The best rich red velvet cake is so moist and easy to make, and is made even better with the addition of thick, creamy, sweet, out-of-this-world cream cheese icing.
Prep Time: 45 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 45 minutesminutes
plus 40 minutes chilling time: 0 minutesminutes
Total Time: 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings:12servings
Ingredients
For the Red Velvet Cake
2cupsflour
1 ¼cupbrown sugar
2tbspnatural cocoa powder
2tspbaking powder
1tspbaking soda
½tspsalt
1cupbuttermilk
⅔cupoil
2eggs
1tbspred liquid food coloring
½tbspvanilla extract
1tspwhite wine vinegar
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
6ozfull fat cream cheese, room temperature
6ozunsalted butter, room temperature
1tspvanilla extract
4-5cupspowdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 320F and prepare a deep 8 or 9 inch cake tin with cooking spray and parchment paper.
In a large bowl or in the bottom of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt to combine.
In another bowl or a large jug, whisk together the buttermilk, oil, eggs, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.
Pour the liquid mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined and no lumps of flour remain.
Pour into the prepared tin and drop down a few times onto the countertop to knock out any excess air bubbles.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes away clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely on a wire rack.
Once the cake has cooled, make the frosting. First, in your stand mixer or using a handheld electric whisk, beat together the cream cheese and the butter until completely smooth, followed by the vanilla. Then, working a cup at a time add the powdered sugar until you’ve reached the desired consistency.
To assemble the cake, using a sharp serrated knife split the cake down the middle to form two layers. On the cake stand or plate you wish to serve the cake on, sandwich the two layers back together with a generous amount of frosting, then apply a ‘crumb coat’ of a thin layer of frosting all over the cake to create a smooth base. Then chill the cake and the bowl of remaining frosting for 30-40 minutes until the frosting coating the cake has just hardened.
Finish decorating the cake by smoothing over the rest of the frosting.
Notes
Don’t be tempted to use a natural food coloring as some of these have been known to turn red velvet cake green!
This cake will keep covered on the countertop for up to three days.
For larger celebrations this cake is easily doubled: make double quantities of everything and assemble them into a 4 layer cake.