Old-Fashioned Red Velvet Cake from Scratch

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 20

Total Time: 40

Servings: slices

Calories: 496kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Classic, decadent red velvet layer cake, filled and frosted with homemade cream cheese frosting, and topped with white chocolate-covered strawberries

Print Recipe

Equipment

Ingredients

For the Red Velvet Cake

2 ½ cups flour
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 eggs
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cup oil or melted butter
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ounce red food coloring or one tablespoon beetroot powder

For the White Chocolate-Covered Strawberries

5 strawberries washed and patted dry
1 cup white chocolate chips melted according to package instructions

For the Cream Cheese Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
½ cup butter softened and cut into chunks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
4 cups powdered sugar sifted

Instructions

Make the Cakes: Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two round, nine-inch baking pans. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in one mixing bowl
2 ½ cups flour, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
In another mixing bowl, beat the eggs with whisk then mix in sugar, oil, milk, vinegar, vanilla extract, and food coloring.
2 eggs, 1 ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 ½ cup oil, 1 cup milk, 1 teaspoon white vinegar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 ounce red food coloring
Add dry mixture to wet mixture and stir until smooth with no pockets of flour to form cake batter. Divide batter equally between prepared pans and transfer to oven to bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean.
Dip the Strawberries: While the cake bakes, dip strawberries into melted chocolate and set aside on a sheet of wax or parchment paper to harden.
5 strawberries, 1 cup white chocolate chips
Cool cakes in pans for ten minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely. Horizontally slice the domes off the top of each cake to make them flat. Crumble these scraps of cake into a bowl and set aside.
Make the Frosting: While the cakes cool, use mixer to cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract, salt, and one cup of powdered sugar. Add remaining powdered sugar one cup at a time and beat until smooth.
8 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 4 cups powdered sugar
Decorate the Cake: Spread a thick layer of frosting over top of one cake layer then stack the other cake layer on top of it and spread a crumb coat of frosting around the sides of both layers and over the top until evenly coated. Use the remaining frosting to cover the crumb coat then press the cake crumbs around the sides of the cake. Place strawberries in a circle on top of cake then sprinkle the rest of the crumbs in between each strawberry.

Notes

Preparation

You can bake, cool, and frost the cake up to three days ahead of time with great taste and texture using the storage instructions below.

If you don't have a stand mixer or a hand mixer, you can actually make the cream cheese frosting in a blender or food processor! Just add all your ingredients and pulse until combined, pausing the scrape down the sides, as needed.

Modifications

This recipe makes two nine-inch cake layers but you can use eight-inch pans instead--the cakes will just be thicker. Or you can turn it into a sheet cake by baking it in an oblong 9 x 13-inch pan. You can also use a jumbo muffin pan to make 12 bakery-style muffins, a standard cupcake pan to bake 24 cupcakes or transform it into a bundt cake instead. For a small-batch option, cut the recipe in half to make a single-layer cake.

You can make this recipe with two flax eggs instead of chicken eggs. To make a flax egg, mix one tablespoon of flax meal (ground flax seeds) in three tablespoons of water and let it sit until you're ready to use it.

Storage

Store it refrigerated in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap to keep the cake moist and the frosting soft. Keeps for up to five days.

To freeze just the cake (without frosting), wrap the fully-cooled cake layers in a few layers of plastic wrap then a layer of aluminum foil, and transfer to the freezer. To freeze the frosted cake, refrigerate it overnight first to allow the frosting to get firm, then wrap it and transfer it to the freezer. With either option, the cake will keep for up to three months. I don't recommend freezing the chocolate covered strawberries.

Nutrition