BEST Southern Red Velvet Cake Recipe
“Easy, moist red velvet cake recipe full of Southern charm with a secret ingredient! Frosted with Cream Cheese frosting!”
Watch me make this Easy, Moist Red Velvet Cake from start to finish!
There is something so elegant about a red velvet cake. Maybe it’s the name or that beautiful, bold red color. Or maybe it’s the delicate crumb and light chocolatey flavor with a tad bit of tang from the buttermilk.
Whatever it is, I’m totally present for all things RED VELVET!!! Red Velvet Pound Cake anyone??
I’ve been getting a lot of requests for red velvet cake. Being from the south my recipe options were endless. I swear everybody in my family has their way of making red velvet cake and to them, it is the best!!
Hooooowever, I still knew that the perfect red velvet cake was still out there somewhere.
I have been on the search for the best homemade red velvet cake recipe for a while now actually. I wanted one that was easy, super moist, melt-in-your-mouth soft with that signature light chocolatey buttermilk red velvet flavor.
I’ve tried a few recipes that were…OK. Nothing that really blew my heels off though. Until I played around with merging three recipes (God I love chemistry when it cooperates) and out came THE MASTERPIECE!!! Or at least we think so in my house!
What is red velvet cake?
Before we talk about what red velvet cake is, it’s important to establish what it’s NOT! Red velvet cake is not just a chocolate cake with red food coloring. Traditional red velvet cake started as a buttermilk chocolate cake that is has a signature reddish hue from the cocoa powder. The modern take on classic red velvet cake uses red food coloring to enhance the natural redness of this cake and turn it into bold red color.
What does red velvet cake taste like?
Red velvet cake tastes like a light chocolate cake with vanilla buttermilk notes. It’s a signature flavor that is well-loved in the south. Velvet cakes have a tender crumb and always consist of buttermilk and distilled vinegar. Check out this lemon velvet cake below for a different spin!
This red velvet cake recipe is SUPERB!!!! And it passes the stick to the back of the fork test like a champ!
Adding a bit of coffee to the batter isn’t “traditional” for red velvet cakes but it adds another layer of flavor and really hypes up the chocolatey taste to perfection. Not to mention the extra liquid makes this cake do doggone soft so don’t skip it!
Even if you have to run to Mickey D’s or the gas station to get a cup of coffee! I prefer flavored coffee. When I make this cake for people I always use vanilla biscotti or chocolate-flavored coffee. But plain will do just fine too.
Oh and don’t worry, you can’t taste the coffee.
Want cupcakes? Check out these red velvet cupcakes!
How To Make The BEST Red Velvet Cake
- Be sure to generously grease your pans (with shortening) and give them a light dusting of flour. This will ensure that the cake doesn’t stick to the pan.
- Use plain prepared coffee. Yep just brew up a cup of coffee. No need to add sugar or cream. I normally use a light or medium roast Alternatively, you can use hot water but…coffee is so much better.
Helpful Red Velvet Cake Supplies
What Cream Cheese Frosting should I use?
Originally I used THIS cream cheese frosting! It’s light, airy, simple, and delicious!
But then I switched to THIS cream cheese frosting and it’s my new favorite!
I love a tangy frosting so it’s packed with cream cheese and much thicker in texture. However, if you beat it like crazy it does fluff up quite nicely. If you aren’t a fan of this bold cream cheese-flavored frosting then go with the first recipe.
I hope that you guys enjoy this red velvet cake as much as I do. Lord knows I didn’t want to make this cake AGAIN this week…but I have to give my readers what they demand…..and now I have all this cake…. that I have to eat all by myself…..*sigh* oh well….life is tough like that sometimes. : )
Watch me make this Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe from start to finish!
Get the Recipe: The BEST Red Velvet Cake Recipe. Easy. Moist. Homemade
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons unsweetened, cocoa powder
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil or canola
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1-2 oz. red food coloring, more or less depending on how deep you want the color
- 1/2 cup plain hot coffee, prepared (don't skip this ingredient)
- 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F.
- Generously grease and flour (2) 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
- Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and red food coloring until combined.
- Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing after each addition, just until combined. (Batter will be thin)
- Pour the batter evenly into each pan.
- Bake in the middle rack for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Do not overbake as the cake will continue to cook as it cools.
- Let pans cool on a cooling rack until the pans are warm to the touch.
- Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan.
- Gently remove the cakes from the pan and let them finish cooling. (The warm cake will be very delicate)
- Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting when the cakes have cooled completely.
Video
Notes
Be sure to not overbake! Check the cake at 30 minutes as some ovens run really hot.
The cakes are really moist and delicate. You may need to refrigerate them to firm them up before stacking and frosting.
To bake cupcakes, bake for 18-20 minutes, checking at the 18-minute mark.
Hello Monique. OMG thanks so much for the recipe it is for sure Da Bomb! I had the pastor and his family over for dinner and made the red velvet and had a cupcake centerpiece in my table. He has a couple of teens and I thought they’d enjoy red velvet cupcakes. Can I tell you they loved them! So peeps if you are looking for a cupcake that is a gourmet cupcake without paying 3 bucks a pop, Make this recipe…
Now the frosting.. it was too watery and I could never get the consistency right even after 3 hours of refrigeration. I will have to work to perfect that. SO I can pipe it pretty like the upscale bakeries do. Thanks again mil this will be the ONLY red velvet cupcake recipe I bake….
It is my sons birthday and he wants a red velvet cake and I decided to find a new recipe. I will let you know how it goes.Ryan I recommend 9 inch cake pans that is what I use.
I had a similar experience to Adrian (above) in that both sandwich tins overflowed during cooking! They are 7″ tins, so bear that in mind when following this recipe!
Could someone just confirm the temperature this should be cooked at? I converted the 325F to 160C (I’m in the UK), but I have a fan-assisted oven, so does this temperature need reducing further still or is 160C still OK?
I then had an issue with the cake coming out quite brittle around the edges, although still lovely and moist. The edges didn’t hold together well at all. Not entirely sure why, so if anyone has any idea, please let me know so I get it right next time. I did grease the edges of the tin, and left the cakes in the tins to cool fully.
After cooling, I then made the schoolboy error of making the cream cheese frosting with one tub of full fat Philadelphia, and one tub of half fat Philadelphia. The frosting was really runny. My mum tells me that I should always use FULL FAT cream cheese, and it was my calorie-saving effort that led to my problem!
All in all, my first effort turned out to LOOK a total mess, but it tasted GORGEOUS. Will definitely make this again. If anyone has any tips to improve my next effort, please reply to this comment 🙂
So, I made this today. It went perfectly up to step 8. Then, I don’t know what happened – it seems to have risen, overflowed, poured onto the bottom of the oven and collapsed. What a mess! Well, I stuck it together with the cream cheese frosting and my bible study group loved it!! The colour and texture and flavour was fabulous. I suspect my pans were just too small. So Ryan, I suggest you make sure you have slightly bigger pans that I used.
I should mention that I’m a Divo, not a Diva. And come from the deep, deep South – South Africa.
This is a recipe I will definitely do again! Thanks so much
Oh and can I make it into cupcakes rather?
Hi there. I really want to make a red velvet cake and it seems as if people really enjoy this one BUT I do not drink coffee! So that brings me to my question, can you taste the coffee in the cake and how necessary is it, can’t I replace it with something else?
Thanks