A classic you definitely heard about by now is the Red Velvet Cake. Rich, delicious base accompanied by a smooth cream cheese frosting. Oh, my! If you didn’t give it a chance yet, now’s the time. Check out some tips to get a foolproof cream cheese frosting, by the way! Sometimes it proves to be quite tricky.
Tips and tricks for the best Red Velvet Cake:
-For the cream cheese frosting, look for the mascarpone and cream cheese with the highest fat percentage.
-Drain the excess liquit out of the cream cheese and mascarpone before whipping it.
-The temperature of the ingredients is super important. Make sure they are at room temperature so they get fluffy and mix easier.
-Best tip I could give you for avoiding runny frosting is DO NOT OVERBEAT IT! Stop whipping the cream cheese frosting as soon as it comes together and looks fluffy and stiff.
-When folding the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix, use a spatula and slowly mix from the bottom to the top.
-After levelling the cake base, keep the remaining bits for decorating with cake crumbs.
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients:
Red Velvet Cake Base
- 2⅔ cups flour (400g)
- 1½ cup sugar (330g)
- 2 tbsp cocoa
- ½ cup butter (120g)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup oil (250 ml)
- 1 cup buttermilk (230ml)
- 1 tsp vinegar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2½ tbsp red food colouring gel works best
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 1⅛ cups mascarpone (250g)
- 1⅛ cups cream cheese
- 1¼ cup heavy cream (300ml)
- 1 cup sugar (120g)
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Red Velvet Cake Base
- Preheat the oven at 180°C. Grease 3x20cm OR 2x25cm cake pans with cooking spray and dust with 1 tbsp of cocoa, removing the excess cocoa by hitting the edges of the pan.
- Beat the room temperature butter with sugar until light in colour and sugar is melted, then add the eggs 1 by 1 and incorporate.
- In a separate bowl, mix together cocoa, oil, food colouring and vanilla extract. Add this mix and the vinegar on top of the creamed butter and incorporate.
- Mix the baking soda, salt and flour together. Sift them on top of the coloured mix and incorporate, then add the buttermilk and mix until fully incorporated.
- Equally divide the cake batter and pour it into the pans. Bake for 25-30 mins at 180°C or until it passes the toothpick test (toothpick comes out clean from the middle of the cake).
- Allow to cool in the pans, then transfer onto a cooling rack. Use a bread knife to level the cakes and keep the crumbs for decorating.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat together the mascarpone and cream cheese (both at room temperature) until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and mix at medium speed until fluffy (2-3 mins).
- In a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream with the vanilla extract for 2-3 minutes. Incorporate it in the cream cheese mix using a spatula, with up-down movements, starting from the bottom of the bowl and working your way up.
- Transfer the cake base and the cream to the fridge for at least 30 minutes to make the decorating process easier.
Assembling the cake:
- Divide the cream cheese frosting in 3 equal parts. Transfer 1 of the bases on a flat plate/cake stand, flat side down. Scoop ⅓ of the frosting on it and evenly spread it on the cake.
- Repeat with the second layer, then place the third layer of cake on top. Decorate with the remaining frosting, then spread the cake crumbs on top.
- Transfer to the fridge for at least 1 hr before serving.
You can find similar recipes here: Carrot Cake , Red Velvet Crinkle Cookies, Gingerbread Sheet Cake.
