Recipe For Classic Red Velvet Cake With Cream Cheese Icing
The red velvet cake recipe that you’ve been looking for! This classic dessert cake is the perfect finish to your Christmas dessert menu.
I love serving special holiday recipes that create a sense of nostalgia and tradition with my decor and with my food at Christmas. This recipe for classic red velvet cake checks both of those boxes! Whether you’re making a dessert for a special holiday gathering, Valentine’s Day or just to enjoy whenever the urge strikes, this is a classic recipe that you’ll return to time after time.
For me, it’s a recipe that I prepare annually, for our holiday family Christmas party. It’s one of the things “required” to be on the menu, if you know what I mean. Other dishes can come and go, but the red velvet cake must be there!
The pecans are totally optional, but our family loves these southern morsels of goodness! I usually add a ring of them around the top of the cake for an embellishment and because, well…pecans. WinkWink
I was surprised by the location of a couple of the pecans when I cut this slice. I guess they were a part of the cream cheese icing between the layers and I just happened to cut where they were located.
Classic Red Velvet Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
FOR THE CAKE
- 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup two 1-ounce bottles red food coloring
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 large eggs
FOR THE FROSTING
- 1/3 pound 1 1/3 sticks butter, softened to room temperature
- 10 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 pound confectioner's sugar
- 2 cups chopped pecans optional
Instructions
TO MAKE THE CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Mix together all ingredients with an electric mixer. No sifting of dry ingredients is necessary.
- Spray three 9-inch round cake pans well with nonstick spray.
- Pour batter equally into the three pans and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool layers in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes.
- Carefully remove layers from the pans and leave on the racks to cool completely.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING
- Combine butter, cream cheese and confectioner's sugar in a bowl.
- Beat until fluffy, then fold in 1 1/2 cups of the pecans.
- Frost the cake when completely cooled.
- Decorate the top of the cake with the remaining 1/2 cup of pecans.
- Refrigerate for at least one hour before serving.
Notes
Do not use low fat cream cheese.
Pecans are optional.
One of the best things about this cake, besides the delicious flavor, is that it’s basically a measure, dump and mix recipe. No sifting of the dry ingredients is required and no flouring of cakes pans either! A very easy red velvet cake recipe! Enjoy, my friends!
Mmmm! What a pretty and delicious looking cake! I’ve never made red velvet from scratch, but now I want to!
I can’t let this red velvet pass without me having a slice or two! 😀 This looks absolutely perfect! Thanks for sharing at this week’s FF party.
How yummy! Thank you for bringing it along to Fiesta Friday!
Happy New Year!
Your Classic RedVelvet Cake looks delicious and what a lovely presentation. Thanks so much for sharing your awesome post with us at Full Plate Thursday. Wishing you a fantastic 2017!
Miz Helen
I just love red velvet cake! This looks so yummy! Thanks for sharing it with us at Funtastic Friday! I chose this post to be featured in the Funtastic Friday that is now LIVE! http://www.lifebetweenthekitchenandthecoop.com/linky-party/
Congratulations!
Your post is featured on Full Plate Thursday! Thanks so much for sharing with us and hope you enjoy your new Red Plate!
Miz Helen
This will work well for Valentine’s Day too. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe sounds amazing and one that I would love to make for an upcoming birthday coming up and I love the walnuts on top.
Oh my! I already am a lover of red velvet cake! The pecans take this one over the top!!
This is on my to do list for the weekend!
I haven’t had Red Velvet Cake in years, it was my father-in-laws favorite and he passed away a little over 5 years ago and we just haven’t hide it since. It looks delicious tho!
Cannot wait to try this cake, it looks so yummy!! My daughter loves red velvet cake. Thinking of making this cake for her birthday. Thanks for sharing!
This sounds yummy…
I am not able to have red food coloring so will omit…
do you think I can replace the coloring with water or
omit it all together…
Hi Edy. I don’t know for sure, but I think you could since food coloring doesn’t add to the flavor of the cake – at least to me it doesn’t. Just keep in mind that you’ll need a total of 2 oz. of water (each bottle of food coloring is 1 oz) to replace it. I googled about replacing the red food coloring with other items and there were quite a few suggestions for what you could use and still give the cake its distinctive red color. Please let me know how it turns out if you decide to give it a try!
Love it!!!!! Red Velvet Cake YEAR-ROUND!!!!!!!!
I’ve been making this for years with the original recipe from the Waldorf Astoria hotel restaurant in NYC. I hope everyone one will try the original frosting so kindly given above by Nancie. If you haven’t tried it, I hope you will. As the recipe moved south it picked up the cream cheese frosting and then began being claimed as a Southern classic. Check out the cake’s fascinating history from New York to Canada to Texas here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/dining/red-velvet-cake-from-gimmick-to-american-classic.html?_r=0
This is the best ever! It must partially be a few drops of red food coloring doesn’t do the trick, it takes more to have a truly red cake. And my fav frosting is cream cheese, oh boy, I’m going to have to make this soon!
My layers didn’t rise a hole lot. Is that normal?
Hi Stephanie. They should rise as much as cake layers normally rise. Have you checked the expiration dates on your flour and baking soda? 😀
Hi your cake look amazing. Can I use cake flour instead of self rising
Hi Latasha. Using cake flour should be fine as long as it’s a self-rising variety.
This is exactly what I need for my wedding anniversary next week. Thank you for your recipe!
I hope you love the cake as much as we do. Happy anniversary!
Thank you!
Thank you for sharing this delightfully easy, mouthwateringly delicious recipe. Have baked this cake several times since I first tried it a few weeks back and it’s been a huge success each time!
It’s the best red velvet cake I’ve ever had. Thank you for letting me know!
very delicious cake!!! Everyone loved it, altho I thought it was a bit too sweet!! The frosting was amazing! will definitely make it again! Made it for my Birthday!