Forget the boxed stuff, this homemade red velvet bundt cake is so delicious and completely true to its name with the most velvety texture. It's made with real butter and topped with a delicious cream cheese glaze for the perfect bite!
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Red velvet cake is one of my all-time favorites. It is great year-round, but thanks to its vibrant red color I think it is especially fitting for the holiday season.
This was inspired by Food Network's Southern Red Velvet Cake with a few key changes that I will go into more detail on later in the post (hint: they involve real butter 😉)
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Ingredients and substitutions
You will find that this recipe doesn't lend itself to very many substitutions. Baking is a science and if you start changing things up too much you are likely to significantly alter the end result. I have listed a few potential swaps, but I would suggest sticking as close to the original recipe as possible.
- Cake Flour is finer and contains slightly less protien compared to traditional all-purpose flour. You can swap all-purpose flour for the cake flour by subtracting 2 tablespoons of flour for every level cup (5 tablespoons total for this recipe)
- Baking Soda
- Fine Salt
- Cocoa Powder
- Unsalted Butter - this is the primary difference between the food network recipe I listed above and this recipe. I love the flavor of real butter in a cake, plus I think that creaming the butter and sugar together (more on that later) gives the cake a softer texture. You can use salted butter, and just decrease the additional salt by half.
- Sugar
- Vegetable Oil or canola oil
- Buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, just mix 1 cup of regular milk with 1 teaspoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and allow it to sit for a few minutes)
- White Vinegar
- Vanilla Extract or vanilla bean paste
- Eggs
- Red Food Coloring - I really wanted to make this without food dye but unfortunately I wasn't able to find a good alternative. Since this cake is only an occasional treat, I didn't sweat it too much, but if you know of a good alternative I would love to hear about it in the comments!
- Cake Goop or Baker's Non-Stick Spray
Ingredients for the cream cheese glaze:
- Cream Cheese
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar
- Vanilla Extract or vanilla bean paste
- Milk
See the recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Start out by preheating the oven to 350° F. I know how tempting it can be to skip preheating - but with cakes, it is super important for proper cooking!
Then, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder and set the mixture aside. Again, I know that sifting seems like a major pain, but it is critical for achieving the velvet in red velvet.
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until the sugar has begun to melt and the entire mixture is light and fluffy (see the photo above).
Next, add the vegetable oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, eggs, and food coloring to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir until combined. It will look a little lumpy or curdled. This is normal so keep going 👍
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Combine using an electric mixer just until uniform, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Be mindful not to overmix your batter. You want to stop as soon as the batter is uniform and everthing is incorporated. Overmixing can mess with the texture of the cake causing it to be somehow crumbly and gummy at the same time.
Grease a 10" bundt pan with cake goop or baker's non-stick spray. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan, then gently tap the pan on the countertop to level the batter.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a cooling rack.
Hint: Properly greasing a bundt pan is a critical step. The shape of the pan makes it so easy for cakes to stick and also makes it really difficult to patch things up if it does. Check out my homemade cake release post for tips!
While the cake cools prepare the glaze. Mix the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until it's all smooth.
Start adding the milk one tablespoon at a time until the glaze reaches a pourable consistency, similar to honey. If you are having a hard time getting it thin enough, you can heat it up for about 30 seconds in the microwave.
After the cake has cooled, pour the frosting over the top in an even layer.
Hint: For easy pouring, transfer the prepared glaze to a measuring cup with a spout.
Variations
- Make a layer cake instead of a Bundt - Prepare the batter as the recipe describes, but pour it into 2, greased 8-inch pans. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Top with your favorite cream cheese frosting!
- Alternative topping - Instead of the cream cheese glaze, melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips in a double boiler with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil. Drizzle the white chocolate over the cake and allow the chocolate to harden before serving.
Equipment
To make this cake you will need:
- A 10" Bundt Pan
- Various Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Electric Mixer
- Rubber Spatula
- Flour Sifter
Storage
This cake should be stored in the fridge due to the cream cheese glaze. If you decide to use a different topping then it can be kept at room temperature.
It will keep for up to a week but is definitely best when eaten within a day or two of baking. Leftovers can also be frozen for up to 6 months!
FAQs
Red velvet cake is unique from other cakes due to the use of a small amount of cocoa, buttermilk, and vinegar. Not only do these ingredients give this cake a great taste, but the combination also gives the cake a maroonish color (hence the name Red Velvet) This color is usually enhanced with food coloring nowadays but that is hot red velvet became red velvet.
A Bundt cake is simply a cake that has been baked in a Bundt pan. A Bundt pan is round with a hole in the center. Bundt cakes can be made in just about any flavor imaginable.
Personally, I like how easy they are to decorate and serve. Since the shape of the cake is unique, they required very little in the way of decorating skills.
Red velvet cake has a mild chocolate flavor with some hints of acid from the buttermilk. This lends itself perfectly to the typical cream cheese frosting.
📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Bundt Cake
Equipment
- 10" Bundt Pan
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Electric Mixer
- Rubber Spatula
- Flour Sifter
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups Cake Flour
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1 teaspoon Fine Salt
- ¼ cup Cocoa Powder
- ½ lb Unsalted Butter softened
- 1 ½ cups Sugar
- ½ cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup Buttermilk at room temp
- 1 teaspoon White Vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 Large Eggs at room temp
- 2 tablespoon Red Food Coloring
- Cake Goop or Baker's Non-Stick Spray
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz Cream Cheese softened
- 2 tablespoon Butter softened
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1-4 tablespoon Milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Then set the mixture aside.2 ½ cups Cake Flour, 1 teaspoon Baking Soda, 1 teaspoon Fine Salt, ¼ cup Cocoa Powder
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until the sugar has begun to melt and the entire mixture is light and fluffy.½ lb Unsalted Butter, 1 ½ cups Sugar
- Add the vegetable oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, eggs, and food coloring to the butter and sugar mixture. Stir until combined.½ cup Vegetable Oil, 1 cup Buttermilk, 1 teaspoon White Vinegar, 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 2 Large Eggs, 2 tablespoon Red Food Coloring
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Combine using an electric mixer just until uniform, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Grease a 10" bundt pan with cake goop or baker's non-stick spray. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan, then gently tap the pan on the countertop to level the batter.Cake Goop
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserved in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a cooling rack.
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
- While the cake cools prepare the frosting. Mix the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.8 oz Cream Cheese, 2 tablespoon Butter, 1 cup Powdered Sugar, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- Add the milk one tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches a pourable consistency, similar to honey.1-4 tablespoon Milk
- After the cake is completely cooled, pour the frosting over the top in an even layer.
Be sure to read the entire post for tips, tricks, and help troubleshooting.
The nutrition information listed here is only an estimate and is simply provided as a courtesy. It nor any other information within this post should constitute medical or nutritional advice. Be sure to read all packaging and ingredient labels for potential allergens. Optional ingredients are not included unless otherwise specified.
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