Red velvet cake
Two tender red layers of buttermilk cake with a hint of cocoa, sandwiched and covered with tangy cream cheese frosting.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 32 min
- Rest
- 2 hr
- Total
- 3 hr 12 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- No chilli
- Cost
- A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Red velvet is a buttermilk layer cake with a small amount of cocoa, a little vinegar, and enough red colouring to make it the colour it is known for. It is not a chocolate cake. The cocoa is a background note, and the buttermilk, vinegar and oil make a soft, fine, slightly tangy crumb, which is the velvet. This version bakes two 23 cm layers and fills and covers them with cream cheese frosting, which is now the standard. Use full-fat block cream cheese straight from the fridge, or the frosting goes runny. Let the layers cool completely before you frost them.
What you'll need
16 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.
- Cake
- Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- Wheat flour315 g
- Sugar300 g
- Cocoa powder, natural, unsweetened30 ml
- Baking soda4.9 ml
- Salt4.9 ml
- Neutral oil300 ml
- Buttermilk, at room temperature240 ml
- Egg, at room temperature2
- Red food colouring, liquid, or 1 to 2 tsp gel30 ml
- Vanilla, extract4.9 ml
- Vinegar, white4.9 ml
Frosting
- Cream cheese, full-fat block, cold450 g
- Butter, unsalted, soft115 g
- Icing sugar, sifted400 g
- Vanilla, extract9.9 ml
- Salt1 pinch
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Heat the oven to 175°C. Grease two 23 cm round cake tins and line the bases with baking paper.
5 min175°C
Step 2
Whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl whisk the oil, buttermilk, eggs, red colouring, vanilla and vinegar. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk for about a minute until smooth.
5 min
Step 3
Divide the batter between the tins and bake for 28 to 32 minutes, until the tops spring back and a skewer comes out clean. Cool ten minutes in the tins, turn out onto a rack and cool completely, at least an hour.
32 min175°C
Step 4
For the frosting, beat the butter until smooth, add the cold cream cheese and beat just until combined. Add the icing sugar, vanilla and salt, mix on low until it comes together, then beat one minute until fluffy.
6 min
Watch: Beating cream cheese too long makes it thin and soupy. Stop as soon as it is smooth.
Step 5
Trim the domed tops level if needed and keep the crumbs. Set one layer on a plate, spread over a third of the frosting, and put the second layer on top, cut side down. Spread a thin coat of frosting all over and chill 20 minutes, then cover with the rest. Press the crumbs onto the sides if you like.
25 min
Step 6
Chill for 30 minutes to set, then serve at cool room temperature. Store leftovers in the fridge.
30 min
Nutrition
Per serving · estimate
- Calories
- 889 kcal
- Protein
- 6.3 g
- Carbs
- 80.7 g
- Fat
- 61.5 g
- Saturated fat
- 25.6 g
- Fibre
- 0.7 g
- Sugar
- 60.2 g
- Sodium
- 330 mg
Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.
Allergens
Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.
- Wheat
- Milk
- Eggs
- Vegetarian
- Nut-free
Adapt this recipe
The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 12 November.
Substitutions
Cream cheese frosting → Ermine frosting
Cook 40 g flour with 250 ml milk to a thick paste, cool, then beat into 225 g butter creamed with 200 g sugar. Lighter and less tangy; the older Southern choice.
Red food colouring → Beetroot powder
Gives a dull maroon rather than scarlet. The cake tastes the same. Stories of wartime beetroot red velvet are more legend than record.
Tips
- Gel colouring gives a deeper red with no bitterness. Supermarket liquid colouring needs the full two tablespoons.
- The cake keeps three days in the fridge. Take it out 30 minutes before serving so the crumb softens.
- For cupcakes, fill 24 lined cups two-thirds full and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
History & culture
Red velvet is a Southern celebration cake, made for Christmas, Valentine's Day, church anniversaries and weddings, often as the groom's cake. In Black American families it is a fixture of holiday and Juneteenth tables, where red foods carry meaning. Since the cupcake boom of the 2000s it has also turned up as a flavour of everything from pancakes to lattes.
Velvet cakes were popular in the late 1800s, named for their soft crumb. Natural cocoa reacting with buttermilk gave some a reddish tinge, but the bright red came from the Adams Extract company of Texas, which sold food colouring with printed recipes from the late 1930s. New York's Waldorf-Astoria also claims the cake, the story goes. The 1989 film Steel Magnolias revived it, with an armadillo-shaped groom's cake.
Traditional — Mid-century red velvet was often covered in ermine frosting, a cooked flour-and-milk base beaten with butter and sugar. Cream cheese frosting took over later in the 20th century and is written here. Some Southern recipes use butter in the cake instead of oil. Check the colouring is not carmine if baking for vegetarians.
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.
How long does Red velvet cake take?
3 hr 12 min all in — 40 min prep, 32 min cook, 2 hr rest. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 12 slices. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
No chilli.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Milk, Eggs. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Vegetarian, Nut-free.
9 more questionsFewer questions
What does it cost to cook?
A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Mixing bowl, Oven, Kitchen scale.
How much salt do I put in?
The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.
How much sugar?
300 g of Sugar.
How much vinegar?
1 tsp (white) of Vinegar.
What can I use instead?
Cream cheese frosting → Ermine frosting. Cook 40 g flour with 250 ml milk to a thick paste, cool, then beat into 225 g butter creamed with 200 g sugar. Lighter and less tangy; the older Southern choice. Red food colouring → Beetroot powder. Gives a dull maroon rather than scarlet. The cake tastes the same. Stories of wartime beetroot red velvet are more legend than record.
What should I watch for?
Beating cream cheese too long makes it thin and soupy. Stop as soon as it is smooth.
Any tips from this recipe?
Gel colouring gives a deeper red with no bitterness. Supermarket liquid colouring needs the full two tablespoons. The cake keeps three days in the fridge. Take it out 30 minutes before serving so the crumb softens. For cupcakes, fill 24 lined cups two-thirds full and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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