Today I’m sharing the most beautiful red velvet cake. This is a buttermilk-based cake that has a moist, fine “velvety” crumb and a flavor that subtly hints at chocolate, but not overwhelmingly so. And the sweet and tangy cream cheese buttercream is perfectly complementary to the soft cake. This is an easy, high altitude red velvet cake recipe, and the cake batter is so easy to make with just a bowl and whisk. I always make this cake for Christmas, since the red and white is so gorgeous for the holidays. But there’s no reason you can’t make this recipe any time of year!
You might also love my black velvet cake and white velvet cake recipes!
This site contains affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This means that I may make a small commission if you purchase a product using those links. This in no way affects my opinion of those products and services. All opinions expressed on this site are my own.
What is Red Velvet Cake?
Traditionally, red velvet cake didn’t contain any food coloring. Natural, non-alkalized cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed) reacted with the acid in the buttermilk and vinegar to create a red hue and velvety texture. These days, most people help the color along with a few drops of red gel food coloring.
Red velvet isn’t meant to taste like chocolate, so it contains very little cocoa powder. I’ve found that I prefer a bit more cocoa powder in mine, and while many recipes only use two tablespoons of cocoa in the cake, I use four tablespoons. This little difference adds a really beautiful depth of flavor to the cake, as well as masks the flavor of the food coloring, but doesn’t transform it into a chocolate cake.
Even though I grew up in the South, and red velvet cake tends to be a favorite down there, I don’t remember my mom making it much, if ever. And when I did finally taste it as an adult, it was not an instant love affair. I wasn’t sure what to think of the flavor, which struck me as rather bland, although I couldn’t argue that the cream cheese frosting was delicious. It took a few years and some recipe experimentation to learn that the first red velvet cake I tasted was not a very good one, but that when done right, it’s pretty wonderful!
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
- Cake Flour. You could use all-purpose flour, if you like, but I love the lightness of cake flour in this cake.
- Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
- Cocoa Powder. I use Dutch processed cocoa powder, and really love the Rodelle brand. It adds a subtle cocoa flavor, but the cake does not taste strongly of chocolate.
- Salt. I use coarse Kosher salt in all my baking. The salt balances the sweetness.
- Baking Soda. Leavens the cake, reacting with the acid in the vinegar and buttermilk, causing the cake to rise.
- Eggs. Add structure and richness.
- Vegetable Oil. Moisture.
- Buttermilk. Flavor, moisture and acid.
- Vinegar. Use white distilled vinegar. The extra acid gives the leavening a little boost for a good rise in this cake.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Red Gel Food Coloring. To make the cake red, of course. Without the food coloring, the cake will be a light tan color.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and a few drops of red gel food coloring.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk briefly, just until combined and smooth; don’t over-mix.
- Divide the batter between the pans and bake on the middle rack in the oven for about 25-28 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Set the cakes on a wire rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Buttercream
Everyone can agree that one of the best things about red velvet cake is the cream cheese frosting. For a sheet cake, you can make it with just cream cheese and and a little powdered sugar, but that would be far too creamy and unstable to spread onto a layer cake without it sliding off. The solution for layer cakes is a cream cheese buttercream with half butter and half cream cheese, a little more powdered sugar than I usually add to my standard buttercream recipes, and plenty of vanilla.
Making your cream cheese buttercream with half butter (or vegetable shortening) also makes it a much more stable frosting that can be piped onto your cake just as you would be able to pipe a fluffy buttercream. It seems popular to decorate red velvet cakes with crumbs of cake pressed onto the outside, but why? Maybe it’s to hint at what’s inside, but we don’t usually do this with other flavors of cake. I’m not sure why the crumb thing is a thing. I opted for some really beautiful piping on my cake, with white sugar pearls around the base.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Baking Tips
- As with everything I bake, my cakes are baked at high altitude (I live in Denver), and to achieve your own perfect results, you may need to make a few slight adjustments if you live at a lower altitude or sea level. There are many articles online that can offer advice on how to adjust your flour, sugar and leavening for various altitudes.
- Your dairy ingredients (eggs, buttermilk, butter and cream cheese) should be at room temperature for best results.
- Cake flour is best in this cake. It makes a much lighter cake than all-purpose flour does. Use the “spoon and sweep” method to measure your flour, and be sure to sift the cake flour after measuring.
- I use Rodelle Dutch processed cocoa powder in my red velvet cake. The type of cocoa powder you use will affect both the rise and the red color of the cake.
- I used Wilton Tip 1M for the piping on the cake. For the decorating, I started by chilling the cake first, so that the base coat of buttercream was firm and cold. I began with the bottom row of “swoops”, piping a row around the cake, then working my way up the sides to the top and center of the cake.
Recipe Variation: Strawberry Red Velvet Cake
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Buttercream. This cake is fantastic with strawberry cream cheese buttercream, and the natural pink color is just so pretty. Simply add 1/4 cup crushed freeze dried strawberries to the buttercream, and decorate the cake with more freeze dried strawberries.
- Strawberry Filling. You can add even more strawberry flavor with a delicious strawberry filling. See my strawberry shortcake layer cake for my strawberry filling recipe.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is red velvet cake just a chocolate cake with red food coloring?
No, not at all. It has far less cocoa powder than most chocolate cakes, so the chocolate flavor is much more subtle. And the acidity from buttermilk and vinegar gives it a unique flavor and tender texture.
What makes the cake red?
A chemical reaction between the cocoa powder, buttermilk and vinegar traditionally gives red velvet cake its signature color. A few drops of red food coloring boosts the color to really make it pop.
Which red food coloring should I use?
Be sure to use a gel food coloring, not a liquid. I use Americolor Super Red Gel Food Coloring.
Can I use regular whole milk instead of buttermilk?
Yes, you can substitute milk for buttermilk, but you should double the vinegar.
Does red velvet cake need to be refrigerated?
Because this cake is frosted with cream cheese buttercream, yes, you should keep it refrigerated overnight. Let it come to room temperature for 3-4 hours before serving.
You Might Also Like
Please check out my Amazon Shop for a curated collection of some of my favorite cake pans from trusted brands, baking tools, ingredients, pretty things and fashion finds. I recommend products that I buy and use every day!
Did you love today’s recipe? Please rate the recipe and let me know in the comments what you thought! Also, be sure to follow Curly Girl Kitchen on Instagram, and tag me when you try one of my recipes so I can see all your delicious creations!
High Altitude Red Velvet Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups cake flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup Dutch processed cocoa powder (Rodelle)
- 1 tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 ⅔ cups whole buttermilk
- 1 tbsp white distilled vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- red gel food coloring
Buttercream
- 1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 oz (1 block) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 6 – 6 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp meringue powder, optional, see notes
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste)
- 1-2 tbsp milk or cream, only if needed
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick spray.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda.
- In a separate large bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla and a few drops of red gel food coloring.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk briefly, just until combined and smooth; don’t over-mix.
- Divide the batter between the pans and bake on the middle rack in the oven for about 25-28 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and the tops spring back when gently touched.
- Set the cakes on a wire rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and cool completely before frosting.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the butter, cream cheese and shortening for several minutes until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar and meringue powder by spoonfuls, mixing on low to combine. Add the salt, vanilla and milk (if needed to slightly thin the buttercream), and whip on medium speed for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy.
- Be careful not to add too much milk; cream cheese buttercream is softer than all-butter buttercream, and needs to be thicker if you plan on piping it onto your cake.
- Fill and stack the cake layers with the buttercream, then frost all-over with a very thin crumb coat of buttercream; chill for 30 minutes. Frost (or pipe) the remaining buttercream onto the cake.
- Note that if you don't do any decorative piping, you'll have leftover frosting. Just scoop it into a freezer bag, label it, and freeze it to use later.
I made this cake over the weekend for a friend’s birthday. All agreed it was the best red velvet cake they ever had. Even my little boy who does not like cake declared it “the only cake I like.” Thank you so much for this recipe.
I am at 4980 elevation here in Colorado, and the only change I made was one of necessity. I subbed 1 cup of applesauce for the eggs due to an egg allergy in the family.
Still turned out perfectly.
Can’t thank you enough for sharing your recipes! xoxo
I just finished (the crumb coat is in the fridge) making this for my husbands birthday today. He is going to LOVE IT! In general, I do not care for Red Velvet ANYTHING but this cake is AMAZING! I am new to High Altitude baking (moved 3 weeks ago) and this was my first attempt at baking anything. Thank you for this recipe, it’s a KEEPER!
I’m so glad to hear it, and I hope he loves it!
I have made this recipe twice now and each time it domed. I live at 4500 feet. Is a little “doming” normal? They are also relatively thin layers. I use Fat Daddio 8″ round cake pans that are 3″ high. I wonder if I can fit all the batter in 2 pans and maybe it won’t dome as much??
This cake does bake with a domed top sometimes – you can see a photo of it in this mini version I made: https://curlygirlkitchen.com/high-altitude-mini-red-velvet-cake/
And I have found that less batter/smaller pans leads to more doming. When I’ve baked all the batter in a 9×13 pan for a sheet cake, or half the batter in one 9 inch pan, there’s almost no doming.
With red velvet cake, I often just mix the extra cake crumbs (from slicing off the domed top) into the frosting. But if you want to prevent doming, some people like bake even strips (although personally, I’ve had a terrible experience with them and don’t use them). Other recommendations are to slightly reduce the oven temperature and bake for a few minutes longer.
Thanks for your quick response. I love how it looks with the crumbs mixed into the frosting. I may just try that.