Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups (400 g) plain cake flour (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp (10 g) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 1 tsp (5 g) baking soda / bi-carb soda, NOT baking powder (Note 2)
- Pinch of salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened (1 US stick)
- 1 1/2 cups (330 g) caster / superfine white sugar (Note 3a)
- 2 eggs, at room temperature (around 2 oz / 60g each)
- 1 cup (250ml) vegetable oil
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (or essence)
- 1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature (Note 4)
- 2 1/2 tbsp red food colouring liquid (UK: use Gel, Note 7)
Frosting (Note 10)
- 14 oz (400 g) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, block, softened but not too soft (UK see Note 9)
- 1/2 cup (115 g) unsalted butter, softened (but not too soft)
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups (450 g) soft icing sugar / powdered sugar sifted (Note 3b)
Instructions
- 1
Cake - Preheat oven to 180C/350F (all oven types). Butter 2 x 21cm / 8" round cake pans (sides and base) and dust with cocoa powder.
- 2
Cake - Sift the Dry Ingredients and whisk to combine in a bowl.
- 3
Cake - Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat with electric beater or in stand mixer until smooth and well combined (use paddle attachment if using stand mixer).
- 4
Cake - Add eggs, one at a time, beating in between to combine. At first it will look curdle – keep beating until it's smooth.
- 5
Cake - Add vegetable oil, vinegar, vanilla, buttermilk and red food colouring. Beat until combined and smooth (Note 5).
- 6
Cake - Add Dry Ingredients. Beat until just combined – some small lumps is ok, that's better than over mixing.
- 7
Cake - Divide batter between cake pans. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes on the same shelf, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. (Note 6)
- 8
Cake - Rest for 10 minutes in the pan then turn out onto a cooling rack and allow to cool.
- 9
Frosting - Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla for 3 minutes (this makes it really smooth and changes from yellow to almost white). Add icing sugar and beat for 2 minutes or until frosting is light and fluffy to your taste. If your frosting seems too runny (depends on quality of cream cheese/ if the cream cheese was too soft), just add more icing sugar.
- 10
Frost Cake - Cut the top off the cake using a serrated knife (to make the layers neat).
- 11
Frost Cake - Spread one cake with 1 1/2 cups of frosting. Top with the other cake. Spread top and sides with remaining frosting.
- 12
Frost Cake - Optional: Crumble offcuts and use to decorate the top rim and base of the cake.
