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 lightly chocolatey sweet taste mellow with a tad bit of tang from the buttermilk.

Whatever it is, I’m totally present for all this RED VELVET!!!

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!

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 a 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.

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Watch me make this Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe from start to finish!

The Recipe

The BEST Red Velvet Cake Recipe. Easy. Moist. Homemade

By Divas Can Cook

Cook time

30 mins

Total time

30 mins

Serves

2-layer cake

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4.7 from 859 reviews

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
• ½ cup plain hot coffee, prepared (don't skip this ingredient)
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F.
2. Generously grease and flour (2) 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder, and salt. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
5. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined.
6. Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
7. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at a time, mixing after each addition, just until combined. (Batter will be thin)
8. Pour the batter evenly into each pan.
9. Bake in the middle rack for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. Do not over bake as the cake will continue to cook as it cools.
10. Let pans cool on a cooling rack until the pans are warm to the touch.
11. Slide a knife or offset spatula around the inside of the pans to loosen the cake from the pan.
12. Gently remove the cakes from the pan and let them finish cooling. (The warm cake will be very delicate)
13. Frost the cake with cream cheese frosting when the cakes have cooled completely.

Notes

Notes
~TIPS~
Be sure to not overbake! Check the cake at 30 minutes as some ovens run really hot.
Cakes are really moist and 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.

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