Classic Red Velvet Cake
Classic Red Velvet Cake! Tender red cake layers with a hint of chocolate paired with a tangy cream cheese frosting and a red velvet crumble.
Red Velvet Cake is one of those classic recipes that get requested over and over. That rich red color is stunning and paired with a cream cheese frosting, you can’t really go wrong.
I love learning the history behind timeless recipes like this, to find out how they originated, how they became popular, and how they have changed over the years.
Of course, I feel the need to share that with you, so sit back for another quick history lesson or skip ahead to How To Make Red Velvet Cake.
What is Red Velvet Cake?
Originally, back in the 1800s, the color of the cake was due to non-Dutched anthocyanin-rich cocoa, which reacted with the vinegar and buttermilk in the recipe to create a rich red/maroon color.
These days, even standard cocoa powder from the grocery store has undergone Dutch processing, which strips some of the acid and prevents the color change from happening (at least to the extent it used to).
To compensate, recipes today use a LOT of red coloring (usually in liquid form) to achieve that bright or rich red color.
Overview
The cake’s rise to popularity actually came about during the Great Depression. A company called Adams Extract created the Red Velvet Cake recipe we know today as a marketing tactic, hoping to boost sales during challenging times.
Their recipe used shortening (which is cheaper than butter), Adams butter flavoring, Adams vanilla, and, of course, Adams red food coloring. They gave out the recipe for free on recipe cards at grocery stores, and it quickly became a hit in households across the country.
Fellow Canadians might appreciate this: apparently, the red velvet cake was a staple at Eaton’s department stores in the 40s and 50s, although they claimed the recipe to be their own. Poor form, Eaton’s!
If you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know that I prefer to stick with natural flavors and colors whenever possible.
I sometimes make bright cakes that call for a pop of color, but I try to utilize natural colorants like freeze-dried powders to provide some coloring. Hence, making a Red Velvet Cake was never high on my radar.
I’ve tweaked and improved this recipe in hopes of darkening the cake more with cocoa powder than with coloring. I succeeded… somewhat.
The reality is, if you want a deep red color, you just need to add artificial coloring to it. I know some people have used beets to try to achieve the red color, but that just didn’t appeal to me (even though I love beets).
How to Make Red Velvet Cake
I was in a bit of a rush and my butter wasn’t quite at room temperature. I decided to cube it and try to beat it anyway, hoping that the friction would warm it up. Unluckily, that completely broke my KitchenAid paddle.
This is actually the second time this has happened for the same reason. Apparently, I don’t learn from my mistakes!
My plastic paddle automatically scrapes the bowl for me (which is a huge time-saver), but it’s fragile. KitchenAid makes a metal one with a scraper, but it’s not available for my model. Why isn’t this standard?
Who wants to scrape the bowl? Ever?
I had no choice but to toss out the butter in the bowl in case there were any plastic fragments and went back to using my standard paddle, scraping the bowl by hand. My plastic scraper paddle had made me lazy, and I did a terrible job of manually scraping the bowl, even though I did it 4-5 times throughout the process.
When I poured the cake batter into the tins, there were visible sections of unincorporated butter and sugar. Needless to say, this showed as one layer sagged a bit on one side.
Do better than I do, folks!
Anyhow, as I was saying, making this Red Velvet Cake is pretty simple: cream your butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time, etc. The key is to add your cocoa powder and red coloring before you start adding your flour.
If you attempt to color your batter at the very end, once all the ingredients are added, you’ll likely overmix it, resulting in a dense (and sometimes fragile) cake. This is true for all cakes using the creaming method, so always color before adding flour and milk.
Cake Tip!
Add coloring to your cake batter before the flour and milk. Adding it at the end can cause overmixing. I always add some with the butter and sugar and then a little more at the end if needed.
To achieve the good red color, add the coloring right after your eggs. This took about 1/2 to 2/3rds of a 0.75oz bottle of Americolor Super Red color gel. I didn’t measure it; I just kept adding until I had the desired color.
Liquid red food coloring can also be used if preferred — you’ll need 1-2oz for that. However, I find color gels more concentrated and easier to use without leaving any strange aftertaste.
Red Velvet Crumble
A quick note about the crumble on top: I made this for decoration,
as I didn’t want to just use cake crumbs.
Plus, I never have any since my cake layers bake up flat every time.
Making the crumble was a huge pain. I attempted to create it from scratch, but after five total fails,
I opted for cake mix. After five more tries, I finally achieved something close to my vision.
I had planned to use this between the cake layers for crunch, but I wasn’t fond of its flavor,
so I just used it on top as a decorative element. It’s completely optional!
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Red Velvet Cake Taste Like?
Red velvet cake has a subtle chocolate flavor and a slight tang from the buttermilk.
Mine has a bit more chocolate flavor because I think it’s silly to use only a tablespoon or two in a recipe.
How can I convert this recipe?
The recipe will work in either two 8″ or three 6″ pans.
The layers will be thicker in the two 8″ pans, so you’ll need to increase the baking time.
Can I make it in advance?
The cooled cake layers can be baked ahead of time and frozen for up to 3 months. Remove 2-3 hours before assembly.
Can I get the measurements by weight/grams?
There is a metric option in the recipe card that will convert everything to grams.
Can I use Dutch Process Cocoa Powder?
Normally yes, but for red velvet cake specifically, you should use regular cocoa powder for the best results.
What truly makes the red velvet cake special is the combination of the cake with the cream cheese frosting. It’s a delightful flavor pairing.
A piece or two of this cake may have quickly disappeared shortly after I took the pictures.
If you’re a Red Velvet fan, I hope you love my tweaked version of this classic cake recipe!
