Red Velvet Cake

  • Total Time

    55m

    • Prep Time

      25m

    • Bake Time

      30m

  • Serves

    9

  • Skill Level

    Easy

  • Dietary Needs

    Veg
    • Vegetarian

  • 27 Reviews

    4 star rating
Our Favourite

This classic red velvet cake with cream cheese icing is just delicious, go on and treat yourself and your loved ones. To achieve the classic bright red sponge we would recommend that you use red food colouring gel as opposed to the liquid version, the gel will hold its colour better when baked, simply add as much or as little as you need to reach your desired colour. This recipe also makes cupcakes in muffin case size, if you want to do this, bake them at 180'c/160'c fan for 20 to 25 minutes.

Method

  1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (fan 160°C, gas mark 4). Line 2 x 20cm sandwich tins, with baking parchment.

  2. Cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon or in an electric mixer until combined. Add the eggs one at a time whilst still mixing, until both the eggs are incorporated and the mixture is lighter and smooth.

  3. Seive the cocoa powder into the mixture and add the vanilla extract.

  4. Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the salt. Slowly add half the flour to the chocolate mixture, then half of the buttermilk. Mix well then add the other half of the flour and the last of the buttermilk, continuing to mix. 

  5. Add two teaspoons of red food colouring gel to the mixture, making sure it is mixed in well.

  6. In a small mug combine the white wine vinegar and the bicarbonate of soda, then add to the mixture, stirring until combined. This will foam so make sure your container is big enough.

  7. Split the mixture between the two lined sandwich tins and place in the oven for approximately 30 minutes. Your cake is ready as soon as a toothpick or knife inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool.

  8. For the icing, place the butter, cream cheese and icing sugar in a food mixer and beat until smooth (or do by hand, beating quickly until thick and smooth). Cover one layer of the cake with icing, then sandwich the two pieces of cake together. Cover the top and sides of the cake with icing then grate dark chocolate over the top for the final touch.

     

    If you know someone who loves a red velvet cake as much as you do, why not turn it into a giftable? Take a look at this simple idea

Let's Bake

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Reviews

  1. 4 star rating

    At last I have found a recipe that works
    I did reduce the cocoa by half though.
    Awarded 4 stars just because I felt it was a little on the dry side . I will be making again though and next time I’m going to add a bit of oil.

  2. 1 star rating

    No

  3. 3 star rating

    I love it

  4. 4 star rating

    Im not a fan of creme cheese icing

  5. 4 star rating

    Yum

  6. 4 star rating

    It was nice but I dident get a red colour
    Ps I still love it

  7. 2 star rating

    Hi,can. i just say i love red velvet cake.i wanted to know do you have to use those specific brands

  8. 1 star rating

    It is an easy recipe to follow. I found it brown instead of red and tases more of a chocolate cake instead of red velvet. I wouldn’t recommend this cake if you want to make a red velvet cake.
    I am quite disappointed in this cake.

  9. 5 star rating

    Made this cake and really happy, only my 3rd cake I’ve made. For my girlfriend for valentines and it was a success! Lovely cake and I followed the recipe completely and it was perfect! Really recommend this cake and will make it again.

  10. 5 star rating

    Great recipe. Comes out really moist and delicious.

    1. How much would I need to increase recipe by to make a 12" round?
    2. For a 10" round you mention to scale by 1.6. Sorry what do you mean by 1.6?

    Thanks
    H

  11. 5 star rating

    my son made this for my birthday and it was delicious. I have never heard of adding vinegar to a cake but can def see how this helps it to rise. An amazing light texture too.

  12. 2 star rating

    Not red despite using gel colour

  13. 2 star rating

    Despite using gel colour as recommended there was nothing red about this cake. Disappointed at the effort as what I have is ultimately a chocolate cake

  14. 5 star rating

    Hi

    Just wondering how to adjust the recipe for 6”cake tins.

    Thanks
    Hannah

  15. 4 star rating

    I was a little disappointed in this cake. I found it quite dry perhaps I should have added some oil? Also despite putting in 2 teaspoons of extra strong red gel, it came out looking like a chocolate cake. As everyone else found it perfect, I'm assuming I did something wrong!

  16. 5 star rating

    Makes a lovely moist red velvet cake. If I want to do two 10 inch cake layers. Would I double the recipe??
    ------------------------------------------
    Hi Beccy,

    We're so glad you like the recipe. For a 10" round cake, you'll need to scale up the quantities by 1.6x Once you've made it, split the mixture between the two 10" round tins.
    For the baking time, bake for 30 minutes as per the recipe, then check it with a cocktail stick in the middle. If it's not yet baked, add incremental of 5 minutes and keep checking until the cocktail stick comes out clean.
    We'd love to see a picture of your creation. Make sure you follow us on Instagram and tag us in a picture of your bake!

  17. 5 star rating

    This recipe is excellent. I kept to the ingredients and method above and it turned out beautifully. I'm making another one for our Village Hall Coffee Morning, I'm sure it will go down a treat!
    ------------------------------------
    Hi Lisa, We're so glad you love the recipe! Next time you bake this we'd love to see a picture. Share with us on Instagram and tag @BakingMad

  18. 5 star rating

    Fab recipe...light and most cake. I put buttercream on it and it made a lovely birthday cake for my mum. Amazing by how high it rose!

  19. 5 star rating

    easy recipe to follow. not made a Red Velvet cake before, decide i wanted to have ago, having read the reviews on this one decided it was worth the try and was pleasantly surprised, texture and rise was good on it, was lovely and moist, personally i would put slightly less Coco in it as thought it overpowered the Vanilla a bit. Will definitely make this again

  20. 4 star rating

    Tried this recipe a few days ago but I made cupcakes instead of a cake! I used a whole tube of Dr. Oetker extra strong red but the cakes weren't red at all! Maybe it need more! Also the icing didn't quite set. I turned them into fairy cakes😉
    BUT... They tasted absolutely delicious!! I think one of the best cakes i have made!! Everyone love it!!!
    ________________________________________________
    Hi

    We would recommend using a food colouring gel to get the desired colour for this bake. With liquid food colouring you often need a lot to make a dark enough colour and this can affect the texture of your bake.

    We sell some great red food colouring gels in our Baking Mad shop, take a look. https://www.bakingmad.com/shop/cake-decorating/cake-food-colourings

    Happy Baking

  21. 5 star rating

    Thank you for giving us the fabulous recipe, it was easy to follow and the result was fabulous.
    And I do agree with the other reviewers this cake is lovely and moist.

  22. 4 star rating

    Hello, i see a couple of people say to add some oil. How much would i add and at what stage do i add it?
    Thank u

  23. 5 star rating

    Ingredients says 2 tsp of red food colouring but method says 2 tablespoons!! (2 teaspoons is plenty!)
    Also think this is way too much frosting for the size of cake, I only used half of it. But it's delicious!

  24. 5 star rating

    I registered just to post this review and extend my gratitude, thank you for this recipe! I have tried so many varieties and none have come out as good as this. I too also added some vegetable oil, and it came our delicious. My search for a good red velvet recipe is finally over ❤

  25. 5 star rating

    iv been baking and decorating cakes for 25 years and this is by far the best red velvet cake iv come across. I did add quarter cup of oil to the mixture and just chucked in the full 250ml tub of butter milk. result beautiful moist lovely tasting cake. i'v never liked red velvet until now. i needed 4 8" rounds top trimmed to get the height for my cake. Thank you for sharing with us.

  26. 5 star rating

    I too think this is best red velvet cake I've made! Very easy to follow recipe.

  27. 5 star rating

    Very easy to follow and probably the best red velvet cake i’ve made! Add 150ml oil for extra moisture and also I’d suggest a little more red colouring gel also, but personal preference

Leave Your Thoughts

Ingredients

For The Cake

  • 120g Unsalted Butter
  • 300g Silver Spoon White Caster Sugar
  • 2 Free Range Large Eggs
  • 50g Cocoa Powder
  • 2 tsp Red Food Colouring Gel
  • 1 tsp Nielsen Massey Vanilla Extract
  • 300g Allinson Plain White Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 240ml Buttermilk
  • 1 tbsp White Wine Vinegar
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 100g Unsalted Butter
  • 600g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
  • 250g Full Fat Cream Cheese
  • 10g Dark Chocolate (For Decoration)

Utensils

  • 2x 20cm/8" Round Cake Tins

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