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–+ servings
Single slice of homemade red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting on a white plate. Moist red crumb and crumbs on plate show real, imperfect texture.

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

A rich, moist, homemade red velvet cake recipe with tangy buttermilk and cream cheese frosting, passed down through generations, with a subtle secret twist.
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Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American, southern
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Chill Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 530kcal
Cost: 10$

Equipment

  • 1 9-inch round cake pans (Greased and lined with parchment)
  • 1 Stand mixer or hand mixer (For creaming butter, sugar, and mixing batter)
  • 1 Cooling rack (To cool baked layers)
  • 1 Silicone spatula (For folding and scraping batter)
  • 1 Mixing bowls (for mixing wet and dry ingredients)
  • 1 Digital kitchen scale ((Optional) for accurate measurement)

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups Cake flour - Sifted
  • ½ cup Unsalted butter - Softened
  • ¼ cup Vegetable oil - Can use canola or melted coconut oil
  • 1 ¾ cups Granulated sugar
  • 2 Large eggs - Room temperature
  • 2 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder - Sifted
  • 1 cup Buttermilk - Room temperature
  • 2 tablespoon Red gel food coloring - Adjust for desired color
  • 1 teaspoon Baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon White vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon Fine salt
  • 1 tablespoon Brewed coffee - Optional – enhances chocolate notes
  • 1 pinch Ground cinnamon - Optional – adds warmth

For Frosting

  • 16 oz Cream cheese - Full-fat softened
  • ½ cup Unsalted butter - Softened
  • 3 ½ cups Powdered sugar - Sifted
  • 2 teaspoon Pure vanilla extract
  • 1 pinch Salt - (Optional)

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C) and prep pans
  • Sift cake flour, cocoa, salt, and cinnamon
  • Cream butter, oil, and sugar until fluffy
  • Add eggs one at a time, beat well
  • Mix in vanilla, food coloring, and coffee
  • Combine buttermilk and vinegar in a bowl
  • Alternate adding dry mix and buttermilk mix
  • Mix baking soda and vinegar, fold into batter
  • Divide batter into pans and bake 25–30 mins
  • Cool 10 mins in pans, then transfer to racks
  • Level layers if needed, start frosting
  • Beat frosting ingredients until smooth and creamy
  • Apply frosting between layers and over cake
  • Chill cake for 10 mins before slicing

Notes

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 530kcal (27%) | Carbohydrates: 62g (21%) | Protein: 5g (10%) | Fat: 29g (45%) | Saturated Fat: 17g (106%) | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 85mg (28%) | Sodium: 290mg (13%) | Potassium: 140mg (4%) | Fiber: 1g (4%) | Sugar: 47g (52%) | Vitamin A: 890IU (18%) | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 72mg (7%) | Iron: 1.6mg (9%)