Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting: Homemade Recipe
On the eve of a family celebration, my daughter and I decided to make one of the prettiest desserts there is – red velvet cake. It's a layered sponge cake with cream cheese filling and frosting. Its signature look, the one you recognize instantly, is the dark reddish-brown crumb separated by layers of almost white cream, with a creamy cheese frosting on top.
This dessert counts as a chocolate cake, since it contains cocoa. The amount of cocoa powder varies a lot from recipe to recipe, but it's the cocoa that makes the sponge dark. The second key ingredient behind that deep red shade is food coloring. The other ingredients for the cake layers are the usual ones for any sponge batter.
The dessert most likely has American roots. Because of its color it's been called “devil's food” – and, as its fans say, the cake is devilishly good. I think its popularity comes from its bright, festive look: the red and white combination whets the appetite and makes you want another slice.
Besides red food coloring, bakers have used various vegetable juices for the sponge over the years – beet juice above all. The combination of food acids and cocoa can also give the right deep red shade. There are plenty of variations on the dessert – cakes, cupcakes, cookies – and many recipes for people with special dietary needs.
First, use only approved food colorings – no exceptions. Second, it's best to use concentrated liquid or gel colorings, since you need only a little. And third, the color should be as red as possible. That said, a dark pink Red Velvet cake is actually even more common.
The number of red sponge layers is up to you. At the very least, a slice should show two red layers with white cream cheese filling in between. There's no need for a tall multi-layer cake – 2-3 red layers are enough for a beautiful dessert. To my taste, the ideal cake has two red layers with a thick layer of cream between them. The finished cake is usually decorated with fresh berries – strawberries, raspberries, candied cranberries.
Ingredients
over 2 kg
- For the sponge
- Eggs 8
- Red food coloring as needed
- Sugar 2 cups
- Butter 200 g
- Flour 2-2.5 cups
- Cocoa powder as needed
- Baking powder, salt, vegetable oil (for greasing the pan) to taste
- For the soaking syrup
- Sugar 3 tbsp
- Boiled water 120 ml
- Whiskey or brandy 50 ml
- Lemon juice 1-2 tbsp
- For the frosting
- Cream cheese 600-700 g
- Powdered sugar 150 g
- Vanilla to taste
- For decoration
- Powdered sugar to taste
- Strawberries, raspberries, cranberries to taste
- Mint, rosemary to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- The first thing that catches your eye in a red velvet cake, apart from the color, is the unusually porous sponge and its texture. Cut open, the baked crumb is fairly coarse, with visible holes, some of which get filled with cream cheese. The sponge comes out quite dense and “dry”, and cream cheese doesn't soak into it well, so it needs a moist syrup. Heat 120 ml of water in a small saucepan, stir in 3 tbsp of sugar and squeeze in the juice of half a small lemon – you can drop the lemon half into the pot too. I also recommend adding 50 ml of aromatic spirits – whiskey or brandy. Bring to a boil and, as soon as the sugar dissolves, put the syrup somewhere cold.
- Making the red sponge layers
- All in all, the sponge batter isn't much different from a traditional one. Although many recipes call for cream and buttermilk or other cultured dairy, we decided to do it our own way. Take the eggs out of the fridge ahead of time. Also melt the butter without letting it get hot. In a mixer bowl, combine the eggs, a pinch of salt and two cups of sugar. Beat the sweet egg foam thoroughly – it should be fluffy and thick. No flavorings are needed.
- While still beating the egg mixture, pour in the melted butter. It's important that the butter isn't hot, or the eggs will curdle. The mixture will deflate a little once the fat goes in. Then add the cocoa powder – it's better not to use the very darkest kind. The amount is up to you: more cocoa makes the red velvet cake darker and redder, less cocoa gives a noticeably pink color. We added 2 tsp of cocoa.
- Add the baking powder – the packet usually says how much flour it's meant for. Ours was for 0.5 kg of flour, so we added half a packet. Mix everything with the mixer and add 2 cups of sifted wheat flour. Mix the batter until completely smooth with no lumps – this matters. If the batter is too runny, add a little more flour. The finished sponge batter should be thick enough to drip slowly off the mixer beaters.
- Now for the most important and fun part: adding the red food coloring. We used a thick, gel-like coloring. How much you add depends only on getting a nice deep red shade – we poured about 2 tsp of coloring into the batter. This amount can vary widely depending on which coloring you bought. Mix the batter thoroughly until the color is even. If needed, add a bit more coloring.
- Get a springform pan with high sides, 24-26 cm in diameter. Line it with parchment paper and, if you can, grease the whole inside of the pan with vegetable oil. Pour all the batter into the pan and put it in an oven preheated to 180°C.
- Depending on how thick the batter is, the sponge bakes for 30-40 minutes, possibly a little longer. Don't worry – it won't overbake or burn. What matters is that it comes out dense and dark. To check, poke it with a toothpick: if no wet batter sticks to it, the sponge is done.
- Take the sponge out of the pan and let it cool. Trim off the top and the sides, then slice the sponge horizontally into two equal layers. Brush both layers with the cooled syrup. How much to soak them is up to you – the sponge is dense, and extra moisture won't hurt it. Grind the trimmed top and sides into crumbs in a blender for decorating.
- How to make the cream cheese frosting
- Red velvet cake uses the simplest possible frosting – really, it's not so much a frosting as sweetened cream cheese. In a mixer bowl, combine the powdered sugar and cream cheese – Philadelphia or something similar works great. By the way, supermarkets sell this kind of cheese in large tubs that are much cheaper. Add vanilla – use concentrated liquid extract. Beat with the mixer until smooth.
- How to assemble a red velvet cake
- A rotating cake stand is very handy here. Place the first layer on the stand and spread half of the cream cheese frosting over it. Smooth it out carefully. If there are holes in the sponge, fill them with frosting. Try to make the layer even, reaching all the way to the edge.
- Place the second layer on top of the frosting. Keep in mind that the soaked sponge is heavy, moist and prone to breaking, so handle it carefully. Press the layer lightly onto the frosting with your palms. Frost the top of the cake, then cover the sides thoroughly and evenly, with no gaps. Freshly mixed cream cheese frosting is fairly soft and slightly moist, so right away press the sponge crumbs onto the sides of the cake. That way the frosting holds the crumbs better.
- Put the cake, stand and all, in the fridge overnight. The cake will soak up the frosting and chill. As it sets, the frosting thickens a bit and forms a layer on the surface that looks like dense white icing. Before serving, you can decorate the red velvet cake with fresh strawberries and raspberries, sprigs of rosemary and mint, and candied cranberries. I also recommend a light dusting of powdered sugar.
- It's best to serve the dessert on the same stand you assembled it on. Cut it into slices and put them on dessert plates. Serve the cake on its own or with tea – though it's at its best as a dessert on its own.
Serves: over 2 kg Calories: 350 Prep: 15 mins Cook: 1 h 15 mins Total: 1 h 30 mins (plus soaking time) Category: Desserts and Drinks Cuisine: American cuisine Rating: