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.
Want more red velvet recipes?
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Red Velvet Pound Cake
Red Velvet Cookies
Thank so much Kaidance! So glad you liked it!
Oh wow Fredmyn I sure did forget to put how much vanilla! I'm so sorry! Thanks for pointing that out. It was 1 teaspoon. Let me know how 1 Tablespoon turned out though. It should be just fine.
Yeah if they have lines in them then they are probably to hot to be on the racks just yet. Let them cool in the pan a bit longer.
Thank so much Kaidance! So glad you liked it!
Oh wow Fredmyn I sure did forget to put how much vanilla! I'm so sorry! Thanks for pointing that out. It was 1 teaspoon. Let me know how 1 Tablespoon turned out though. It should be just fine.
Yeah if they have lines in them then they are probably to hot to be on the racks just yet. Let them cool in the pan a bit longer.
Thank so much Kaidance! So glad you liked it!
Oh wow Fredmyn I sure did forget to put how much vanilla! I'm so sorry! Thanks for pointing that out. It was 1 teaspoon. Let me know how 1 Tablespoon turned out though. It should be just fine.
Yeah if they have lines in them then they are probably to hot to be on the racks just yet. Let them cool in the pan a bit longer.
Thank so much Kaidance! So glad you liked it!
Oh wow Fredmyn I sure did forget to put how much vanilla! I'm so sorry! Thanks for pointing that out. It was 1 teaspoon. Let me know how 1 Tablespoon turned out though. It should be just fine.
Yeah if they have lines in them then they are probably to hot to be on the racks just yet. Let them cool in the pan a bit longer.
heyyy there this cake sure looks good, but what temp do I bake the cake for.
this looked great and when i read the comments i was so eager to try it (i love red velvet cake and had been looking for a good recipe) but i doubled it and embarassingly quadrupled the amount of coffee. it took about an hour in the oven, and when the toothpick finally came out mostly dry, the cakes had fallen in the middle. i have to give my family a while before i try again, but i dont see why it wouldnt work next time. im so excitedd!
i give it three stars only because i couldnt see how it would have turned out if i did it right. thank you for sharing it 😀
im really excited about trying your cake I wanted tony know if swan cake flour could be substituted for the all purpose flour
what size cake pans do you use for this recipe
Did you ever find out what size cake pans to use??? i’m wondering the same thing
What do I do if I want to double the amount of servings? I’m making it for my whole class! Please help I’m very confused.
One more thing, how many ts or tbs of coffee did you use before you mix it with 1/2c of water? thanks.
You had posted,modifications to the recipe but I no longer see them coul dyou please remind me of them?
Thank you for posting this! But I have 2 things:
1) You never mentioned how much vanilla to put in step three. The picture looked like a tbsp so I went for it.
2)When I cooled my layers on the racks they ended up with lines on them. Should I let them cool a little bit longer in the pans?
I love the coffee twist; this was not included in Grandma's recipe! I'm making it for Thanksgiving. I'll come back and tell you how it went over. : )
You can also put a piece of parchment paper on the cooling rack before you put the cakes on there to cool.
____________I have officially flatlined! This cake & frosting is…there are no words really. All I can say is thank you. I made this for my roommates and we sat up moaning with our eyes closed after every bite. The three of us ate the whole cake in one night. So moist and light. If I didn't make it myself I would think it was from a bakery or a really good boxed cake.
I doubled the frosting but otherwise followed the directions. I'll be making red velvet cake cupcakes this week to take into work! I'm not a diva but I Love this site!!!
Best Red Velvet Cupcakes ever! Thank you!
How many cupcakes did this recipe make..the standard size??
will be trying it tonight. thank you my daughter wants me to make them pink any suggestions.
Hi 🙂 I would like to ask if how many tsp of coffee did you used in 1/2 cup of water?:) thank you
I did the math, and assuming that you need 1 tsp to make 3/4 cup of instant coffee, you would need 2/3 tsp to make only 1/2 cup of coffee.
This is a really good Red Velvet Cake.
It was so good that I almost couldn’t
stop eating it.I cant wait until tommorow
to eat another piece.This recipe is a keeper.
This is a really good cake.
It was so good I almost couldn’t
stop eating it.I hope there is some
left for Thanksgiving.This cake gets
five stars.
This recipe is a disaster at altitudes over 4,000 feet, and the cream cheese icing recipe never became firm enough to decorate my cup cakes. I added 1/2 cup of flour and 1/4 cup of water to the cake recipe, and it came out okay–not good enough for the buffet I was catering. I wound up making butter cream frosting.
I know this is an old post but just came across this recipe. I live at 6000 feet and wanted to share my high altitude changes that made this cake come out perfect. Flour increased to 2 1/4 cups, baking powder and soda decreased to 3/4 tsp each, 3/4 cup oil, 1 3/4 cup sugar. Baking temp increased to 350 for about 25 min. Came out so moist and flavorful, not greasy or falling apart. Its so hard to bake at high altitude, but this recipe is a keeper!! Thanks Diva!
Thanks for the tips Michelle…. I live at 5280 (Denver 😉 and your modifications were right on. Cake came out fabulous. Thanks!
Thank you Michelle, I live above 6000 ft. this is awesome… Michele 🙂
We live at an exceedingly high altitude and this cake came out fabulously! Followed the recipe exactly. The only thing I did differently was to use a chocolate cream cheese icing in the middle and a dark mocha icing for the rest – it was a HUGE success!
Sad to say, I had never made a cake from scratch before until last night. I promised a friend that I would learn how to make a red velvet cake and present it to her on her birthday. I spent a few days looking up recipes and this was the only site that had a readily accessible video, which I think is critical if you have never baked before. Unlike cooking, when baking, every measurement has to to be pretty precise and you cant leave out ingredients. Monique’s tips on adding the coffee, not over beating or over-cooking the cake were exactly what I needed.
My first cake experience was a HUGE SUCCESS. The cake came out moist and delicious and I followed Monique’s recipe to a tee! Everyone at my friends birthday party raved about the cake. This built up my confidence to try more baking. In any case, I will definitely be making this again. Thanks!!!
I’ve wanted to try making a red velvet cake for the longest time. Finally i decided to stray from my family birthday cake recipe and do something different for my sister’s birthday. The first time i put it into a springform cake tin as i do with most of my cakes. It rose and rose until it finally flopped i brought it out out after more Than an hour. It Was A Mess. Soggy In The Centre. I Scrapped It And Tried Again. This Time I Split The Batter. Again It Rose Beautifully And Then Flopped. Its Been In The Oven Now For An Hour And 20 Mins And It’S Still Wet In The Centre. Taste Is Good But I Have No Idea Why It’S Doing This. I’Ve Never Had A Cake Do This Before. Any Suggestions??
OMG-I have made this recipe twice today and both cakes deflated in the middle. The second one I added an extra egg which helped but still fell some. I did 1 1/2 recipe in 2-8×3″ cake pans as I love very tall cakes. Do you know what could of happened? The flavor is absolutely amazing so I want to get this figured out so I can keep this recipe forever!!
Thanks 🙂
I must have done something wrong. This cake came out bad. It fell apart coming out of the pan, the batter tasted weird and the pieces of cake that I picked up off the counter tasted weird. Going to have to re-bake a cake today, which I had not planned to do. Oh well, I tried! 🙁
Don’t worry, you didn’t do anything wrong!
It’s not the baker, it’s the recipe. I’ve made this twice now and I followed the instructions down to the letter. And I got the same results: fell apart. I think this has to do with the huge amount of oil and liquids vs amount of dry ingredients. Yes,it’s a moist cake, but with that much oil and liquids of course it’s moist! I also don’t think the flavor alone is great, mediocre at best. I make my own version of cream cheese frosting and it couldn’t save the flavor. Very disappointing cake, waste of ingredients. 🙁 ****tried leaving 1 star rating, it doesn’t allow???!!!
Try letting the cake sit for about 10 -15 min when u take it out the oven. I used 9 inch round pans with parchment paper lining the bottom. Also I used 1/2 the oil it requires and replace the other with 1 stick of butter because the original texture was like a pudding muddy texture. I also used hazelnut flavored coffee to get rid of that slightly peculiar flavor. And if u really want to set it off… I stuck a vanilla cheesecake between the 2 layer red velvet cake. Froze it overnight and let it come to room temp the next day. Girl!!! But anyway Don’t give up. Try again.
Last thanksgiving I tried making “velvet” cupcakes (no red food coloring). They came out dry. This year I made these and replaced the food coloring with buttermilk. Delicious!