Red Velvet Food

RED VELVET CAKE RECIPE

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 335°F and prepare three 6" x 2" pans or two 8" x 2" cake pans with cake goop or your preferred pan release. It also works well in all pans from a bundt pan to a cupcake.
• Combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vinegar, butter, vanilla, and red food coloring in a medium bowl and set it aside. I recommend using food coloring gel instead of liquid food coloring. My favorite brands are ChefMaster, and Americolor super red.
• Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix this on low speed for a few seconds to combine.
• Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and mix on medium speed until the batter is fully incorporated and smooth (about 1 minute). Don't forget to scrape the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are evenly mixed.
• Divide the cake batter evenly between the prepared cake pans (I like to use my scale for accuracy).
• Bake the cakes for 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops bounce back when lightly touched.
• Cool the cakes in the pans for about 10 minutes, then flip them out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
• If you are going to layer and frost the same day, pop the cake layers into the freezer for about an hour, no need to wrap them. Otherwise, wrap the layers in plastic wrap and freeze them for up to a week. Pro-Tip: Wrapping the cakes while they're still warm seals in all of the moisture, making them safe to freeze.
• Place the softened butter in the bowl of your stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Mix on low until it is smooth and lump-free.
• Add in the softened cream cheese and combine on low until smooth and completely homogeneous. Scrape the bowl to make sure it is all incorporated.
• Add in the powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low to avoid throwing powdered sugar out of the bowl.
• Add the vanilla extract and salt. A traditional vanilla flavor from vanilla extract goes well with cream cheese, but I love using orange extract or lemon extract for a unique taste.
• If you are not going to use the frosting immediately, cover it and place it in the refrigerator.
• Trim the tops of the cake layers off and save them in a bowl. You will use these to make crumbs to decorate the cake.
• Place the first chilled cake layer on a cake board, add a large scoop of cream cheese frosting, and spread evenly across the cake layer. A chilled cake will be easier to frost with the cream cheese frosting.
• Place the second layer of cake on top and repeat the filling and layering process.
• Frost the exterior of the cake with a crumb coat to lock in those red crumbs. Chill the cake for a few minutes before applying the final coat.
• Apply enough cream cheese frosting to cover the outside of the cake evenly. Cream cheese frosting can make really pretty spatula patterns, but I choose to do a simple smooth finish using a bench scraper.
• Crumble the extra cake trimmings into crumbs and gently press them into the sides of the cake, and then sprinkle on top as well.
• Using your piping tip of choice, pipe dollops of cream cheese frosting on top of the cake.
• This cake will last for about 4 days in the refrigerator, I recommend covering the cake in plastic wrap after cutting so that it doesn't dry out.

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9-inch round pans.
• Beat shortening and 1 1/2 cups sugar until very light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well.
• Make a paste of cocoa and red food coloring; add to creamed mixture. Mix salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and buttermilk together. Add the flour to the batter, alternating with the buttermilk mixture, mixing just until incorporated. Mix soda and vinegar and gently fold into cake batter. Don't beat or stir the batter after this point.
• Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cakes completely on wire rack.
• To Make Icing: Cook 5 tablespoons flour and milk over low heat till thick, stirring constantly. Let cool completely! While mixture is cooling, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla until light and fluffy. Add cooled flour mixture and beat until frosting is a good spreading consistency. Frost cake layers when completely cool.

EASY RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan or two 9-inch round cake pans and lightly flour, or spray with baking spray with flour.
• In large bowl, beat cake ingredients with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s).
• Bake as directed on box. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans. Cool completely.
• In chilled large bowl, mix cream cheese and milk until smooth. Beat in whipping cream and powered sugar with electric mixer on high speed, scraping bowl occasionally, until soft peaks form. Frost top of 13x9-inch cake or fill and frost cake layers. Store loosely covered in refrigerator.

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line the base and sides of two 20cm cake tins with baking parchment - if your cake tins are quite shallow, line the sides to a depth of at least 5cm.
• Put half each of the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. If there are any lumps in the sugar, squeeze these through your fingers to break them up.
• Mix half each of the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, food colouring and 100ml water in a jug. Add 2 eggs and whisk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until well combined. The cake mixture should be bright red, it will get a little darker as it cooks. If it's not as vivid as you'd like, add a touch more colouring. Pour the cake mixture evenly into the two tins, and bake for 25-30 mins, or until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the baking parchment and leave to cool.
• Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the remaining ingredients, so you have four sponge cakes in total. Can be made up to three days ahead and will stay moist if wrapped in cling film, or you can wrap well and freeze for up to two months.
• To make the icing, put the butter in a large bowl and sieve in half the icing sugar. Roughly mash together with a spatula, then whizz with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the soft cheese and vanilla, sieve in the remaining icing sugar, mash together again, then blend once more with the hand mixer.
• To assemble the cake, stick one of the sponges to a cake stand or board with a little of the soft cheese icing. Use roughly half the icing to stack the remaining cakes on top, spreading a generous amount between each layer. Pile the remaining icing on top of the assembled cake, and use a palette knife to ease it over the edges, covering the entire surface of the cake. Tidy the plate with a piece of kitchen paper. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, but bring back to room temperature for an hour or so before eating.This recipe was refreshed in July 2018 based on user feedback. For the original recipe, see our beetroot cake.

RED VELVET CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix the cookie crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt in a bowl. Press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Put the pan on a baking sheet and bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely.
• Make the filling: Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees F. Beat the cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the flour, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Transfer 2 cups batter to a bowl; stir in the cocoa powder and food coloring. Pour the red batter into the crust, then pour the white batter on top. Using a spoon, pull some of the red batter up from the bottom of the cake and swirl. Bake until the edges are set but the center is still wobbly, about 1 hour, 20 minutes.
• Turn off the oven but keep the cake inside to cool, 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan (don't remove the springform side), then transfer to a rack to cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before slicing.

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, vinegar, and vanilla, beating well.
• Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
• Add food coloring, beating until combined.
• Combine flour, and next 3 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
• Beat at low speed until blended after each addition.
• Pour into 2 greased and floured 9-inch cakepans.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool in pans on wire racks for 5 minutes; remove from pans and cool on wire racks.
• Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.
• Cream Cheese Frosting: beat cream cheese and butter until creamy; gradually add sugar and vanilla, beating well.
• Stir in pecans if desired.

RED VELVET CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Add the powdered sugar and vanilla: Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. The frosting will be much thicker than standard buttercream frosting. If the frosting seems too soft, place it in the refrigerator for 10 minutes to stiffen. If it still seems too runny, add more powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
• Trim the red velvet cake layers: Depending on your cake pans, the red velvet cake layers may have domed while baking. It's not a problem if they have. Use a large serrated knife to remove the domes. Optionally, you can save the trimmings to make crumbs to sprinkle on the cake.
• Refrigerate the cake and frosting: Place the cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for the frosting to set. Cover and refrigerate the bowl of frosting.