| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Prep: | 40 min |
| Cook: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter, for the pans
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 3/4 cups vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1-ounce bottle red food coloring
- 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 1-pound boxes confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups pecans, finely chopped
Instructions
- Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter three 9-inch-round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper; butter the parchment and dust with flour.
- Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk the granulated sugar and eggs in a separate large bowl until combined. Gradually stir in the vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, stirring well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and red food coloring.
- Divide the batter evenly among the pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks to finish cooling; peel off the parchment.
- Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with a mixer until creamy. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar until the mixture is smooth. Beat in the vanilla and nuts, reserving 2 tablespoons nuts for garnish. (You can make the cakes and/or frosting up to 2 days ahead; wrap the cakes in plastic wrap and refrigerate the frosting.)
- Spread the frosting between the layers, on the side and on top of the cake. Garnish with the reserved pecans.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 1235 |
| Total Fat | 77 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Carbohydrates | 134 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 110 g |
| Protein | 8 g |
| Cholesterol | 122 mg |
| Sodium | 492 mg |
Reviews
Dry Dry and Dry. It lacked flavor and it did not really rise. I was skeptical about just using baking soda but I followed the recipe as written and I was definitely disappointed.
I made this for Thanksgiving! It was a winner without a doubt. I’m so grateful for this recipe. Delicious and beautiful ( I like good tasting and good looking cakes! )
This cake is delicious. I made a couple changes. 2 tea. Red food coloring instead of 1oz.
3 tea. regular white vinegar.
The vinegar is what makes the flavor of red Velvet.
Cake was done in 25 min.
3 tea. regular white vinegar.
The vinegar is what makes the flavor of red Velvet.
Cake was done in 25 min.
Too oily and heavy. Everyone at Christmas table left it on their plate.
The cake was good; I wanted a recipe that reminded me of my aunt’s Red Velvet Cake as a child.I felt the icing was a bit sweet and I felt the cake needed a bit more punch of flavor perhaps a bit more buttermilk? I’m not sure I would take the time to make this version again.
This cake is amazing!! Super moist and tastes great
Extremely good
Too much oil and sugar in this recipe. Made the cake heavy and crunchy on the outside. I will not be making this recipe again.
Frosting was great. Cake itself was flat.
Awesome cake the only recipe I will ever use for this cake !!