My Red Velvet cake features a truly velvety melt in your mouth cake with just the right amount of chocolate flavor. The tanginess from the buttermilk and cream cheese frosting compliment it perfectly.

a 3 layer slice of red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting and cake crumbs.

I love making layer cakes like my banana cake, carrot cake, and Reese's cake for holidays and birthdays. Another favorite especially this time of year for Valentine's Day is my Red Velvet cake. First, let me tell you what it is NOT. It is not dry, bland, or just chocolate cake dried red. It is tender, moist, and topped with fluffy frosting. It's also perfect for birthdays and Christmas.

Why Our Recipe Is the Best: A Sprinkle of Food Science

Buttermilk: It helps the cake stay super tender by slowing gluten's development and reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise.
Cake Flour: Cake flour is lower in protein which leads to less gluten development. This leads to a tender cake with a very fine crumb.
Extra Egg Yolk: This adds extra richness and also helps keep the cake stay tender.
Use Butter AND Oil: Butter adds a great flavor and oil helps it stay moist for days since it is a liquid at room temperature.
Use Natural Cocoa Powder: It is acidic which helps the cake rise. But more importantly it helps the cake stay red not brown. I also like to use cocoa powder instead of flour in the pan to prevent any white streaks.

Ingredient Notes + Shopping Tips

ingredients including butter, oil, sugar, buttermilk, vinegar, cocoa powder, cake flour, cream cheese, and powdered sugar.

Butter: Be sure buttered is softened but not melted. You should easily be able to make a dent with your finger. I like using unsalted butter, but if you're using salted just leave out the pinch of salt.
Buttermilk: For the best flavor and texture I suggest buying real cultured buttermilk. You can also use 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice per cup of milk but the texture won't be quite as nice.
Cocoa Powder: My favorite natural cocoa powder is Hershey's. Avoid Dutch process in this recipe which can turn the cake a muddy brown color.
Vinegar: Don't leave this out! It helps with rising, tenderness, and color. You won't taste it trust me!
Cream Cheese: Use full fat brick style (not spreadable) cream cheese. Be sure it is softened but not too warm which can make the frosting runny.
Cake Flour: If you don't have cake flour can make your own by removing 2 tablespoons of flour per cup and replacing it with 2 tablespoons cornstarch. Be sure to measure the flour correctly by spooning and leveling it in your measuring cup. Avoid dipping your cup in the flour as you'll use too much leading to a dry cake.

a four image collage showing how to assemble and frost a red velvet cake.

Krystle's Tips: Steal My Culinary School Secrets

Use room temperature ingredients. This will help everything mix together smoothly.
Don't overmix: This can lead to a tough gummy cake.
Flat Layers: Use a cake leveler to layers are easy to stack.
Don't Overbake: Bake until a tooth pick comes out with a few moist crumbs. You shouldn't see any raw batter, but you don't want it to be totally clean either. A totally clean toothpick can mean your cake is overbaked and dry.
Perfectly Smooth Frosting Every Time: I always frost my cakes on a rotating cake stand with an offset spatula.