Red velvet cake is much more than vanilla cake tinted red. This recipe produces the best red velvet cake with superior buttery, vanilla, and cocoa flavors, as well as a delicious tang from buttermilk. My trick is to whip the egg whites, which guarantees a smooth velvet crumb.
This is my forever favorite red velvet cake recipe. I published it on my blog a few years ago and decided it’s time for clearer recipe instructions and a video tutorial. Many of you love this recipe too, so let’s roll up our sleeves and rev up our mixers!
Red velvet cake is the queen of all layer cakes. The “I can’t quite put my finger on the flavor” cake. It’s the sweet marriage of buttermilk and vanilla with a little cocoa for good measure. She’s tall, dramatic, and completely covered in silky cream cheese frosting. This is my best red velvet cake.
What Does Red Velvet Cake Taste Like?
I used to be unsure about red velvet. I don’t really trust a cake that has a mystery flavor. What is red velvet? Is it more like vanilla cake, chocolate cake, or just a butter cake tinted red? From red velvet brownies and red velvet cookies and red velvet cupcakes, I’ve had a lot of fun getting to know red velvet. Red velvet is:
- Mild cocoa flavor
- Tangy buttermilk
- Sweet vanilla
- Very buttery
These 4 flavors are essential to the perfect red velvet layer cake. Not only is the flavor outstanding, red velvet cake’s texture is worth writing home about. It’s dense and soft with a moist and velvety crumb. However, the absolute best part about red velvet cake is the cream cheese frosting. Slathered on thick, my cream cheese frosting recipe is delicately sweet and undeniably creamy.
How to Make Red Velvet Cake
I use specific ingredients, certain amounts, and unique mixing techniques to produce my best red velvet cake recipe. Begin by whisking the dry ingredients together, then beat together the wet ingredients. We’ll combine the two, add buttermilk and tint the batter red. More on food coloring below.
- Cake Flour: I highly recommend cake flour. Cake flour is much lighter than all-purpose and the perfect base for a light, soft-crumbed cake texture. Like I mention above, red velvet’s texture is important to the authenticity of the flavor. You will thank me for the recommendation after you taste how incredibly soft this cake is. It’s the texture you find at professional bakeries.
- Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: 2 Tablespoons is plenty for a little cocoa flavor without overpowering the vanilla and butter flavors.
- Butter & Oil: What sets red velvet cake apart from chocolate is its buttery flavor. With only butter, we risk a dry cake. With only oil, we lose the butter flavor and softness that comes with creaming butter & sugar together. So all that’s to say, use both butter and oil. Moist texture, soft and cakey texture, buttery flavor.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is tangy, creamy, and makes baked goods extremely moist. You can’t make delicious red velvet cake without it! Additionally, buttermilk helps activate the baking soda to leaven the cake.
What About the Food Coloring?
Red velvet cake wouldn’t be red without food coloring. I recommend gel food coloring because the color is concentrated, so you need less of it. For natural coloring, use beet powder. If you don’t want to use food coloring, leave it out! The cake will have the same flavor and be a lovely shade of cocoa.
My #1 Trick
I add one simple step to this red velvet cake recipe and it guarantees the BEST texture.
Whip the egg whites separately, then fold into the batter.
This cake recipe requires 4 large eggs. Separate the eggs before starting. Beat the egg yolks with the wet ingredients, then beat the egg whites into fluffy peaks and fold them in last. Beating the egg whites incorporates air and promises a velvet-rich texture.
You will never go back.
Red Velvet Cake Video Tutorial
Cream Cheese Frosting
In my opinion, cream cheese frosting pairs best with red velvet’s flavor and this frosting recipe is really simple. You need brick-style cream cheese, butter, confectioners’ sugar, a splash of milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt to offset the sweetness. It glides on seamlessly and is silky smooth. If you’re looking to pipe decoration with this cream cheese frosting, chill it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. This guarantees the creamy frosting will hold its shape.
Of course, feel free to use traditional vanilla buttercream or Swiss meringue buttercream here if you prefer. Or try white chocolate buttercream frosting!
This recipe converts red velvet skeptics. I should know because I used to be one!
Interested in turning this red velvet beauty into a tiered wedding cake? See my homemade wedding cake for details.
More Classic Cake Recipes
- Vanilla Cake
- Banana Cake
- Pumpkin Cake
- Chocolate Cake
- Strawberry Cake
- Lemon Cake
- German Chocolate Cake
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours
- Yield: 12 servings
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Red velvet cake is much more than vanilla cake tinted red. This recipe produces the best red velvet cake with superior buttery, vanilla, and cocoa flavors, as well as a delicious tang from buttermilk. My trick is to whip the egg whites, which guarantees a smooth velvet crumb.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (360g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 Tablespoons (10g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (240ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs, room temperature and separated
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- liquid or gel red food coloring
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 ounces (452g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp; 170g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 5 cups (600g) confectioners’ sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- pinch of salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the oil, egg yolks, vanilla extract, and vinegar and beat on high for 2 minutes. (Set the egg whites aside.) Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula as needed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in 2-3 additions alternating with the buttermilk. Beat in your desired amount of food coloring just until combined. I use 1-2 teaspoons gel food coloring. Vigorously whisk or beat the 4 egg whites on high speed until fluffy peaks form as pictured above, about 3 minutes. Gently fold into cake batter. The batter will be silky and slightly thick.
- Divide batter between cake pans. Bake for 30-32 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the cakes need a little longer as determined by wet crumbs on the toothpick, bake for longer. However, careful not to overbake as the cakes may dry out. Remove cakes from the oven and cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt. Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes until completely combined and creamy. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or an extra pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. Frosting should be soft, but not runny.
- Assemble and frost: Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard or crumble over finished cake. Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread remaining frosting all over the top and sides. I always use an icing spatula and bench scraper for the frosting. I used Wilton piping tip #12 for decoration around the top.
- Refrigerate cake for at least 30-60 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 10 minutes before assembling and frosting.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Round Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Red Gel Food Coloring or Beet Powder | Silicone Spatula | Cooling Rack | Cake Stand, Serving Plate, or Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Bench Scraper | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton Piping Tip #12 | Cake Carrier (for storing cake)
- Cake Flour: For best texture and taste, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I have many more recipes using it. If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, you can make a DIY cake flour substitute.
- Vinegar: The vinegar helps brighten the red color. Don’t get scared, a touch of vinegar is normal in red velvet desserts! You can’t taste it.
- Why is everything at room temperature? When everything is near the same temperature, they mix together easily, evenly, and produce a uniform texture. It’s important!
- Food Coloring: The amount of red food coloring is up to you. I tested with varying amounts. To get the dark red color you see here, use 2 teaspoons of gel food coloring. You could use liquid food coloring too, but gel food coloring is more potent. You’ll need at least 1 Tablespoon of liquid. Dye the batter until you are pleased with the color. Use beet powder for a natural alternative (mix 1/2 teaspoon beet powder with 2 teaspoons of water before adding) or leave the food coloring out completely.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is a key ingredient and flavor in this recipe. You can use low fat or full fat. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make your own sour milk. To do so, add 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup. Add enough regular milk (whole milk is best) to make 1 cup. Stir the two together, then let it sit for 5 minutes before using.
- Sheet Cake: This batter fits nicely into a 9×13-inch cake pan or 12×17-inch sheet pan. Same oven temperature. Bake for about 40-45 minutes or 20-25 minutes, respectively. Keep your eye on the cake and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
- 3 Layer Cake: Prepare 3 9-inch cake pans in step 1 and divide the batter evenly between the pans. Bake for about 22-25 minutes.
- Bundt Cake: This cake batter fits into a 10-cup or larger bundt pan. I’m unsure of the exact bake time (likely around an hour), but use a toothpick to test for doneness. Same oven temperature.
- Cupcakes: You can use this cake batter for 2-3 dozen cupcakes. Fill cupcake liners 1/2 – 2/3 of the way full. Bake for 20-21 minutes or until the tops of the cupcakes spring back when gently touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Use my red velvet cupcakes recipe if you need fewer.
Recipe originally published on Sally’s Baking Recipes in 2015.
Need something smaller? Here are my red velvet cupcakes!
I followed your recipe as perfectly as possible (warm ingredients with patience, scooped and leveled flour, leveled everything, etc). My cake still sunk in the middle. It also took about 8-10 minutes longer to cook. As a note, I do live at an elevation of around 7,000 feet. What can I do to fix the center falling the next time and can that be used with any of your other recipes? My daughters pick out birthday cakes often from your pictures and I’d like to make them beautiful cakes as well as ones that taste yummy.
Hi Sara! Though I don’t live at high altitude to test this, I know that cakes often require more flour. I recommend making the adjustements necessary. Many readers who live at high altitude have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
Thanks Sally for this recipe, this is my first time doing this and I had to coz I loved the outcome. The cake was moist and tasted great. This is my favourite and go to recipe. Did I say thank you thank you
Hi Sally!
Do I have to use a block cream cheese? I can’t get a hold of one, the only cream cheeses I can get come in pints and are creamy, I’m wondering if is there any difference?
Hi Ben, In the U.S. block cream cheese is very different than the tubs and is the only cream cheese that will work for frosting. I have been told my readers outside the U.S. that cream cheese in a tub is different from ours and can work, but I have not tested it. Please let me know if you try!
I tried this for the first time last night and although my silly self forgot to add the vanilla (LOL), it was still good. Even without the vanilla, it still had flavor. I didn’t even realize I forgot it until I was putting everything away. I panicked, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. This was my first time separating the egg whites and folding them in. This cake was light, fluffy and moist. I will definitely try this with my vanilla cake to see if that helps because they always come out dense and dry to me. Thanks!!
Absolutely love this recipe!
I’m not a baking expert and only occasionally make a cake and this turned out beautifully! I’m going to use your tip of beating whites separately for every cake from now on. Thank you for sharing!
Just curious – how much colouring do you use? My cake is gorgeous but I used more than half the bottle I think . Don’t think I’ve ever used that much food colouring in one recipe ever lol
Hi. Sally. I am new to the baking world and have tried to bake from scratch only a couple of times and failed. This cake cake out GREAT. The texture was perfect and moist. I used Philadelphia cream cheese as some others and found it was runny as well. I think I needed a little more depth in the taste so I will probably use a little more Coco powder. Also, I had no unsalted butter so I just used my regular butter. What is the difference in the cake with the butter? THANK YOU ALOT FOR THIS RECIPE!!
Thank you for this recipe! I made this for my soon to be husband and he said, “Best Valentines Day ever” after he took his first bite! The cake was moist, and the frosting was amazing! I don’t even like cream cheese frosting, but now I can make the very best kind. Everyone in our house was melting with every bite. You’re awesome, Sally! Thank you for helping us shine on Valentines Day.
Sadly, mine came out a bit dry as well. Could it be because I used powdered buttermilk mixed with water instead of the real stuff? I beat the egg whites for 3 minutes as instructed. I took the cake out at the recommended time, but the center collapsed a little, so I baked it for another 3 minutes. Good flavor though.
Hi, made this for work colleagues for valentine’s Day. They have already requested another. Fantastic recipe and instructions. Thanks, Carl
The cake was DELICIOUS, with a soft, just right crumb. I did add a third tablespoon of (dark) cocoa powder. Yum! It was perfect.
Thanks for sharing this recipe, Sally. I’m going to give it a go as I had given up after a few attempts a few years ago!! The colour was a problem even though I used beetroot. I’m going to try the gel colouring this time, fingers crossed it’ll work!
Cheers
Hi Sally, I’m wondering if I can half the recipe. I’m making this cake for just two people. Thanks
Hi Rachel, Yes you can cut the recipe in half for a single layer cake. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, I tried your cake receipe thrice and it turned out good. If I were to convert this receipe to Swiss rolls, how would the measurement work? Thanks in advance
Hi Kaya! If you’re interested, here’s my red velvet cake roll recipe.
Thank u so much Sally. Can’t wait to try this receipe.
I want to make these into cake pops! Do you think I should halve the amount of frosting? I am using your vanilla cake pop recipe as a guideline. Thanks!
Hi Kayla! Halving the frosting (or even reducing more) sounds about right for this amount of cake to make the cake pops.
I baked this cake on a whim last night and I am SO glad I did. I baked it in a Bundt pan because I’m lazy and didn’t want to deal with frosting all those layers. I also used pink gel coloring because it turns out I don’t have any red (oops) It took about 55 minutes and came out perfect! I drizzled it with a cream cheese glaze, and couldn’t stop myself from eating two slices for breakfast perfectly velvety and flavorful. This cake puts store bought red velvet to shame.
Hi Sally! You are the best and this recipe is incredible! I have one problem I’m struggling with…icing a cake. I’m so bad at it. I try to put the icing on and crumbs go everywhere or I can’t get the crumb layer right. I have no idea what I’m doing here. It’s comical. Everything tastes great but it’s so messed up. Any links/ blogs/videos that you have to help me??
Thanks!
Hi Cherie, I’m so glad you enjoy this recipe! You can watch me frost this cake in the video above, starting around the two and a half minute mark. You can also watch me frost my Naked Cake which is exactly how you would do a crumb coat.
Hey Sally I love this cake and is my go-to red velvet recipe. My only issue is with the cream cheese frosting for some reason the block style cream cheese doesn’t seem to exist in the UK and everytime I use normal Philadelphia or non branded stuff it ends up very runny. Any ideas on how to solve this? I have found this post which suggests replacing half the cream cheese with butter but will that work, I’ve also considered adding mascarpone but I’m worried what this would do?
Hi Grant, I’m so glad you enjoy this cake recipe! From what I understand, spreadable cream cheese sold in a tub in countries outside of the US is a little different from the spreadable cream cheese in the US. It’s thicker, sturdier, and more solid and should be OK to make frosting. I have no experience with it, but this is what I’ve heard from other non-US readers.
Hi Grant. I have the same problem here in Germany. The frosting made with Philadelphia is quite runny. The only creme cheese available in blocks is Kiri. This one should be available in the UK too. It is not as good as the block creme cheese in the USA but better than the other products. It also helps a bit to use 250g of Mascarpone instead of creme cheese and it is important to put the mixture back in the fridge for about 20 minutes before applying it to the cake.
Good flavor but very dry which I’m guessing is from the egg white. I baked it for a customer. I had to use a soaking syrup. They loved the cake but if it wasn’t for the syrup things may not have turned out so well. I’m wondering if the addition of sour cream to the batter would help? I would love your thoughts on this.
Hi Lisa, You are still using the egg yolks in step 3. The yolks combined with the oil should keep this cake very moist! If you try it again, you can bake it for a few minutes less if you think it dried out from being over-baked.
Oh, greatness, I made this cake today prior to Valentine’s day, I have halved the ingredients because I was not sure of myself with the oil ingredient, but believe me, I just have a super moist yummy cake. Now on valentine, I will not deduct or add anything., Thanks Sally, another hit!
Excellent recipe! I have made several of your cake recipes and they all have come out beautifully so far…
I made a 10 inch round cake (1.5 x recipe), torted each layer for 4 layers, filled with your chocolate cream cheese frosting (heavenly!) and frosted the outside with ermine frosting.
This cake was one of the softest, fluffiest cakes I have made. Rave reviews all around. Will make again, thank you!
Hi Sally,
I made this a couple weeks ago and I would like to make a small cake for my husband. Can I half the ingredients to get a smaller cake for him. I am wanting to do a 4in cake.
Thanks
Hi Janelle, My red velvet cupcake recipe fits perfectly into three 6-inch pans, but I have not tested this in 4 inch pans. You can use my post on Cake Pan Sizes and Conversions to figure out exactly how much batter you will need and scale the recipe accordingly.
Hi, You’ve probably answered this question already and I have read your cake pan article but if I were to divide the batter into 3 8-inch rounds would the cooking time be the same like in your original recipe using 2-9inch?
Hi Sofia, the bake time would either be the same or shorter. Begin checking at 24 minutes and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Hi Sally,
I want to use this cream cheese frosting with your chocolate tuxedo cake recipe in place of the white chocolate ganache. Would this cream cheese frosting hold up well if I added fresh raspberries to it?
Thanks!
That sounds delicious, Diana! You have a few options – you can try to gently fold the *dry* raspberries into the frosting after it’s mixed, you can put down a layer of the frosting and then top with a layer of fresh berries, or you can add the powder from freeze dried raspberries into your frosting (like I do with the frosting on my strawberry cake).
I’ve made this twice now- both turned out amazing! Super moist and great flavor. My only caveat would be to add more food coloring. I tried two teaspoons of gel food coloring the first time and it was still a light red. Then the second time I switched to liquid food coloring but I still only used two teaspoons and got a similar result. I’ve seen other recipes call for two tablespoons, so I’m going to try that on my next attempt to get that rich color.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi sally I want to make this great red velvet cake any time soon. Can the recipe be doubled or halved please? Also, must I whip the egg whites for the cake to come out perfectly because I don’t have a mixer. Thanks
Hi Khear, You can cut this recipe in half but I do not recommend doubling it. For the best texture make it twice instead of doubling so that you do not over or under mix the batter. The light and velvety texture comes from the the whipped egg whites. You can certainly try to whip them by hand with a whisk but it will take a good bit of arm muscle.
Hello, Sally.
Do you have any advice on making this in a half sheet pan – as far as maybe doubling the recipe? – and baking time?
Thank you,
Sally G.
Hi Sally, See the recipe notes on how to make this in a 9×13 inch cake pan or 12×17 inch sheet pan. For other sizes you can use my post Cake Pan Sizes and Conversions to help you figure out exactly how much batter you will need.
Hi Sally,
I made the cake, but it’s not red. The flavor and the cake itself is incredible, but not red. I used the gel food coloring. What can I do the next time to get the red color?
I am enjoying your recipes so much. You always give such clear instructions, and I try to follow them to the tee. I made your red velvet cake for a meeting I was going to, and although I’m more of a cookie fan than cake person, everyone thought it was delicious. I made the cake in a 13x 9 pan, and the question I have is about the frosting. I used your cream cheese frosting, but for some reason it didn’t adhere to the top of the cake very well… you could practically peel it off. I put the cake in the refrigerator after I frosted it before taking it to the meeting; could that have been my problem?
I’m so happy you tried this cake and that it was a hit at your meeting! Before you frosted the cake, was it dry to the touch? If it was wet on top (either from condensation or thawing) it might not adhere very well. Your frosting might also be a bit too thick to spread well on top – next time if you have this problem add a bit more cream to thin it out a little.
I’ve never made a red velvet cake before, and am very excited to make this on the request of a colleague. I have allergies to a number of food colourings; would this cake tolerate the addition of beetroot juice to give it some colour? Appreciate it might not be as vibrant but I’m hoping it’d still be reddish! Thanks in advance.
Hi Alex, For natural coloring, use beet powder instead of the juice. If you don’t want to use food coloring, leave it out! The cake will have the same flavor and be a lovely shade of cocoa. I have a link above in the post to beetroot powder. Enjoy!
Hi Sally. I made your red velvet cake in a rose bundt pan but it overflowed. I just cut the excess off. Otherwise it was very delicious! I’d like to make them into cupcakes. How many do you think it will make, bake at same temp, and how many minutes?
Hi Gayle, I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe! For cupcakes you can simply follow my red velvet cupcakes recipe!
Made this today for my sister’s birthday and oh my was a total success. Thank you for sharing. For the icing, I put a dash of Orange juice and made this into a 4 layer cake. Devine. Thank you again