Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
When it comes to cake, specifically sponge cakes, I’ve never been the biggest fan, that is until now – I might have discovered the perfect Red Velvet cake recipe. Although, I should probably say the best “cake” recipe, full stop. What I mean by this is it is a true repertoire recipe as it can be used to make any number of sponge cake recipes, including chocolate cake, vanilla sponge cake, or in this case, Red Velvet – I call this my “base cake recipe” and it is the only sponge cake recipe you’ll ever need. It is foolproof, deliciously moist, yet light, and never fails! It is very forgiving and relaxing to make because, let’s be honest: baking a cake can be very stressful and any number of things can go wrong, whether it sinks, has collapsing sides, or is just too dense or dry. Over the years I’ve had all of these happening to me and truth be told, this may be one of the main reasons I avoided baking cakes as far as possible.
To prove just how forgiving this recipe is, I’ve tested it over 5 times, each time baking the cake in a different oven, substituted the buttermilk for sour cream, used my own homemade buttermilk, and even changed up the recipe for a chocolate cake, white sponge cake, peanut and caramel cake, and a now, even red velvet. Each time it turned out perfectly light, moist, and level. The cake is just sturdy enough to slice into halves using a sharp bread knife and it stays fresh for up to 3 days.
So, back to the red velvet, with its striking appearance and soft, light texture this is a very popular cake and having a great red velvet recipe is a must for all home cooks. It can be whipped up for just about any occasion and will be a guaranteed showstopper. When developing this recipe, I found that the most difficult part was getting that vibrant hue just right – it was a lot harder than I anticipated and my first few recipes kept turning out a rather “brownish” color. Without making this post too technical, what I’ve learned is that it is actually a chemical reaction between the buttermilk, red food coloring, and vinegar that gives this cake its dramatic red appearance, not the food coloring alone! That said, if you follow this recipe, I can guarantee success and that this recipe will become your go-to cake recipe.
The only thing more important than the signature red hue is the frosting. I cannot imagine a red velvet with any other frosting than a cream cheese and butter one. To ice the cake, I use a cranked palette knife to create the “naked cake” look and decorate it with handmade meringue kisses.
NOTES ON LAYERS, QUANTITIES, AND BAKING TIME:
This brings me to the presentation, when I first made this cake it had two layers and although beautiful, I was going to serve this at a wedding and I felt it needed a third layer. Hence, the recipe makes enough mixture for 3 x 20 cm springform cake pans so that you will end up with 3 layers. Bake for 25-30 minutes.
However, if you only have 2 x 20 cm pans, bake for 30-35 minutes and when cooled, half both cakes such that you will have 4 layers. Now, of course, you can make this a 4-tier cake and it will look absolutely amazing, however, I think any cake slice having more than 3 layers may be a little bit too much for a single portion. So what I like to do with the extra layer is to use a cookie cutter to cut out little bite-size circles, ice them individually and serve them on a platter with tea. You can even freeze the extra layer for use later in a red velvet or black forest trifle! The possibilities are endless.
Stored in an airtight container, this cake will stay fresh for up to 3 days.
Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the cake
- 400 g plain flour
- 400 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 tbsp best-quality cocoa powder
- 350 g butter soft
- 4 large eggs
- 4 tsp best-quality vanilla extract
- 6 tbsp red food coloring
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 300 ml buttermilk see recipe to make your own
- ½ tsp salt
Homemade buttermilk
- 300 ml full cream milk
- 4 tbsp white vinegar
For the cream cheese frosting
- 100 g butter soft
- 3 c icing sugar sifted
- 200 g cream cheese soft
- 1 tsp best-quality vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the cake
- Preheat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180°C / 160°C if fan-forced. Line and grease 3 x 20cm springform pans with baking paper and butter.
- To make your own buttermilk, add 4 tbsp of white vinegar to 300 ml full cream milk. Stir and allow to sit for 15 minutes until thick and curdled.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and salt. Fork together.
- In a stand mixer with the whisk attachment (or mixing bowl with a handheld mixer), cream together the caster sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla followed by the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Exchange the whisk for the paddle attachment. Slowly beat in half of the dry ingredients followed by the food coloring and 2 tbsp vinegar. The mixture should be bright red. Add the rest of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined before beating in the buttermilk. Do not overbeat the mixture as this will affect the lightness of the cake.
- Divide the mixture equally into the prepared pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes (or 30-35 minutes if you have only 2 tins) on the middle shelf until a testing pin, stuck into the middle of the cakes, comes out clean. It may be wise to start checking after 25 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Thereafter, remove the cakes from the pans and allow to cool completely at room temperature, on a wire rack.
- If you baked the cakes in only 2 cake tins, once the cakes are cooled use a sharp bread knife to evenly halve the cakes, giving you 4 layers. Cut without hesitation to ensure an even cut. If you used 3 cake tins, proceed to making the frosting.
To make the frosting
- Cream together the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the cream cheese followed by the vanilla until light and smooth.
To ice and assemble the cake
- Reserve ½ cup of frosting and set aside. Divide the remaining frosting into 3 equal parts. Place the first cake, inverted, such that the even, flat surface faces upwards, on a cake stand. This will make it easier to ice and to get an even, upright cake that looks neat and level. Dollop over 1 part of frosting and use a cranked palette knife to evenly spread the frosting, coming up close to the edge but without the frosting spilling over the sides. We will ice the sides later. Repeat the process for the remaining 2 layers, turning and fitting the cakes so that the cake is as level as possible. Smooth out the top layer of frosting as neat as possible. To ice the side, take a clean palette knife and apply 4 teaspoon-sized dollops of the reserved frosting to the side. Hold the palette knife upright against the cake while turning the cake stand, evenly and slowly to thinly spread the icing around the cake, giving the cake a "nude frosting" appearance. If the frosting is too much, keep turning the cake stand while scraping off the excess frosting with your knife.
- Sprinkle over the meringue kisses. For the lightest texture, serve at room temperature. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
