After many requests, and blogging about this cake ad nauseum, I am finally posting the recipe. It was truly just inertia that prevented me from doing so earlier. I can't even say it was laziness -- after all, how hard is it to copy and paste?
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| Red on red; the batter after the food coloring is added. |
My recipe is a (very) slight variation on one developed by Arthur Schwartz who posted it to his website, foodmaven.com, a few years ago. It is a true crowd pleaser. No matter how many other things I bake, I am constantly besieged with requests for this cake. This is the recipe I used when I baked and sold cakes to some local cafes for a few years. I hardly made any money, but the ooohs and aaaahs I got when I dropped off the cakes were priceless.
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| The "essential" wet (glass of wine) and dry ingredients. |
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| Almost done! |
Red Velvet Cake
2 1/4 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons to 1 bottle red food coloring
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup plus one tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoons to 1 bottle red food coloring
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 cup buttermilk
Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa. Set aside.
In another mixing bowl, beat the sugar and oil together until well blended. A standing or hand-held mixer works best for this.
Add eggs, one at a time, blending well between additions. (Blend the last one in until the mixture is smooth.)
Blend in food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar. Scrape bowl down with a rubber spatula.
Alternately blend in flour and buttermilk , (starting and ending with the flour) using about a third of each at a time and scraping sides of bowl a couple of times. Make sure not to overbeat or use the electric mixer on high -- this will toughen the cake.
Immediately pour into prepared pans and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
On a wire rack, cool cakes in pans for 5 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on rack.
Fill and frost.
Cream Cheese Frosting
1 8-ounce package cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (at room temperature)
16 ounces confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk, as needed
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter (at room temperature)
16 ounces confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Milk, as needed
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
Add butter and continue to beat smooth and well incorporated with the cream cheese.
Beat in the sugar a little at a time, then the vanilla.
If frosting is too thick to spread easily, beat in cold milk a tablespoon or so at a time until of spreading consistency.
You can sift cocoa powder and cinnamon atop the cake, if you like.
Serve and feel the love.
You can sift cocoa powder and cinnamon atop the cake, if you like.
Serve and feel the love.
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| Pinkalicious: A version with three layers and pink frosting. |
Well...I made the cake for my mom's birthday and it was great!! It seemed actually much easier to make and tasted a lot better than the other recipe I had. Thanks so much for posting.
ReplyDeleteMelanie W.
Melanie -- So glad you made it. I do think this recipe is a real winner.
ReplyDeleteYum, yum! I am glad that I found this recipe. I love red velvet cake and will try this recipe soon. Don't you just love your Kitchen Aid mixer. I have the same professional one also in red. I love it.
ReplyDeleteI would be lost without my Kitchen Aid. Or else have one really, really strong arm! I bought mine refurbished and it's worked really well. Thanks for writing and do try this recipe and then tell me if it's your favorite.
DeleteThis cake would also be good with the White Icing/Gravy Icing you posted with Betty's Chocolate Cake. :) :) :) Cakes with this icing need to be stored in the refrigerator. :) :) :)
ReplyDeleteI did read somewhere that a lot of southern folks use this type of icing on red velvet cakes. But, as one who thinks refrigeration is overrated, I'll tell you that I don't refrigerate this cake (even with the cream cheese frosting) and have never had a problem! Sometimes, keeping cakes in the fridge -- less so this cake, but especially butter cakes -- does some irreparable harm to the texture of the cake. So I'm going to live dangerously, at least for now. Thanks for writing.
DeleteSusan; I have meant to write for many months but time just flies so quickly. My family LOVES Red Velvet Cake. Your recipe is the best I have ever tasted. Thank you for sharing. Also, thank you for many happy hours of reading and introducing many long forgotten recipes.
ReplyDeleteTondja
Thant you so much for this red velvet cake recipe,iam going to bake this soon,again thanks!!!!! Rosa
DeleteI'd like to use this recipe for a lamb cake, and the mold says I need 5 cups of batter. Do you think I should double this recipe?
ReplyDeleteDoubt you'd have enough. Why not increase the recipe by 50 percent, or even double it? This way, you can be sure you have enough and any extra can be made into cupcakes.
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ReplyDeleteThe pink alicious version looks dark did u use less food coloring lost my original recipe is 21/2 too much flour
ReplyDeleteI may have used some red food coloring I bought in bulk from an internet supply company.But I typically use about 1/2 a bottle of the supermarket brand. The color may also look dark because of my photography "skills." And 2 1/2 cups of flour is fine.
DeleteHere's what we did with the red velvet ♥... http://broomstix.blogspot.com/2013/04/maypole-cake-for-beltane.html
ReplyDeleteI am making cupcakes for a baby shower and I want to make red velvet ones. How many cupcakes will this recipe make? Also, I am not the neatest baker. What can I use to get the frosting to look neat? I was thinking a frosting bag with some kind of tip at the end. Any ideas? Thanks
ReplyDeleteThe recipe should make about 20 cupcakes, maybe 24 if you stretch it a bit. Putting frosting in a pastry bag (even a plastic bag with a hole cut in the end for the tip) is a great idea. You can get a star tip to make it a bit fancier, but even a plain tip would be nice and make quicker work of frosting. Just start in the center of the cupcake and work your way (in circle) outward. Good luck!
DeleteI am making cupcakes for a baby shower and I want to make red velvets ones. How many cupcakes would this recipe make? However, I am not the neatest person when it comes to decorating, so for the frosting what would be the best tools to use? I was thinking a frosting bag with a tool at the end? Any ideas or tips would be greatly appreciated!
ReplyDeleteThanks
I will be trying this cake on Sunday for a friends birthday. I had never made a Red Velvet cake before I met her and I've made 2-3 now but none have been amazing. I'm hoping this one will be the winner!
ReplyDeleteI don't think you'll be disappointed, Kristin. This is a great recipe. Good luck.
DeleteWhat happened to the wine was thT part of the mixture
ReplyDeleteThe wine goes in the cook, not the cake!
DeleteWhat a wonderful red velvet recipe. And, it's nice and simple. I put the batter in a heavy bundt pan @ 325 degrees for 55 minutes. Came out absolutely beautiful. My 'normal' red velvet is a boxed version with added sour cream and chocolate pudding mix, and store-bought icing. It was a pleasure finding and creating this wonderful cake. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteDo you use self raising flour? or all purpose ? does this recipe doesn't need baking powder? I'd love to try it out.
ReplyDeleteI use all-purpose flour and just noticed (thanks to your comment) that there is no baking powder! But I assure you, it does rise, and beautifully. It's truly foolproof!
DeleteThank you Susan, I am about to do it right now! thanks to your recipe I know how can I make cake flour http://frugalliving.about.com/od/makeyourowningredients/r/Cake_Flour_Sub.htm, Thanks for the response, take care I will let you know how it turns out! KISS!
DeleteThis Recipe it's DELICIOUS!!!!!!!
DeleteSo you DON'T need baking powder for this recipe?
DeleteNo baking powder needed!
DeleteSo glad it turned out well! It is a great recipe, a real crowd pleaser.
DeleteThe reaction of the soda and vinegar causes the cake to rise. Think back to your science projects days and making volcanoes!
DeleteAny high altitude adjustments?
ReplyDeleteSo sorry, no. Hopefully there's some formula that you can apply? Good luck!
DeleteCan I omit the white distilled vinegar ?? and replace vegetable oil with butter ??
ReplyDeleteI would not omit the white vinegar, as it acts as an acid to react with the baking soda. You can't taste it, but it helps the cake rise, etc. You can use other kinds of vinegar if you don't want to use the white one. And as much as I'm a fan of butter cakes, the texture and mouth feel of this cake is much improved with oil. You can certainly find red velvet cake recipes with butter on the internet if you're intent on using butter.
DeleteCan I use regular milk, or does it have to be buttermilk?
ReplyDeleteIt should be buttermilk, as that in combination with the baking soda, causes some chemical reaction that you want to happen. If you haven't any buttermilk on hand you can make your own by adding some lemon juice to whole milk and letting it sit for five minutes or so until it thickens. You can use Google to find the correct the ratio of lemon juice (or even vinegar) to milk. I've done this and it works fine. The commercial buttermilk we buy in the supermarket is not real buttermilk at all, but I use it unless I can find the real stuff at a farmer's market or specialty store like Saxelby's Cheese in NYC. Good luck!
DeleteI just made this cake for my daughter's birthday -excellent results. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteHave I missed something how does a three layer cake only have two 9 inch pans in reci
ReplyDeleteThe recipe is for a two-layer cake, but when I did the original post, I added a picture at the end of the post showing a three-layer version (with increased batter) that I made for a contest. Sorry for the confusion!
DeleteCan i use marshmallow icing on this cake?
ReplyDeleteSure you can.
Deleteyou are very special to put your recipe out there this will be my go to from now on love red velvet cakes mascarpone cream cheese is also really good. make your own Buttermilk very easy.
ReplyDeletedoes this cake freeze well?
ReplyDeleteI've frozen the layers (unfrosted) well wrapped in plastic wrap and it's worked well. Though I believe I just had them in the freezer for about two weeks. I do not think the frosting would freeze well.
DeleteYou can get Red Velvet Cakes, cupcakes, frozen yogurt and lattes. The cake picked up its fame just during the 20 the century yet it they originally showed up during 1800s. red velvet cake
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