important!
Instructions:
First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Also, prepare your cake pans or place your cupcake liners in the pan. I like to not only grease and flour my pans, but I also cut a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan so that the cake releases well.
With your stand mixer and the whisk attachment, cream the oil and sugar on MEDIUM for two minutes. Add your eggs and beat well until the mixture is combined.
Next, make a paste by combining your red food color and cocoa powder. This will give your cake that brilliant red color. Add this to your mixer and combine well.
In a small bowl, mix the buttermilk, vanilla extract and salt.
Alternate adding the flour and the buttermilk mix. Always start and end with the dry ingredients. Remember when you are measuring your flour to spoon it into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife. You never want to pack the flour down in the measuring cup, as this will lead to a much more dense cake. Mix until just combined.
Finally, combine the vinegar and baking soda in a small bowl. Gently fold this into your cake batter.
Fill cupcake liners ⅔ full. Bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. I typically start checking my cupcakes at 17 minutes and my cakes at 35 minutes. Cook times will vary based on your oven and how full you fill your cupcake liners or cake pans.
Allow cakes or cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes prior to removing them from the pan. Cool completely prior to frosting.
I find that of any of my recipes, this one can be a little more toward the dry side for a large cake. I don’t often have to add simple syrup to a cake for guaranteed moisture, but this is one instance where I do make a homemade chocolate simple syrup and brush each cake layer with it. The result is amazing! Be on the watch for my chocolate simple syrup recipe!
Top this recipe with my standard Vanilla Buttercream Frosting, or even better yet, my Crusting Cream Cheese Frosting! The picture below was my son's request for his birthday at school......red velvet cupcakes, cream cheese frosting, with chocolate and homemade caramel drizzled on top. They were a hit with his friends!
ENJOY!
Supplies used in creating these cupcakes and cake include:
Measuring spoons, Measuring cups, Bowl set, Stand Mixer, Spatula set, Cake pans, Cake Boards, Cupcake pans, Cupcake liners, Ice Cream scooper, Parchment paper, Cooling racks, Frosting Bags, Tips, Ties and Caps, Cake leveler, Turntable, and Cupcake storage. Click here to be taken to my Amazon Cake and Cupcake Baking Supply List. For page transparency: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
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