This is my favorite Red Velvet Cake recipe! This cake is incredibly soft, moist, buttery, and topped with an easy cream cheese frosting.
Over the last few months, I’ve shared my favorite chocolate cake and white cake recipes with you. And today I have one more that’s perfect for Valentine’s Day – this homemade red velvet cake recipe!
Red velvet is such a unique cake because it has a vanilla flavor but also a hint of chocolate. It can also be hard to get just right because it should be buttery, yet stay moist. This recipe delivers all of that and it’s incredibly delicious too!
I’m also sharing everything you need to know on how to perfect this cake. Including how to make a 9×13 cake or cupcakes and some step-by-step pictures to help you along the way!
How To Make This Red Velvet Cake
To make this red velvet cake, you’ll start by whisking together your dry ingredients: cake flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. I suggest using cake flour because it has a lower protein content than all-purpose flour which creates a softer, lighter cake. When it comes to cake flour, two of my favorite brands are Pillsbury Softasilk and Swans Down.
There’s also 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder in this cake so the cake isn’t super chocolatey, but it has a hint of chocolate that is expected in red velvet cakes. Once you’ve whisked together the dry ingredients I suggest sifting them as well to remove any lumps of cocoa powder and help keep the cake light.
Then, mix up the wet ingredients starting with some unsalted butter and granulated sugar. I suggest creaming the butter and sugar together for about 4-5 minutes. Why? Creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy incorporates more air into your cake batter creating a softer, lighter cake.
Once the butter and sugar are creamed together, you’ll beat in two eggs until well combined. Then mix in the rest of the wet ingredients: some oil, red food coloring, vanilla extract, and distilled white vinegar. The oil helps to keep the cake incredibly moist, so I use a combination of butter and oil in this cake.
Once you’ve mixed up the wet ingredients, you’ll alternate mixing the dry ingredients in three additions with some buttermilk. Alternating the dry ingredients with the buttermilk helps to prevent overmixing the cake batter which can lead to a denser cake. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand, you can make your own using my homemade buttermilk substitute.
Once the cake batter is mixed up it will be a beautiful bright red color like the picture above. Then, just divide the batter between two 9-inch cake pans and bake them for about 30 minutes. If you want to make it easier to get the cake layers out of your pans I suggest using parchment paper. I use these parchment liners from Wilton and LOVE them, they’re perfect for this recipe too!
Once the cake layers are baked and cooled, you’ll mix up the frosting. I used my favorite cream cheese frosting for this cake and increased the amount to have enough to frost it. If you want to try another frosting my vanilla buttercream frosting would be delicious too!
Then, just level your cakes and frost it however you like. I used the Wilton 1M piping tip for the swirls on top of this cake.
Baking Tips For Red Velvet Cake
- Be sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature before getting starting.
- Make sure to sift the dry ingredients to remove any lumps of cocoa powder. This will also help to keep the cake soft and light.
- I suggest creaming the butter and sugar together for about 4-5 minutes. Creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy incorporates more air into your cake batter creating a softer, lighter cake.
- Alternate mixing the dry ingredients in three additions with the buttermilk, this will help to prevent over mixing the cake batter.
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
For the red velvet cake:
- 2 and 2/3 cups (295 grams) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/4 cup (22 grams) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (115 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 1 (1-ounce) bottle liquid red food color
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320 ml) buttermilk room temperature
For the cream cheese frosting:
- 12 ounces cream cheese softened
- 3/4 cup (175 grams) unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 3 cups (360 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the red velvet cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray two 9-inch cake pans well with nonstick cooking spray, line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Then sift the dry ingredients to remove any lumps of cocoa powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until fully combined, then mix in the oil, red food color, vanilla extract, and vinegar stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Make sure to mix each addition until just combined and be careful not to over mix the batter.
- Evenly distribute the cake batter between the two prepared cake pans and spread the batter around into one even layer. Tap the pans on the counter 2-3 times to remove any air bubbles from the cakes.
- Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Carefully remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool in the pans for 15-20 minutes. Then, carefully remove the cakes from the cake pans and place on the wire rack to cool completely.
To make the cream cheese frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and mix for about 30 seconds-1 minute until well combined and smooth.
- Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
To assemble the cake:
- Level the tops of each cake with a knife or cake leveler. Place one of the cake layers on a cake stand or plate, top with a layer of frosting, and smooth it out into one even layer. Place the second layer on top, then use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.
I haven’t made this recipe yet, but i was wondering what the vinegar does.
It’s adds a little extra acidity to react with the baking soda.
This looks like a great recipe! Thanks for sharing.
Would it work if I used an 8″ square cake pan (in two separate batches) instead of (2) 9″ round pans? Also, would it be OK to replace canola oil with coconut oil? Appreciate your insight.
Yes, the 8-inch pans would be fine, you may need to adjust the baking time slightly. Coconut oil will be fine too, just make sure all of your other ingredients are at room temperature so the coconut oil doesn’t solidify.
Made this cake for my husband’s birthday on Monday evening. It is now Saturday afternoon and we’rehaving the last slice…it is still as moist as it was on Monday. Amazing!
I didn’t have enough granulated sugar so I added half a cup of castor sugar
This recipe looks so good. Would I be able to use three 9 inch tins.
You can, but the layers may be a bit thin. You can multiply the recipe by 1.5 if you’re wanting taller layers.
Do you recommend changing this recipe for high altitude (5000)
I’m not familiar with high altitude baking, so I’m not quite sure. King Arthur Flour has a great guide on their site though for adjusting recipes for high altitude that some readers have found helpful!
will this be able to fit in a 9, 7, and 4 inch pan in order to make a 3 tier cake?
I haven’t tried it, but it may work. You could increase the recipe by 1.5 if you’re worried about it though and use any leftover batter to make cupcakes.
This recipe truly is the best red velvet cake. Every time I make this for my friends and family they love it! This cake has always turned at really moist and always tastes fantastic. You need to try this cake recipe now!! 🙂
Can I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour? Also is it okay to substitute rice wine vinegar for the distilled white vinegar? Thank you.
Yes, but I would add cornstarch and make the cake flour substitute that I have in the recipe notes. The rice wine vinegar should be okay too.
I tried this recipe just now but wonder why my cake turned very crumbly, too soft and cracked easily. It even fell apart when I took it out of the pan (I was expecting it to be kind of solid heavy and moist one). It tastes heavenly though, the chocolatey, tangy and sweetness levels are just perfect. I’m sure I have prepared and measured all the ingredients just as directed in the recipe. As for vegetable oil, I used palm oil instead of canola and I used buttermilk substitute as noted on your blog as much as “1 cup/250ml milk + white vinegar” instead of 320 ml buttermilk. Do you think that would be the case? I love trying new recipes and I’d like to know where I did wrong.
Did you only use 1 cup of the buttermilk substitute? If so, that may be why. If you make it again, you’ll want to make an equal amount (1 and 1/3 cups, or 320 ml) of the buttermilk substitute.
Thanks so much for the recipe. My first bake for my hubby’s birthday and it was so yum..
This recipe seems really nice! I was wondering if I could reduce the sugar?
You could probably reduce it by 1/4 – 1/2 cup, but I wouldn’t reduce it by more than that otherwise the it will affect the taste and texture of the cake.
During our “stay home” time recently, I thought I would take up a new skill; baking. This is the first cake I have ever attempted to make from scratch. A neighbor friend loves Red Velvet Cake so for their birthday, I thought I would impress them with a handmade cake since many bakeries were closed. Not only were they impressed I impressed myself as well. The cake was outstanding, moist, flavorful, and our friend and another neighbor enjoyed the slices we divided up to share since we could not have a party to celebrate. I followed the recipe to the letter but I used cake pans designed for a four-layer cake which I carefully monitored and tested with the toothpick. I wish I could share the photos of my creation here so you could enjoy them as much as my Facebook friends did. I have shared this recipe with a number of friends and with my birthday coming up, I’ve decided to make another one as a present to myself. Thank you for posting such a great recipe, it made many people happy during a difficult time, and this novice baker felt like an experienced pastry chef for a day.
So glad you enjoyed the cake, Mark!
Hello,
I wanted to make a 1/4 sheet cake…could you tell me if this recipe would yield enough batter?
I think it would be enough.