About the bake
Red velvet cakes are traditionally an american recipe, but us Brits are enjoying this recipe so much it's fast becoming one of our everyday go-to bakes. We've transformed this lusciously red chocolate flavoured sponge into a traybake and toppped with classic cream cheese frosting. This traybake is perfect for kid's parties or for taking into the office on your birthday.
Method
Step 1:
Preheat oven to 180ºc/160ºfan/gas mark 4. Grease a 15x10-inch rectangular baking tin.
Step 2:
Sift the flour into a bowl, then add the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Step 3:
In a heavy saucepan over low heat, combine butter, water, and cocoa powder. Bring to boil, stirring constantly.
Step 4:
Remove from heat, and stir in eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and food colour. Stir until well-combined.
Step 5:
Stir in flour mixture until combined.
Step 6:
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Step 7:
Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan to room temperature.
Step 8:
To make the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together until well-combined.
Step 9:
Stir in powdered sugar and enough milk to make desired consistency.
Step 10:
Frost the cooled cake with cream cheese frosting. We've topped ours with red crunch sprinkles, you can use whatever you like.
Cut into squares and serve!
If you love the idea of a traybake, why not try our ultimate party traybake?
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 250g Allinson's plain white flour
- 350g Silver Spoon Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 225g Unsalted butter
- 250ml Water
- 25g Cocoa powder
- 2 Large eggs
- 120g Buttermilk
- 2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Red food colouring gel
- 1 tsp Salt
- 250g Allinson's plain white flour
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 225g Cream cheese (full fat)
- 2 tbsp Softened unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 375g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Buttermilk
Utensils
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Sieve
Recipe Reviews
Disaster for me too, wish I’d read the reviews before wasting ingredients, very wet batter. Cocktail stick came out clean once cooled and iced I cut is very stodgy, tasted ok. Can’t find another tray bake recipe. :(
Why would you ever add water to a cake??
Cake is too watery after adding all the water as suggested in recipe.
All the reviews are saying this recipe is a disaster o it suggests something is wrong somewhere.
It has potential to be a lovely cake but something is wrong.
It was a disaster. After I mixed all the ingredients i was very liquid , it didn't cook very well, it was very stodgy. Before taking out of the oven I used a toothpick to check and it came out clear.. I liked the colour though and the topping.
Was a complete disaster, really don’t know what went wrong. Oven was hot, and it was definitely cooked for long enough as it shrank away from edges, very stodgy and brownie like, had to throw away
This cake looked lovely, however after I added 250ml of water it became more like a liquid and came out thin and stodgy. Very disappointed. Would like to try again but add less water?
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 250g Allinson's plain white flour
- 350g Silver Spoon Caster Sugar
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- 225g Unsalted butter
- 250ml Water
- 25g Cocoa powder
- 2 Large eggs
- 120g Buttermilk
- 2 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Red food colouring gel
- 1 tsp Salt
- 250g Allinson's plain white flour
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 225g Cream cheese (full fat)
- 2 tbsp Softened unsalted butter
- 1 tsp Nielsen-Massey Vanilla Extract
- 375g Silver Spoon Icing Sugar
- 1 tbsp Buttermilk
Utensils
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Sieve