Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe (Soft, Moist and Easy)

Name: Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe (Soft, Moist and Easy)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cup Granulated Sugar (2 cups granulated sugar (400g)); ¾ cup Vegetable Oil (3/4 cup vegetable oil (170g)); 1 ¾ cup Unsalted Butter (1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (113g) + 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (2.5 sticks or 283g)); 3 pieces Egg (3 large eggs); 1 tbsp Vanilla (1 tbsp vanilla + 1 tsp vanilla); 1 ⅓ cup Buttermilk (1 1/3 cup buttermilk (320g) - mix 1 1/3 cup whole milk with 4 tsp vinegar or lemon juice to make your own); 2 tsp White Vinegar (2 tsp vinegar); 1 tbsp Food Coloring (1 tbsp gel red food color - may need up to 1.5 tbsp depending on the brand — up to 1.5); ¼ cup Water (1/4 cup boiling water (60g)); 2 ½ tbsp Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder (2 1/2 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder (15g)); 3 cup All-Purpose Flour (3 cups all-purpose flour (390g)); ¼ cup Cornstarch (1/4 cup cornstarch (30g)); 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (1 tsp baking soda); ½ tsp Baking Powder (1/2 tsp baking powder); 1 ½ tsp Table Salt (1 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp salt); 20 oz Cream Cheese (20 oz cream cheese, room temperature (2.5 8 oz blocks or 570g)); 3 cup Icing Sugar (3-4 cups icing sugar, sifted (360 to 480g) — up to 4)

Classic American red velvet cake with a moist, cocoa-based sponge and tangy cream cheese frosting.

55 minAmerican

Servings12

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Vegetarian
Pescatarian
Halal

Ingredients

For 12 servings

Granulated Sugar2 cup · 2 cups granulated sugar (400g)
Vegetable Oil¾ cup · 3/4 cup vegetable oil (170g)
Unsalted Butter1 ¾ cup · 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (113g) + 1 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (2.5 sticks or 283g)
Egg3 pieces · 3 large eggs
Vanilla1 tbsp · 1 tbsp vanilla + 1 tsp vanilla
Buttermilk1 ⅓ cup · 1 1/3 cup buttermilk (320g) - mix 1 1/3 cup whole milk with 4 tsp vinegar or lemon juice to make your own
White Vinegar2 tsp · 2 tsp vinegar
Food Coloring1 tbsp · 1 tbsp gel red food color - may need up to 1.5 tbsp depending on the brand — up to 1.5
Water¼ cup · 1/4 cup boiling water (60g)
Dutch Processed Cocoa Powder2 ½ tbsp · 2 1/2 tbsp Dutch processed cocoa powder (15g)
All-Purpose Flour3 cup · 3 cups all-purpose flour (390g)
Cornstarch¼ cup · 1/4 cup cornstarch (30g)
Bicarbonate of Soda1 tsp · 1 tsp baking soda
Baking Powder½ tsp · 1/2 tsp baking powder
Table Salt1 ½ tsp · 1 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp salt
Cream Cheese20 oz · 20 oz cream cheese, room temperature (2.5 8 oz blocks or 570g)
Icing Sugar3 cup · 3-4 cups icing sugar, sifted (360 to 480g) — up to 4

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Steps

1Pre-heat oven to 350F (conventional, no fan) and line 3 8" cake pans with parchment paper.
2In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil and melted butter for 1-2 minutes until the mixture looks lighter in color (the sugar won't be dissolved, that's okay).
3Add the eggs and vanilla and whisk for another minute until the mixture is very smooth and creamy.
4Add the buttermilk, vinegar and red food color, and whisk until combined. The batter should be a bright, vivid red color.
5In a separate small bowl, whisk the cocoa powder with the boiling water. Add the cocoa mixture to the wet ingredients and stir until combined. At this point, the batter will be a deeper red color.
6Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the batter. Gently and slowly whisk until the dry ingredients are just combined and no lumps remain. Do not overmix.
7Divide the cake batter between 3 8" cake pans.
8Bake for 23-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out with light, moist crumbs on it (no wet batter). Remove from the oven.
9Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes. Then carefully turn them out and let them fully cool down.
10Cream Cheese Frosting: Add the room temperature butter, cream cheese, vanilla and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Use the paddle attachment to whisk on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture looks smooth. Scrape the bottom and edges of the bowl.
11Add the sifted powdered sugar slowly, 1 cup at a time, while whisking on medium speed. Stop whisking once the sugar is dissolved and a fluffy cream cheese frosting is formed (taste after 3 cups sugar and add more as needed).
12If the frosting is too soft / runny, refrigerate for a few minutes until it reaches a spreadable consistency. If you find your frosting to be lumpy, you can also pass it through a sieve (although it is tedious).
13Assembly: Working one cake layer at time, carefully trim off the dome and slather with a generous amount of the cream cheese frosting until all three layers are stacked on top of each other.
14Cover the cake with a thin layer of the frosting (crumb coat), spreading it as smoothly as possible. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
15Add the remaining frosting and decorate the cake however you like. I make crumbs using the trimmed off cake domes and use them to decorate.
16Serve & enjoy!