Red Velvet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
A red velvet cake thats moist with a tender crumb, and a perfect velvety texture. Pair with cream cheese frosting for the perfect tangy and tender flavor.
Servings 24
Equipment
- 1 large mixing bowl
- Stand mixer or hand mixer
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature (226g or 2 sticks)
- 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 1 ¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature (398g)
- 2 squirts red gel food coloring
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter at room temperature (113 g or 1 stick)
- 1 package full fat cream cheese at room temperature (8 oz or 226g)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 3 ¾ cups powdered sugar (confectioners sugar) (450g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (177℃). Prepare your 9-in round cake pans by tracing the pans on parchment paper and cutting out 9-in rounds. Place parchment rounds on the bottom of the pans and spray the sides with cooking spray. Or prepare pans how you prefer.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk then set aside.
- In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute on high speed. Scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
- Add the sugar and cream together for 2 minutes on high. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the vanilla and eggs, one egg at a time, mixing on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl again.
- Turn the speed to low and add half of the buttermilk then add half of the dry ingredients. When just incorporated, add the rest of the buttermilk and dry ingredients and mix until you see smooth batter. Add a squirt of red food gel dye and mix until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter equally into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow cakes to cool for 5 minutes. Run a knife around the cake edges to help release cakes from the pans. Be careful! The pans will be hot. Use oven mitts to turn the pans upside down onto a cooling wire rack. Lift the pans to release the cake. If you used parchment paper, peel it off and discard. Flip the cakes over and let them cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- With a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand held mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese together on high for 1 minute. Add the vanilla extract and salt and beat for 30 more seconds on high speed.
- Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on medium speed in-betweens additions. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for an additional 2 minutes on medium speed.
Notes
- Best Cake Tips: Have all the cold ingredients reach room temperature for best taste. Use a food scale to weigh ingredients for accuracy.
- Buttermilk: If you don’t have any store bought buttermilk, use my how-to make buttermilk recipe.
- Cake Batter: The batter will be slightly thin - that’s okay! Pour even amounts of batter into the cake pans and measure using a food scale for accuracy for the most even layers.
- Stacking: These cakes are okay to stack!
- Freeze: You can freeze cakes for a month as long as the are wrapped tightly. Wrap when still warm to keep in moisture.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Frosting Tips: Make sure the cream cheese and butter are room temperature. Cold cream cheese can be lumpy once whisked.
- Helpful Tools: Electric mixers whip up frostings to a smooth and creamy texture. A stand mixer with a paddle attachment is very helpful and will save you time.
- Tangy Frosting: For an even more tangy flavor, add an extra 4 oz of cream cheese.
- Quantity: This cream cheese frosting recipe makes about 3 1/2 cups - enough to fill and frost a 2 layer 9-inch cake. This recipe can be doubled or halved.