I absolutely love red velvet cake and I use this recipe each time I make it. The end product produces a rich, deep red and moist, light texture. The deep red color is achieved using a combination of cocoa rouge and beet juice – it’s how I get my required daily serving of vegetable.
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
2 tbsp water
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (I use E. Guittard’s red dutch cocoa powder – Cocoa Rouge)
3 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp beet juice (1 medium beet yields about 4 tbsp or you may substitute with food colour)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Place the butter, water, and cocoa in a saucepan and heat gently, without boiling. Stir until completely melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
Beat together the buttermilk, vanilla extract, eggs, vinegar and beet juice until frothy. Beat in the butter mixture. Sift together the flour, cornstarch and baking powder, then stir into the mixture along with the superfine sugar.
Pour batter into pan of your choosing and bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes, or until risen and firm to the touch. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
Cut a slice, or just dig in and enjoy!
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-- Jacquee http://www.isugarcoatit.com | http://www.facebook.com/ISugarCoatIt
12 comments so far
AdventuresInCaking
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1390 posts in 563 days
#1 posted 384 days ago
I can’t think of a better way to get in a vegetable serving. Looks great!
-- Benni - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adventures-in-Caking/128896783863694
TheFrostedCakeBoutiq
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223 posts in 412 days
#2 posted 384 days ago
Wow this recipe looks amazing, and look at the red you’ve achieved! Great job I can’t wait to try this out!
-- Esther @ The Frosted Cake Boutique | https://www.facebook.com/TheFrostedCakeBoutique
KristianKyla
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81 posts in 401 days
#3 posted 382 days ago
can i use oil instead of butter? and what is the best substitute for buttermilk? b’coz here in my place it’s hard to find buttermilk. tnx a lot.
isugarcoatit
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253 posts in 412 days
#4 posted 381 days ago
Christina, I have not tried it with oil, but you can google how to make that substitution. Re: buttermilk, you can actually make it yourself, instructions here.
-- Jacquee http://www.isugarcoatit.com | http://www.facebook.com/ISugarCoatIt
jem2131
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11 posts in 490 days
#5 posted 376 days ago
If i don’t have E. Guittard’s red dutch cocoa powder, would i be able to use Hersey’s unsweetened cocoa powder ?
isugarcoatit
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253 posts in 412 days
#6 posted 374 days ago
Yes, jem2131, that should work!
-- Jacquee http://www.isugarcoatit.com | http://www.facebook.com/ISugarCoatIt
Once upon a Time Cakes Sligo
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2 posts in 421 days
#7 posted 343 days ago
This looks great! What size cake tin is the recipe for? Does it rise much?
-- www.onceuponatimesligo.com www.facebook.com/OnceUponATimeCakesSligo
Ozziecakes
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1 post in 315 days
#8 posted 315 days ago
when I make red velvet cakes the centre is red and about an inch around the sides it goes brown why does this happen? I would love it to look as red as yours.
Anoud
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1 post in 168 days
#9 posted 168 days ago
can i decorate this cake with Fondant?
Jakescakes
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126 posts in 196 days
#10 posted 123 days ago
Is this firm enough for fondant and construction cakes – I am looking for a good dense red velvet for this purpose that I dont have to bake in 2 tins
-- Janette, Jake's Cakes, www.eatjakescakes.blogspot.com.au
isugarcoatit
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253 posts in 412 days
#11 posted 122 days ago
Oops, so sorry for the rather tardy responses.
Once Upon A Time Cakes Sligo – I used three 6” pans.
Ozziecakes – I am sorry, I have no idea why that would happen, but if I come across any info, will certainly share.
Anoud and Jakescakes – I have decorated with fondant, but I use ganache under my fondant, which seems to provide a more stable/sturdier base from which to work. Here is an example of one I recently made: http://www.isugarcoatit.com/2012/12/red-velvet-white-chocolate-gift-cake.html.
Hope that was helpful! I do this as a hobby and still learning, so my responses are based on what has worked for me.
-- Jacquee http://www.isugarcoatit.com | http://www.facebook.com/ISugarCoatIt
wykedsweet
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6 posts in 105 days
#12 posted 105 days ago
did you know originally the red in red velvet came from mashed bing cherry juice?
-- As Ever I Am, WykedSweet
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