Velvet Cake Any Color Recipes

BLACK VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 F/ 175 C. Line and grease three, eight-inch cake pans, or four, seven-inch pans.
• Combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 cups sugar, 3/4 cup black cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1 tsp of salt in a large bowl. Whisk together until combined.
• In a separate, medium-sized bowl, add 1 cup of hot water and 2 tsp instant espresso or coffee. Stir until dissolved.
• Add in 1 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup oil, 2 eggs and 2 tsp vanilla extract into the instant espresso mixture. Give the mixture a quick stir to combine the ingredients.
• Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix by hand until fully incorporated. The batter will be on the thin side, but that's the consistency you're after!
• Divide the batter evenly between the cake pans, and bake for about 24-27 minutes. I like to use a kitchen scale to weigh the pans. It makes sure each pan has the exact same amount of batter and helps the cake layers bake up to be the same height.
• Remove the cake layers from the oven and let them cool in the pans for about 10 minutes. Gently run an offset spatula around the rim of the cake pans to loosen them, then flip them into wire racks to finish cooling.
• Once cooled, use a serrated knife to level the top of each cake layer. If you make these in advance, wrap and freeze them at this point.
• Beat the butter on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment until smooth.
• Add in the sifted black cocoa, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated.
• Slowly mix in the powdered sugar. Halfway through, add in the heavy cream to make the frosting easier to mix.
• Mix in the cooled, melted dark chocolate on a low speed until the ingredients are fully incorporated and the desired consistency is reached.
• If you want the buttercream to be a darker shade of black, min in a squirt of black gel food coloring. Then cover with plastic wrap to prevent crusting and set aside.
• Stack and frost cake layers on a greaseproof cake board, using a dab of frosting to help stick the first cake layer to the board.
• Add an even layer of buttercream between each cake layer with a large offset spatula.
• Add a thin coat of frosting around the cake, fully covering the cake layers.
• Smooth using a bench scraper, then chill the cake in the fridge (30 minutes) or freezer (10 minutes) until the frosting is firm to the touch.
• Add a second, thicker layer of frosting to the cake, and smooth using a bench scraper. Then decorate as desired and enjoy!

WHITE VELVET BUTTERMILK CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• NOTE: It is SUPER IMPORTANT that all the room temperature ingredients listed above are room temperature and measured by weight so that the ingredients mix and incorporate correctly. Heat oven to 335º F/168º C - 350º F/177º C. I tend to use lower setting to prevent my cakes from getting too dark on the outside before the inside is done baking.
• Prepare two 8"x2" (or three 6") cake pans (with a little leftover batter) with cake goop or preferred pan spray. Fill your pans about 3/4 of the way full of batter.
• Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of .a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix 10 seconds to combine.
• Combine 1/2 cup of the milk and the oil together and set aside.
• Combine the remaining milk, egg whites and vanilla together, whisk to break up the eggs and set aside.
• Add your softened butter to the dry ingredients and mix on low until mixture resembles a coarse sand (about 30 seconds). Add in your milk/oil mixture and let mix until dry ingredients are moistened and then bump up to med (setting 4 on my kitchenaid) and let mix for 2 minutes to develop the cakes structure. If you don't let your cake mix on this step your cake could collapse.
• Scrape your bowl and then reduce speed to low. Add in your egg white mixture in three batches, letting the batter mix for 15 seconds between additions.
• Scrape down the sides again to make sure everything has incorporated then pour into prepared pans. Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out cleanly but the cake has not begun to shrink yet from the sides of the pan. IMMEDIATELY TAP PAN FIRMLY on countertop once to release the steam from the cake. This stops the cake from shrinking.
• Let cakes cool for 10 minutes inside the pan before flipping them out. The cake will shrink a bit and that is normal. Flip onto a cooling rack and let cool fully. I chill my cakes before handling or you can wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them to trap moisture in the cake. Thaw on the countertop while still wrapped before frosting.

VELVET CAKE - ANY COLOR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F
• Cream shortening, sugar and eggs.
• Make a paste of food coloring and cocoa and add to cream mixture.
• Add buttermilk alternating with flour and salt.
• Add vanilla.
• Add soda to vinegar and blend into the batter.
• Adjust color.
• Pour into 2 8" round cake pans. If not silicone, grease and flour first.
• Bake for 24-30 minutes.
• Cool on a rack.
• For the frosting, add milk to flour slowly and mix til smooth.
• Cook milk and flour until very thick, stirring constantly.
• Cool completely.
• Cream sugar, butter and vanilla until flutty.
• Add cooked mixture and beat on high until VERY fluffy.
• It will look and taste like whipped cream.
• Color frosting, if desired. Leaving it white is nice. Contrasting color is good. Same color if you are looking for an effect.
• Split layers, fill and frost.