Red velvet cake recipe

 RED VELVET CAK

This recipe for traditional red velvet cake has a tangy cream cheese frosting and is created entirely from scratch. Make this cake for birthdays, Christmas, and Valentine's Day!

You see, the cake is known as "red velvet" for both its distinctive crimson colour and its velvety texture. The buttermilk, vinegar, and natural cocoa powder in the recipe give the cake a special texture that no other cake has.

This popular cake is quite simple to make and doesn't need any special ingredients or laborious prep work, yet having a bolder appearance than your typical layer cake.

The obvious choice for Valentine's Day is this homemade red velvet cake, but it also makes a beautiful Christmas, birthday, or "just because" dessert.

WHAT TASTE DOES RED VELVET CAKE HAVE?

Not only is chocolate cake prettier in red velvet form, but vice versa. Although the batter contains cocoa powder, the overall flavour is not chocolaty.

If a cake is described as "red velvet," it will contain a subtle cocoa flavour as well as undertones of butter and vanilla. The cream cheese frosting pairs well with the cake's mild tanginess and other subtle sourness.

If a cake is described as "red velvet," it will contain a subtle cocoa flavour as well as undertones of butter and vanilla. The cream cheese frosting pairs well with the cake's mild tanginess and other subtle sourness.

THE COMPOSITES FOR THIS RECIPE

The secret to getting a red velvet cake's distinctive colour and texture is to utilise the appropriate ingredients. The recipe card below has a complete ingredient list, so let's quickly go through everything you'll need to make this dish:

Cake Flour: I advise choosing cake flour because it has less protein than all-purpose flour and makes cakes that are softer and lighter. Swans Down and Pillsbury Softasilk are two of my favourite brands of cake flour. I have cake flour that you may use in its place if you don't have any on hand.

Cocoa Powder: This cake contains 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder. Although the cake isn't very chocolatey, it does have the slight chocolate flavour one would anticipate in a red velvet cake.

Butter and oil: The butter gives the cake a deep, buttery flavour while the oil helps to keep the cake very moist.

Buttermilk: When combined with baking soda, buttermilk reacts to produce a sensitive, soft crumb. You may make your own buttermilk if you don't have any on hand by using my homemade buttermilk alternative.

One teaspoon of pure white vinegar is required.

Red food colouring: For this recipe, you'll need one 1-ounce container of liquid red food colouring.

RED VELVET CAKE RECIPE

Red velvet is one of the simplest layer cakes to make, despite its striking colour. An overview of baking is provided below:

Prepare the cake pans by lining the bottoms of two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and coating them with non-stick spray.

The dry ingredients should be sifted together. Cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt should be whipped together. After that, sieve the ingredients to remove any clumps.

The wet components should be combined: I advise creaming the butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes in a separate bowl. More air is incorporated into your cake mix when the butter and sugar are creamed until light and fluffy, resulting in a softer and lighter cake. Add the eggs one at a time once the butter and sugar are prepared. Add the oil, vinegar, vanilla, and red food colouring after that. Buttermilk shouldn't be added just yet.

Add the dry ingredients in three increments, alternating with the buttermilk as you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Always begin and end with the dry ingredients, and incorporate each addition thoroughly before adding the next.

Bake: Distribute the cake batter among the two lined pans. A toothpick inserted in the centre should come out clean after baking.Before turning the cake layers over onto a wire cooling rack, let the layers to cool in the pans for 15 minutes.

Making the cream cheese frosting is simple and can be done with either a stand mixer or a hand mixer. Cream cheese should be creamy before adding butter and continuing to whisk for one more minute. Mix in the vanilla and powdered sugar until thoroughly mixed.

Build the layer cake by levelling the tops of each layer with a knife or a cake leveller. Simply apply frosting over the first layer, top it with the second layer, and then frost the top and edges of the cake to finish. Using an offset spatula makes this task simple!

FROSTERING OPTIONS ADDITIONAL

For this cake, I made more of my preferred cream cheese frosting in order to have enough to cover it in frosting. My vanilla buttercream frosting or ermine icing would both be great alternatives if you want to try something else.

INGREDIENTS

CONCERNING THE RED VELVET CAKE:

(295 grammes) 2 2 3 cups leveled-spooned cake flour

14 cup (22 grammes) of natural, unsweetened cocoa powder

Baking soda, 1 teaspoon

½ teaspoon salt

12 cup (115 grammes) of softened unsalted butter

350 grammes of sugar, or 1 3/4 cups

at room temperature, two big eggs

120 ml or 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

a bottle of liquid red food colouring, 1 oz.

Pure vanilla extract, two tablespoons

1 teaspoon of white vinegar, distilled

1 and a third cups of room temperature buttermilk (320 ml)

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

12 ounces (340 grammes) of softened brick-style cream cheese

34 cup softened unsalted butter (175 grammes)

360 grammes of powdered sugar, 3 cups

Pure vanilla extract, 1 1/2 teaspoons

INSTRUCTIONS  

Making the layers for the red velvet cakeSet the oven's temperature to 350°F (177°C). Two 9-inch cake pans should be well-sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, with the bottoms lined with parchment paper.

Mix the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a sizable mixing bowl. After that, sift the dry ingredients to get rid of any cocoa powder lumps. Place aside.

Cream the butter and sugar for 4 to 5 minutes on medium speed in a stand mixer bowl with the paddle attachment or in a sizable mixing bowl with a handheld mixer. Once the eggs have been added and thoroughly incorporated, add the oil, red food colouring, vanilla essence, and vinegar, continuing to mix while pausing to scrape down the bowl's edges as necessary.

Add the dry ingredients in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, while alternating with the buttermilk. Be careful not to overmix the batter and to only blend each ingredient just enough.

Spread the cake batter around to form one equal layer and evenly distribute it across the two prepared cake pans. To get rid of any air bubbles in the cakes, tap the pans on the counter two or three times.

A toothpick put into the centre of the cakes should come out clean after 28 to 32 minutes of baking. Carefully take the pans out of the oven and set them on a wire rack to cool for 15 to 20 minutes. The cakes should then be carefully removed from the cake pans and set on the wire rack to finish cooling.

To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese until it is smooth in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and stir for 30 to 1 minutes, or until the mixture is smooth and well-combined.

Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract, beating until thoroughly blended and scraping down the bowl's edges as necessary.

To put the cake together:Each cake's top should be levelled with a knife or cake leveller. Placing one of the cake layers on a plate or cake stand, covering it with frosting, and spreading it out into an even layer. After adding the second layer, utilise the leftover frosting to cover the cake's top and sides.