American
Red Velvet Cake
A cocoa-kissed red velvet layer cake with a tangy cream cheese frosting. The layers bake until the centers are fully set before they are stacked.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 32 min
- Total
- 1 hr 2 min
- Servings
- 12
- Difficulty
- Medium
Why you’ll love it
- A small amount of cocoa is what makes red velvet taste like itself, not like plain vanilla cake dyed red.
- Buttermilk and vinegar give the slight tang that frosting needs to lean on.
- The cakes have to cool completely or the frosting slides off.
- A clean toothpick in the center means the eggs in the batter are baked through.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
Check the ingredients you still need, then add them. If nothing is checked, the full list is added. Saved on this device.
Instructions
- 1
Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round pans and line the bottoms with parchment.
- 2
Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder.
- 3
In another bowl, whisk the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, red food coloring, and 1 tsp of the vanilla.
- 4
Stir the wet mixture into the dry mixture until the flour disappears. Stir in the vinegar. Do not eat the raw batter.
- 5
Divide the batter between the pans. Bake 28 to 32 minutes, until the tops spring back and a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- 6
Cool in the pans 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a rack.
- 7
Beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar and the remaining vanilla until the frosting is spreadable.
- 8
Frost the top of one cooled cake, set the second cake on it, and frost the outside. Slice when the frosting is set.
Pro tips
- Gel coloring is stronger. Use about 1 tsp gel if you do not have liquid red.
- Do not frost a warm cake. The frosting will melt and the layers will slide.
- If the tops dome, level them with a serrated knife once they are cool so the stack sits flat.
Easy substitutions
- vegetable oil
- canola oil
- buttermilk
- 1 cup milk plus 1 tbsp lemon juice, rested 5 minutes
- red liquid food coloring
- 1 tsp red gel food coloring
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate covered up to 4 days because of the cream cheese frosting. Let a slice sit 20 minutes before serving so it is not ice cold.
Reheating
Serve cool or at room temperature. Do not heat the frosted cake.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 504
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 58 g
- Fat
- 28 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
Moderate · Oven
You might also like
Carrot Cake
A spiced sheet cake loaded with grated carrots and finished with cream cheese frosting. It bakes until the center is set, then cools fully before the frosting goes on.
1 hr · Medium
View recipe
Cheesecake Cups
Cream cheese, sugar, and egg bake in a muffin tin over a graham crust until the edges are set and the centers still wobble slightly. They need a chill after the oven so the texture settles.
40 min · Easy
View recipe
Chocolate Layer Cake
A two-layer cocoa cake mixed with hot coffee, then filled and covered with chocolate buttercream. The coffee does not make it taste like coffee. It makes the chocolate louder.
1 hr · Medium
View recipe
Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake
A dense, fudgy chocolate cake lifted with espresso powder and no wheat flour. It slices cleanly once chilled and tastes rich in small wedges.
50 min · Medium
View recipeStill hungry?
More in the same lane, not a random mix.
Funfetti Cake
A vanilla sheet cake is folded with rainbow sprinkles and covered in buttercream. It bakes until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
57 min · Easy
View recipe
Strawberry Cheesecake
A graham crust, a baked cream-cheese filling, and a fresh strawberry topping. Pull the cake when the center reads 160°F and still jiggles, then chill it.
1 hr 30 min · Medium
View recipe
Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
Small chocolate cakes bake around a frozen ganache center that melts in the oven. The cake batter itself is baked until the eggs are set.
39 min · Medium
View recipe
Tres Leches Cake
A light sponge bakes until fully set, then soaks up evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk, and whole milk. Cold whipped cream covers the top.
1 hr · Medium
View recipeFind something else
From the kitchen
Kitchen tools we love
Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.
A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
Read the affiliate disclosure.