Some people may make bold claims that just seem to fall short, but I am telling you: This is the best Red Velvet Cake you will ever make. Period. You’ll never go back to box cake or any other recipe after trying this one!
Red Velvet can sometimes be a little bit of a weirdo…. is it chocolate, is it vanilla? Who knows. My recipe has a bit more chocolate and is loaded with sour cream and buttermilk to give the signature tangy flavor that you will love. Sour cream and buttermilk are two secret ingredients in any bakery style cake! They both add incredible moisture and flavor! This cake is ultra moist, rich and flavorful and I know you won’t go back to another recipe.
Another thing you want to do to make the most delicious cake possible, is to use a high quality cocoa powder. I really like Dutch Process Cocoa Powder 
This recipe is very large, I designed it to be big enough for a 9″ layered cake. If you don’t need that much cake, it can very easily be halved or you can make a few different kinds of treats! With one batch I made a Valentine’s Day spread of a dozen cupcakes, a half dozen cake donuts (I use this cute Donut Baking Pan
One more tip, if you’re frosting your cakes or cupcakes, make sure they cool completely! You don’t want runny, droopy frosting! The classic is Cream Cheese Frosting, but I topped these bad bois with a Buttermilk Frosting that is great on any cake. Slightly tangy from the buttermilk, and just sweet enough!
Now go bake some cake!
Red Velvet Cake
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Butter Softened
- 2 Cup White Sugar
- 4 Eggs
- ½ Cup Cocoa Powder High quality or Dutch Process is best
- 1 Cup Sour cream
- ½ Cup Buttermilk
- 1 Tbsp Red Food Color
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- 2½ Cup Cake Flour
- 1 tsp Baking Soda
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Pre Heat oven to 350°F/176°C
- With a stand mixer or hand mixer cream together butter and sugar until pale and yellow, about 3 minutes.
- Add in your eggs, beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.
- Sift your cocoa powder in, sifting is very important with the cocoa powder, it will be lumpy if you don't sift.
- Mix in the sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring, the mixture may look a bit curdled at this point, it is normal.
- Add in the cake flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined, do not over mix!
- If you are making cupcakes, divide the batter into cupcake liners and fill 3/4 of the way full. If you are making a round cake, divide the batter evenly between 2 greased 9" rounds.
- Bake cupcakes for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cupcake comes out clean. For a 9" round bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool completely and top with your favorite frosting!
Buttermilk Frosting
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
Ingredients
- ½ Cup Butter Softened
- ½ Cup Butter Flavored Shortening
- 2 Lbs Powdered Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 5 Tbsp Buttermilk
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, whip the butter and shortening together until they are combined and fluffy.
- Add in the powdered sugar, salt, and 3 tbsp of buttermilk.
- Whip together until light and fluffy, adding in the additional buttermilk if necessary to get a spreadable consistency. Whip for at least 5 minutes to make sure everything is incorporated and fluffed up!
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How do you make the cake truffles and donuts?
The donuts are just the regular cake batter baked in a donut pan, I linked the donut pan if you are interested in getting one. For the truffles, I took the cake scraps from leveling my layer cake and mixed that with about 2 Tbsp of frosting. Rolled into balls, then coated in white chocolate!
I ended up making cupcakes with this recipe. It was DELICIOUS!! The hubby said it was the best birthday cake he’s ever had. HANDS DOWN. Sifting the cocoa powder definitely made a difference. Thanks for the tip! FYI: a friend dropped off red velvet cupcakes from Nothing Bundt Cakes and everyone said this recipe was by far superior. Printed and added to my go-to recipes!