Red velvet cake is a multi-layered cake with cream cheese frosting. Victorian sensibilities of the day called finer cakes "velvet," in acknowledgement of their smooth and moist texture. The recipe for red velvet cake first appeared in print on June 16, 1960, in Texas' Denton Record-Chronicle as the recipe of the week. However, the cake fell out of favor after the Food and Drug Administration delisted red dye No. 2 in 1976. Red velvet cake returned to popularity with the 1996 opening of New York City's Magnolia Bakery, which introduced red velvet cupcakes.
Recipe Servings: 8
Prep Time
40 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 10 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
Cake:
- Shortening, as needed to grease pans
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus a little to dust pans
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp baking cocoa
- ¾ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tbsp red food coloring
Frosting:
- 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, cold
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- 4 tsp vanilla extract
- 6 cups powdered sugar, sifted
Assembly:
- 2 Tbsp sweetened coconut flakes
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch springform pans.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and baking cocoa.
- Cream the butter and sugar until they are light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
- Fold in the flour, alternating with the buttermilk.
- Add the red food coloring and mix well.
- Pour the batter into the cake pans.
- Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick emerges clean from the center.
- Cool the cake layers on a wire rack before frosting.
- Beat the cream cheese with the butter until smooth (do not over beat).
- Stir in the vanilla and powdered sugar.
- Level the cakes by slicing off uneven areas.
- Spread frosting on one layer of cake, then place the second layer on top.
- Spread frosting evenly around the sides and top of the cake.
- Sprinkle the top of the cake with coconut flakes.
For Cake:
For Frosting:
For Assembly:
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