When I first shared this red velvet cake recipe a few years ago, I remember being SO excited because it was genuinely one of the softest cakes I had ever made. Now, with over 300 5-star reviews, I’m so glad you are all loving it as much as I do! It’s incredibly moist with that classic velvety texture, full of flavor, and topped with the most delicious, slightly tangy cream cheese buttercream.
What Exactly Is a Red Velvet Cake?!
So, what exactly makes a red velvet cake a red velvet cake?! Think of it as a delicious middle ground between a vanilla and chocolate cake, with a subtle chocolate flavor, a hint of tanginess, and that signature soft, velvety texture.
The tangy flavor comes from ingredients like buttermilk and vinegar, which are classic in red velvet cake recipes. These days, red velvet cake is usually made with red food coloring for that gorgeous deep red color and is most commonly paired with cream cheese frosting or ermine frosting.
For this recipe, I’m going with my favorite pairing: a rich, creamy, and slightly tangy cream cheese buttercream! If you prefer ermine frosting, you can also check out my traditional red velvet cake recipe, which uses the same soft red velvet cake base but is topped with classic ermine frosting instead. Some people prefer it, as it’s less sweet and a bit more subtle in flavor. I also have an eggless red velvet cake recipe that I promise is just as soft and moist!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
SO soft and velvety: This cake has the most incredibly soft, tender texture that practically melts in your mouth.
Perfectly balanced flavor: It has just the right amount of chocolate flavor, sweetness, and tanginess without any one flavor being overpowering.
Cream cheese buttercream: The slightly tangy, creamy frosting pairs SO well with the soft red velvet cake.
Easy to make: You don’t need any fancy equipment or complicated techniques to make this cake.
A total crowd-pleaser: With over 300 5-star reviews, I think it’s safe to say this one is a reader favorite! 💗
A Note on the Updated Measurements
You may notice that some of the cup and tablespoon measurements in this recipe have changed slightly from the original recipe. When I first developed this recipe, I wanted to keep the measurements as accurate as possible, so I would measure an ingredient using a cup or tablespoon, weigh that amount, and use the resulting gram weight as my exact measurement. I did this because I often found that ingredient conversions don’t always translate perfectly, and weighing the amount I naturally measured could sometimes give a more accurate result.
Over time, though, I realized this could be confusing, so I’ve moved toward using standard US cup and spoon measurements. I have not changed any of the gram measurements, so the recipe itself has not changed.
I still highly recommend using the gram measurements whenever possible. For example, 1 cup of all-purpose flour is generally considered 120 g, but depending on how you measure that cup, you can easily end up with a different weight. Using a scale gives you a much more consistent and accurate measurement every time.
The following measurements have been updated from the original recipe:
– Cornstarch: 3 tbsp (18 g) → 2½ tbsp (18 g)
– Cocoa powder: 3 tbsp (14 g) → 2½ tbsp (14 g)
– Vegetable oil: ¾ cup (141 g) → ⅔ cup (141 g)
– Buttermilk: ¾ cup (158 g) → ⅔ cup (158 g)
Again, the gram measurements have remained exactly the same, so these updates do not change the recipe or the final cake.
How to Make Red Velvet Cake
You can find the full list of ingredients for this red velvet cake recipe in the recipe card at the end of the blog post. For easy navigation, just hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of the page. Here’s a quick visual breakdown of how to make it, and you’ll also find the recipe video in the recipe card below.
Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) conventional and grease and/or line two 8×3-inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release).
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, unsweetened cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
In a large bowl, add the butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer, cream together for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
Add the vanilla, white vinegar and red liquid food coloring, and mix until well combined. Set the mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold together with a spatula until just combined. Add all of the buttermilk and gently fold until just combined. Lastly, add the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Be careful not to open the oven door too early, as this can cause the cake layers to sink. Also, avoid overbaking the cake layers, as this can cause them to dry out.
Allow the cakes to cool in the cake pans for 15-20 minutes before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool. Once cooled, frost with my cream cheese buttercream frosting.
How to Decorate Your Cake
There’s no particular way to decorate a red velvet cake, but here’s how I decorated mine using my cream cheese frosting recipe. 🙂
Usually, I would trim (or torte) the tops of the cakes with a serrated knife to make them flat, but these red velvet layers bake up really nice and flat, so no trimming was required. I went ahead and added a generous amount of frosting to my first cake layer and smoothed it out with my offset spatula before placing the next cake layer on top.
Next, I added some frosting to the top cake layer and spread it out with my offset spatula. I then used the excess frosting on the sides to cover the entire cake. I only did a thin layer of frosting and didn’t worry about doing a crumb coat because I was piping rosettes all around the cake. If you also want to pipe rosettes, you’ll need to make 1.5x my cream cheese frosting recipe to ensure you have enough frosting.
I used a 1M piping tip to pipe rosettes all around the cake! If you’re new to piping, check out my beginner’s piping tutorial or my 1M piping tip tutorial.
Once your cake is decorated, pop it into the fridge to allow everything to firm up. This will make it easier to cut. We don’t want the cake to be cold, though, so bring it out of the fridge about an hour or so before cutting. If it’s still cold when you cut into it, let it come to room temperature before eating. Trust me, it’s worth the wait! 😀
How to Store Red Velvet Cake
Because this cake is topped with cream cheese buttercream, I recommend storing it in the fridge. If you have leftover cake, make sure slices are covered well or stored in an airtight container, as the fridge can dry out the cake.
Can I Freeze Red Velvet Cake?
I haven’t personally tried freezing this red velvet cake, so I can’t say for certain how it will turn out, but I think it would be fine based on other similar recipes that I have frozen. If you’d like to freeze it, I recommend only freezing the cake layers and not the cream cheese buttercream, as it may split or become grainy when thawed. Wrap the unfrosted cake layers really well in plastic wrap and placing them in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag to help protect them from freezer burn. Allow them to thaw completely before decorating or serving.
Commonly Asked Questions
Why did my red velvet cake sink in the middle?
There are a few reasons why a cake can sink in the middle, including opening the oven door too early, overmixing the batter, inaccurate ingredient measurements, underbaking the cake or putting too much batter in one cake pan. If you’re having trouble with your cake sinking, I’ve put together a whole post on why cakes sink in the middle where I go through the most common causes and how to prevent them.
Can I use gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring for this recipe?
Yes, you can use gel food coloring instead of liquid food coloring. However, because gel coloring is much more concentrated, you won’t need as much. Dilute your gel coloring with just under 3½ tablespoons of water or milk to make up for the liquid lost when using gel coloring.
This recipe uses 3½ tablespoons of liquid food coloring, but using that much gel coloring would be far too concentrated. The additional liquid also helps thin out the batter, resulting in a fluffier, more velvety cake.
Can I use a different size pan?
Yes, you can use a different size cake pan, but you’ll need to adjust the amount of batter you use depending on the size of your pan. This recipe is designed to be divided between two 8-inch cake pans, and I don’t recommend putting all of the batter into one 8-inch pan. Because this is a soft cake, too much batter in one pan can cause the center to sink as it bakes, while the edges can overbake before the center is fully cooked.
For example, 1x this recipe can also be baked as one 10-inch cake, as the larger pan provides enough surface area for the batter to bake properly. The important thing is to avoid baking a very tall cake and then torting it into layers. This red velvet cake is best baked as individual layers, which helps the cake bake more evenly and prevents the edges from becoming overbaked before the center is fully cooked.
Can I use this recipe to make red velvet cupcakes?
For a cupcake version of this recipe, check out my red velvet cupcake recipe. It’s essentially a smaller quantity of this recipe, making just enough for 12 cupcakes!
Can I use a buttermilk substitute?
Yes, a buttermilk substitute will work perfectly fine in this recipe. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can learn how to make your own buttermilk substitute here.
Soft Red Velvet Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cake
- 2¼ cups (275 g) all-purpose flour - regular all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- 2½ tbsps (18 g) cornstarch
- 2½ tbsps (14 g) cocoa powder - unsweetened. Natural cocoa powder preferred (see note 2)
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - see note 3
- 6 tbsps (86 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ⅔ cup (141 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1¾ cups (344 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 tbsp (12 g) vanilla extract/essence
- 1½ tsps white vinegar
- 3½ tbsps (38 g) red liquid food colouring
- ⅔ cup (158 g) buttermilk - room temperature
Cream Cheese Buttercream
- 1 batch of my cream cheese buttercream frosting recipe - see note 4 if piping rosettes around the cake like I have
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) conventional (see note 5 if using a convection oven with a fan) and grease and/or line two 8x3-inch cake pans (I use my homemade cake release).
- In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk, mix until well combined. Set aside for now.
- In a large bowl, add the butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (see note 6), cream together for 2-3 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition.
- Add the vanilla, vinegar and red liquid food coloring, and mix until well combined. Set the mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and gently fold together with a spatula until just combined. Add all of the buttermilk and gently fold until just combined. Lastly, add the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 7).
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Be careful not to open the oven door too early, as this can cause the cake layers to sink (see note 8). Also, avoid overbaking the cake layers, as this can cause them to dry out.
- Allow the cakes to cool in the cake pans for 15-20 minutes before carefully turning them out onto a wire rack to completely cool. Once cooled, frost with my cream cheese frosting (see blog post above for decorating ideas). Once your cake is decorated, pop it into the fridge for 30 minutes to allow everything to firm up (see note 9).
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
715 Comments
Hi! I’m not a baker, but love red velvet. I’ve attempted your recipe twice and it was an epic fail. I keep getting stuck on incorporating the oil, butter, and sugar; it never gets to a fluffy state. It stays watery. What am I doing wrong? To note, one of the my hand mixer tools broke, so I was left using only one. Could that be it?
Hi Leilani! 🙂
So sorry to hear you’re having trouble with the red velvet cake. The step where you cream the butter, oil, and sugar should result in a light and slightly fluffy mixture, but if you’re only using one hand mixer attachment, that could definitely be affecting the outcome. With only one beater, you’re not incorporating as much air, which is key for that creamy texture.
Also, make sure your butter is at room temperature and not too cold or melted as that can also affect how it blends with the oil and sugar. If things still look watery, try beating the mixture for a bit longer with both beaters (once replaced), and you should notice a difference!
Hope that helps for next time 🙂
Hello MK thank you for your recipes I love love love them. Do you recommend freezing your cakes and then decorating them at a later like say freeze for 4 days then take out over night and decorate
Hi Faith! Aww thank you so much, so glad you’re enjoying the recipes 😀
Yes I do recommend freezing cakes if you’re prepping ahead. Just make sure the cake layers are completely cool, then wrap them well in cling film and foil or place in an airtight container. When you’re ready, take them out the night before and let them thaw (still wrapped) at room temp, then decorate as usual the next day. Hope that helps 🙂
Can you bake this in a sheet pan ?
Hi Karen! Yes 1x this recipe should bake well in a 9×13 inch pan, you may just need to reduce the cook time slightly to ensure it doesn’t overbake. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂
My cakes sank a bit in the middle. I did not open the oven at all. Does this mean they will be raw in middle
Hi Franca! 😊 Not necessarily! A slight dip in the middle doesn’t automatically mean the cake is raw. However, if the centre has sunk significantly, it can sometimes indicate that it wasn’t fully baked through. I’d recommend checking the centre with a skewer and it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs, and the centre should feel set when gently pressed.
To help prevent the cakes from sinking, I recommend using the gram measurements for the most accurate results (if you didn’t already), avoid overmixing the batter once the flour is added, divide the batter between two 8-inch pans not one as too much batter in one pan can cause sinking and make sure your oven is fully preheated and reaching the correct temperature. It’s also important to bake the cakes until the centre is fully set before removing them from the oven. Hope that helps for next time 🙂
hello could i bake this in just one 8 inch cake tin and then cut the cake in half? would it change the baking time?
Hi Nabeelah! 😊 I wouldn’t recommend baking all of the batter in one 8-inch cake tin and then cutting it in half. There would be too much batter in the pan, which would make the cake quite deep and could prevent the centre from baking properly, leaving the outside overbaked before the middle is fully cooked. I recommend dividing the batter between two 8-inch cake tins as written in the recipe for the best results 🙂
Can the dye be added to the liquid ingrediants, instead of mixing in later
Hi Todd! 😊 I recommend adding the food colouring at the stage shown in the recipe – after the butter and sugar have been creamed and the eggs have been added, but before adding the dry ingredients. This helps ensure the colouring is evenly incorporated without having to overmix the batter once the flour is added.
You may be able to mix it into the other liquid ingredients, but I haven’t tested the recipe that way, so I’d recommend sticking to the method as written for the best results. Hope that helps 🙂
Hi loved it , may I know the total weight of the sponge that this recipe yield ?
Awesome! So glad you loved the recipe Prathiba 😀
Unfortunately I don’t weigh my cakes so I’m not too sure about that sorry!
How would you adjust the baking time/temp if using this recipe for cupcakes?
Hi Elizabeth! 🙂
Simply reduce the cook time to around the 18 min mark – baking temp will stay the same.
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Can I substitute apple cider vinegar or lemon juice for the white vinegar in this recipe?
Hi Nel 🙂
I haven’t tried that myself so I’m not too sure if it would impact the taste – sorry about that! I have heard of people using apple cider in the past which seems to work okay, so you could maybe give that a try, I just can’t say for sure sorry!
Hi, this is my first time making this cake, I live about 910ft above sea level, do I have to make any modification or Am I good to go?
Hi Marcela! 🙂
Hmm I am not too sure about the necessary adjustments sorry as I don’t have experience baking at high altitudes. I’m so sorry about that, but would love to hear how you go if you decide to try it out with any adjustments you may have made 🙂
Hi I have made this for the first time . For some reason my cake has really sunk in the middle and the edges look burnt what have I done wrong.? I followed it exactly .
Hi Lynne! Sorry to hear you’ve had some trouble with the cake. My best tips would be to make sure you’re using two 8-inch tins and try not opening the oven door too early while baking, as that can cause the middle to sink. Oven temperatures can also vary, so keeping an eye on it can help. Check out this blog post for more tips – https://cakesbymk.com/recipe/why-did-my-cake-sink-in-the-middle/
Hope that helps for next time 🙂
Awesomeness. My cakes turned out super flat, moist, yum and rich in flavour. I went straight on to the recipe. Best red velvet version I have tried so far. Thank you.
Awesome! So so happy to hear you loved the recipe Fairy! 😀
The most delicious red velvet cake I’ve ever made! It is a tradition in our family to have homemade red velvet cake for Christmas so this year I decided to give your recipe a go and oh my goodness your cake took the cake!!!! My family loves the cake saying it is the best red velvet cake that I ever made so THANK YOU for sharing your recipe. Your recipe will become our family’s recipe for many years to come!!!! Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Aww yay! This makes me so so happy Connie 😀
So glad you and your family loved the recipe and what an honor that your family thought it’s the best red velvet cake you’ve made to date!
Really appreciate the wonderful feedback 🙂
Hi MK, I made this today and found that the volume of ingredients did not equal the weight on the ingredients list. Is that okay? I used the weight when i made, waiting for it to be frosted,
Hi there! 🙂
If you used the gram measurements then that’s fine as the gram measurements are the exact quantities I use. The cup measurements are based on US cups which may be slightly different in size to the cups you may have used, or it could also be a slight difference in the density of ingredients used (based on brand, country of origin, etc.). Hope that helps and hope you enjoyed the recipe 🙂