Red Velvet Cake

An American favorite since the 1920s, Red Velvet Cake’s creation has been attributed to John A. Adams, owner of the Adams Extract Company and later, New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel, where it was a popular menu item during the 1950s. Red Velvet Cake differs from Devil’s Food by using cocoa instead of chocolate.

Prep: 20 min
Bake: 25 min
Yield: one 8-inch layer cake or 18-24 cupcakes
Ingredients

CAKE

  • 2 1/4 cups sifted Swans Down Cake Flour®️ (sifted, then measured)
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon red food coloring
  • 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 large eggs

FROSTING

  • 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Directions
  1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inch cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl.
  2. WHISK buttermilk, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla in a small bowl to blend. Cream the sugar and butter together in the bowl of a stand or electric mixer, until well blended. Add the eggs 1 at a time, beating until well blended after each addition.
  3. ADD the dry ingredients in 4 additions alternating with the buttermilk mixture in 3 additions.
  4. DIVIDE batter between prepared pans. Bake cakes until the tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 27 minutes. Cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks lined with parchment paper; cool completely.
  5. MAKE the frosting by creaming together the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand or hand-held electric mixer, until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
  6. PLACE 1 cake layer, flat side up, on a platter or cake stand. Spread 1 cup of frosting over top of the cake. Top with second cake layer, flat side down. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake.

*The cake can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.

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  • I was looking for the original red velvet cake recipe that used to be on the box. This looks familiar, but I'm confused about the food coloring. Does this recipe use gel or liquid food coloring? I think the original used liquid food coloring, and I think it called for an entire bottle. I don't know how much is in the little bottle, but I would think it is more than 1 tablespoon. I have both types, and I don't know how much to use. I don't want it to be pale, and I especially don't want it to taste bitter. My gel coloring is the type without a bitter taste. What type and how much should I use?

    • Hey C Pears! The vintage Swans Down back of the box recipe calls for the entire bottle of liquid food coloring which is 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons. The current recipe has scaled that back to ½ ounce or 1 tablespoon of liquid food coloring, about ½ a bottle.

      Gel food coloring is more concentrated than liquid food coloring, about 5 times more concentrated. As a rough conversion, 1 teaspoon of gel food coloring is equal to 2 tablespoons of liquid (1 whole bottle). Since you have both liquid and gel on hand, here's how to get that deep, classic red without any bitterness.

      If you'd rather use liquid, the closest match to the original is 2 tablespoons, the full small bottle.

      If you'd like to use your gel coloring, since it's already the non-bitter type, start with about 1 teaspoon. Gel is much more concentrated than liquid, so 1 teaspoon of gel gives roughly the same color depth as the full 2 tablespoon bottle of liquid, without adding extra moisture to the batter.

      Either way, you shouldn't end up with a bitter or metallic taste. That usually only happens when people use far more liquid coloring than a single bottle's worth trying to force an extra-dark red.

  • I love Swans Down flour
    My favorite recipe is the Whipping Cream Pound Cake on back of the box.
    I make it often and it doesn’t last long!
    Thanks for sharing y’all’s recipes !

    • Hi Twan - At the moment we do not have a 50lb sack but we will pass that along to R&D. Thank you!

    • HI Lillian,
      I will send you an email with a PDF copy of the recipe. It is definitely one of our most popular recipes. I hope you enjoy it. Happy Baking!

  • It seems hard to access some the recipies online. I too need the Red Velvet recipe please and thank you.

    • Hi Minnie, I am sorry you are having difficulty accessing the recipes. I will contact our website administrator about this issue. In the meantime, I will email you a PDF version of the recipe. Thank you and Happy Baking!

    • Hi Kenneth,
      I will email you a recipe for the Red Velvet Cake. I do believe this is the original version. Be on the lookout for it.
      Happy Baking!

    • Hi Dawn,
      I will send a PDF copy of the Red Velvet Cake for you. Be on the lookout for it!
      Happy baking!

    • Hi Dee,
      I have sent you an email with the PDF version of the recipe.
      Happy Baking and Happy New Year!

    • Hi Dee,
      I have sent you an email with the PDF version of the recipe.
      Happy Baking and Happy New Year!

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