Red Velvet Cake Recipe

While the exact origins of red velvet cake are somewhat murky (contrary to popular belief, this popular confection was not originally created in the South), there's no doubt as to its uniqueness and straight-up deliciousness. When done right, the flavor of the cake itself is very distinct, but when you combine a mouthful of the cake with just the right amount of cream cheese frosting, it's actual heaven. Don't let that fancy red hue fool you, though — this cake isn't too fancy to bake in your own kitchen, even if you're not typically a baker.

You can thank world traveler, professional baker, and sweets enthusiast Mark Beahm of the Sunday Baker blog for this red velvet cake recipe. This is a three-layer cake, which sounds intimidating, but if you follow the directions carefully (baking isn't conducive to improvising), we promise you can manage to successfully stack this dessert and ice it to perfection too.

Set aside the flour mixture for this red velvet cake recipe. Next, you'll combine the buttermilk, distilled white vinegar, just two teaspoons of the vanilla extract, and the red food coloring.

Fun side note: While the combination of cocoa powder, vinegar, and baking soda is what originally led to red velvet cake's redness, it became more of a reddish-brown color when the makers of cocoa powder started adding an alkalizing agent, which in turn affected the color-changing reactions when it was combined with baking soda and vinegar. So, over the years, the addition of red food coloring has helped restore red velvet cake to its original (bright red) roots. 

If you're wondering what to look for in a food coloring, Beahm says, "You can use either liquid or gel food coloring. A gel food coloring might mix in better, but the difference tends to be more important in frostings and glazes."

After the butter, vegetable oil, and sugar are mixed to fluffy, smooth status, you'll introduce the two large eggs into the red velvet cake recipe. This is always a good question to ask when baking: Should eggs be room temperature? "Yes, the eggs and buttermilk should be at room temperature. If the ingredients are all at a similar temperature, they emulsify better," explains Beahm.

Crack each egg into its own small bowl. This way, if there are any shell pieces, you can easily fish them out before adding it to the batter (because egg shells are never a welcome addition to red velvet cake). Then, add each egg one by one, mixing after each addition until the egg is fully incorporated. You shouldn't see streaks of yolk in the batter. If you do, your eggs are not, in fact, fully incorporated yet.

When the beautiful, bright, red cake batter for this red velvet cake recipe is ready to go, you'll divide it evenly between the three cake pans you prepped earlier. Use a spatula to smooth the surface of the batter, but don't stress too much about getting a perfectly even layer. Once the cakes go into the oven, unless something is jarringly lopsided, the heat tends to distribute the batter pretty evenly within the pan.

Are you a "go parchment paper or go home" kind of baker? If so, you're in a safe space here. "Lining the bottom of the cake pans with parchment paper will make it easier to release the cakes from the pans," Beahm confirms. "Oftentimes, greasing your pans with butter and flour or non-stick baking spray is all you need. And some cake pans are already non-stick. But if you want the extra assurance, especially in pans that aren't non-stick, line your cake pans with parchment paper."

While the cakes are cooling, you can start prepping the cream cheese frosting for this red velvet cake recipe. You'll need two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, and they should be softened by the time you start to make the frosting. Also, ready the remaining two sticks of butter (which should also still be softened), two teaspoons of vanilla extract, 1/8 of a teaspoon of salt, and five ups of confectioners' sugar. It's time to sift again, too. Beahm instructs, "Generally, confectioners' sugar benefits from being sifted. Since it's so fine, there are usually lumps."

Oh, and the bowl and paddle of that standing mixer you were using earlier for the red velvet cake batter? They're sitting in a sink full of water right now, aren't they? You better get to scrubbing and drying because you're going to need those tools again to make this cream cheese frosting. 

Make sure the red velvet cake recipe layers are 100 percent, fully cooled before you get to icing. Place the first layer on a cake stand or serving platter. Spread roughly one-third (about a cup and a half) of the frosting evenly over the top of the layer. Don't frost the sides, or you'll find yourself fresh outta frosting by the time you get to the top layer. Repeat with the remaining two layers and frosting.

A note about frosting: "Freezing the cake layers before frosting will make it easier to frost. The cake will definitely hold the weight of the frosting and is less likely to crumble. I don't do it for all cakes, especially when I leave the sides unfrosted," Beahm tells us. He went on to say, "For certain types of cakes, like red velvet, I tend to only frost between the cake layers and not the outside of the cake. I love showcasing the red layers." Those red layers are really pretty, we must say, but if you do want to frost the sides too, there should be enough left over to do so.