3-Ingredient Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Red velvet cake is an American staple. Between its namesake eye-catching color and its tangy cream cheese frosting, there's a whole lot to love. Despite being known as a classic Southern dish, according to Southern Living, historians can't quite pin down exactly where red velvet was invented. They do know, however, that a chemical reaction between acidic vinegar and cocoa powder originally gave it its red color in the era before food dye. In fact, red food coloring did not become a staple in red velvet recipes until World War II, when rations made cocoa scarce, and one business man decided to create a recipe to sell more of his company's food dye. Luckily for him it caught on, and the cake retains its not-so-subtle coloring to this day.

If you love red velvet as much as the next guy, but don't want to spend all day in your kitchen trying to produce the perfect chemical reaction (or dye-to-batter ratio), look no further than this 3-ingredient recipe. Yep, you read that right! Just three ingredients and you'll have yourself a delicious red velvet cake. According to recipe writer Jason Goldstein of Chop Happy, this fun cake hack produces a fluffy, buttery cake without all the hassle. Get to baking and you'll have yourself a beautiful red velvet cake in no time!

Once you've gathered your ingredients, it's time to combine them. For this step, keep in mind that although the boxed cake mix will list additional ingredients like eggs and vegetable oil, these are not necessary in this 3-ingredient recipe (seriously!). Since the applesauce acts as the wet ingredient, all you'll need to do is combine the box of cake mix with 1 cup of applesauce in a mixing bowl. Stir with a spatula until lumps are gone and the batter has combined, and you're ready for the next step. 

Now that you've got your batter, you're almost ready to bake. Take a cake pan and grease it with butter or cooking spray. Next, you'll want to pour the batter into the pan, spreading into an even layer with your spatula. 

If you want to go the cupcake route, Goldstein says that is totally fine too. Just line the muffin tin with cupcake wrappers and bake them for slightly less time, watching them to make sure they don't over bake.

Now that your home is filling with a chocolatey aroma, it's finally time to remove your cake from the oven. Take it out and let it cool in the pan for at least 20 minutes before frosting. If you are too impatient, the frosting will start to melt into the cake, or the cake could crumble away as you spread — and since it's bright red cake with white frosting, your guests will notice those stray pieces! Once cooled, take a clean spatula and your can of cream cheese frosting, spreading a smooth and even layer over the top.