The Best Red Velvet Cake Recipes

GRANDMA'S RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in food coloring, vinegar and vanilla. In another bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beating well after each addition., Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Cool layers 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. , For frosting, combine water and cornstarch in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until thickened and opaque, 2-3 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Beat butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Beat in cornstarch mixture. Gradually add confectioners' sugar; beat until light and fluffy. Spread between layers and over top and sides of cake.

THE BEST RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds and lightly coat the paper with nonstick spray.
• Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a medium bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, food coloring and vanilla in a second medium bowl.
• Beat the granulated sugar, brown sugar and butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment (or a large bowl if using an electric hand mixer) on medium-high speed until very light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. With the mixer still running, slowly add the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Reduce the speed to low. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the wet ingredients, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients; mix until smooth. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
• Bake until the cakes are slightly puffed, and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the centers, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the cakes cool in their pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto the rack to cool completely.
• For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on high speed (or a large bowl if using a hand mixer) until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and gradually mix in the confectioners' sugar. Once all the sugar has been added, increase the speed to high and beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• To assemble the cake: Place one cake, domed-side down, on a platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the frosting evenly over the top. Place the remaining cake, domed-side up, on top. Spread the top with 1 1/2 cups of the frosting. Frost the sides of the cake with another 1 1/2 cups frosting and smooth out completely to make an even crumb coat. (It's ok if some of the cake shows through. This is just a base layer.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the frosting set.
• Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake, swirling decoratively. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• In a saucepan, whisk the flour into the milk over medium-low heat until it thickens. Stir it constantly, lowering the heat to low if needed. The consistency should be very thick, like mashed potatoes. This step took about 12-15 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and set the pan in a bowl of ice for 5-10 minutes to quicken the cooling process. The temperature of the mixture should be at room temperature.
• Stir in the vanilla extract.
• If you have a food processor, process the white sugar for a minute or so so that the granules become finer.
• While the mixture is cooling, cream together the butter and processed sugar using a stand mixer with the whisk attachment until light and fluffy. Do this for 5 minutes until the sugar is completely creamed and there is no graininess left.
• Add the cooled flour mixture and beat it until it all combines and looks like whipped cream. This will take about another 3-5 minutes of beating. Keep scraping the sides of the bowl while the mixture is beating together so that everything gets well incorporated. The mixture have the texture of a fluffy whipped cream. Set aside the frosting until you are ready to frost the cake.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream together the shortening and sugar.
• Add eggs and mix well.
• Add the cocoa and red color and mix again.
• Add the buttermilk, salt and flour. Mix well.
• Lastly, add the vinegar and baking soda and mix until the batter is smooth.
• Grease (with shortening) and flour two 8" round baking pans.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.
• Bake the cakes for 25-30 minutes or until the center of the cake bounces back when you touch it.
• Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes, then turn them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
• Once the cakes are cool, place one cake on a cake plate. Spread frosting on top of that layer, then place the other cake on top of the frosted cake. Use the remainder of the frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Spray two 9-inch cake pans well with nonstick cooking spray, line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper, and set aside.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Then sift the dry ingredients to remove any lumps of cocoa powder. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed for 4-5 minutes. Add the eggs and mix until fully combined, then mix in the oil, red food color, vanilla extract, and vinegar stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Mix in the dry ingredients in three additions alternating with the buttermilk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Make sure to mix each addition until just combined and be careful not to over mix the batter.
• Evenly distribute the cake batter between the two prepared cake pans and spread the batter around into one even layer. Tap the pans on the counter 2-3 times to remove any air bubbles from the cakes.
• Bake at 350°F (177°C) for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Carefully remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool in the pans for 15-20 minutes. Then, carefully remove the cakes from the cake pans and place on the wire rack to cool completely.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the butter and mix for about 30 seconds-1 minute until well combined and smooth.
• Mix in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue mixing until fully combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
• Level the tops of each cake with a knife or cake leveler. Place one of the cake layers on a cake stand or plate, top with a layer of frosting, and smooth it out into one even layer. Place the second layer on top, then use the remaining frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake.

THE BEST RED VELVET CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and unsweetened cocoa into a large mixing bowl and sift/whisk together.
• In a separate bowl, crack open the eggs, and beat them.
• Pour the sugar, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract into the bowl with the eggs, and mix until everything is nice and creamy.
• Slowly combine the wet, ingredients with dry ingredient. Be sure to mix on a low speed!
• Once everything is manageable, switch from mixing the cake batter to folding it.
• Next, add it the vinegar, and red food coloring.
• Fold in until all of the cake batter is red, and there are no streaks.
• Spray two 9 inch cake pans with baking spray, OR grease and flour them.
• Pour an equal amount of cake batter into each cake pan.
• Shake and tap the pans to release any air bubbles, then let sit for 5 minutes.
• Bake each cake on 325 F, for 25-30 minutes.
• Remove the cakes from the cake pans, and place them on cooling racks.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting.
• In a large bowl combine the butter, and cream cheese.
• Cream the two ingredients together, then slowly adding in the powdered sugar, but only 1 cup at a time.
• Add in the vanilla extract, and milk.
• Mix until the frosting is nice and creamy
• Once the cakes are completely cool, frost them.

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• For the Red Velvet Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round layer cake pans.
• Sift flour, baking soda and coco together. Beat sugar and eggs together in a large bowl.
• In a separate bowl mix together oil, vinegar, food coloring, and vanilla. Add to the bowl of eggs and sugar and beat until combined.
• Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the wet mixture by alternating the buttermilk and dry ingredients. Always start with the flour and end with the flour.
• Pour batter into pans. Tap them on the table to level out the batter and release air bubbles. Bake for 25 minutes or until a cake tester inserted near the middle comes out clean but be careful not to over bake or you'll end up with a dry cake.
• Let layers cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before turning out of pan. Cool completely before frosting.
• For the cream cheese frosting: This is the "official" cream cheese frosting recipe but we always use about 1 1/2 recipes on each cake to cover it well.
• Let margarine and cream cheese soften to room temperature. Cream well. Add sugar and beat until mixed but not so much that the frosting becomes "loose". Add vanilla and nuts. Spread between layers and on top and sides of cake.