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This do-it-yourself Crimson Velvet Cake recipe makes a moist, tender, and oh, so velvety smooth vivid pink cake. It’s buttery with a delicate cocoa taste and topped with our irresistibly easy Cream Cheese Frosting. This cake is ideal for any vacation or big day and is essentially the most requested cake recipe on our website.
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We love making desserts and the intense pink coloration of Crimson Velvet Cake makes it the proper alternative for Valentine’s Day, birthdays, rehearsal dinners, weddings, 4th of July, and Christmas (or any event as a result of it’s scrumptious!). Watch the video tutorial and see simply how straightforward it’s to make this bakery-quality Crimson Velvet Cake recipe. It’s certain to impress! Right here’s why you’ll adore it:
- Straightforward to make with fundamental substances, you don’t even want cake flour
- Buttery smooth with a tangy buttermilk taste, and paired with a candy, however not too candy frosting
- Shiny in coloration, which is particularly interesting for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and birthdays
- Straightforward to customise the toppings to suit any event
Crimson Velvet Cake Video
Watch Natasha make Crimson Velvet Cake from scratch. That is the most effective pink velvet cake recipe! The pink cake batter rises superbly making it good for a two or three-tiered cake, you don’t even must trim the layers.
What’s Crimson Velvet Cake?
The precise origin of Crimson Velvet Cake is considerably debatable. Did it begin on the Waldorf-Astoria Resort in New York Metropolis, within the South through the Nineteen Twenties when Adam’s Extract Firm was selling their new meals coloring, or was it through the meals rationing of World Battle II when individuals creatively used beet juice to dye their desserts pink? No matter its roots could also be, we’re glad this beloved traditional American recipe is right here to remain.
Crimson Velvet Cake is understood for its signature pink or red-brown coloured cake layers and smooth texture that’s… nicely, velvety. Many ask if Crimson Velvet Cake is simply Vanilla Cake with pink meals coloring, and the brief reply isn’t any. Crimson velvet desserts have widespread substances like cocoa powder, buttermilk, vinegar, butter, and flour that create a moist and fluffy cake with a touch of chocolate taste, completely sweetened with the tangy cream cheese frosting.
Substances for Crimson Velvet Cake
The pink coloration on this cake begins with a pure response of three key substances (white vinegar, cocoa powder, and buttermilk) so that you don’t should depend on a ton of meals coloring. Should you select to not use it, your cake will nonetheless style precisely the identical.
- Cocoa Powder (not Dutch course of) – provides a touch of cocoa to the distinctive taste profile of pink velvet cake taste
- Vinegar – prompts baking soda and provides additional acid to assist preserve the pink coloration in baking
- Buttermilk – provides moisture and taste, and retains the cake gentle and fluffy
- Baking Soda – reacts with the acidic substances, producing carbon dioxide which helps the cake rise, leading to a moist and tender texture
- Vanilla – We use our do-it-yourself Vanilla Extract for the most effective taste
- Butter and Vegetable Oil – add taste and moisture to the cake to kind a smooth crumb
- Flour, Eggs, Sugar, Salt – cake-baking fundamentals that give construction to the crumb
- Red Gel Food Coloring – We advocate utilizing a gel vs. liquid. Gel is extra concentrated, so you have to much less of it and it received’t water down your batter or frosting
For the Finest Cream Cheese Frosting
Observe our Cream Cheese Frosting recipe to make the most effective cream cheese frosting or use a premade frosting in a pinch. I promise you, the do-it-yourself frosting is so easy, that you’ll by no means return to storebought frosting once more. It’s the identical one we use on our Carrot Cake. You have to:
- Cream Cheese – block model, softened and cubed for the traditional cream cheese frosting taste
- Butter – unsalted and softened
- Powdered Sugar, Vanilla, Salt – for taste
How one can Make Crimson Velvet Cake
- Put together – Preheat oven to 350°F, grease two 9-inch spherical cake pans with butter, and dirt with flour, tapping out the surplus.
- Dry Substances – Sift collectively flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Moist Substances – With a hand mixer or utilizing a standing mixer, cream collectively softened butter and sugar for a couple of minutes. Combine in eggs, including them separately and mixing nicely to include between every addition. Beat in vanilla extract till blended. Steadily add oil and blend on medium velocity. In a small bowl, gently whisk collectively vinegar and buttermilk after which combine it into the batter on medium velocity till integrated.
- Mix – Add the flour combination to the liquid substances and blend on medium velocity simply till nicely blended, scraping down the bowl as wanted.
- Tint – Add 1/2 teaspoon of pink gel meals coloring and blend simply till blended.
- Divide and Bake – Pour batter evenly between ready pans and bake at 350°F for half-hour or till a toothpick comes out clear. Let relaxation in cake pans for 20 minutes then invert onto a wire cooling rack and let cool fully to room temp earlier than frosting. This batter rises very evenly but when for some purpose your layers usually are not flat, use a serrated knife to softly trim off the surplus in order that your layers will probably be degree if you stack them.
- Beautify – Make Cream Cheese Frosting and beautify.
Professional Tip:
To make sure even cake layers, use a kitchen scale when dividing the batter into ready pans. This can be certain that your layers are the identical dimension and bake on the similar price.
How one can Assemble Crimson Velvet Cake
- Add a beneficiant scoop of frosting to the primary cake layer. Utilizing a spatula, unfold it out evenly after which stack the layers on prime of one another, utilizing the frosting to carry the highest layer in place.
- Crumb coat with frosting to connect down the crumbs and seal within the moisture.
- Apply a prime coat of frosting with an offset spatula to totally frost the highest and sides of the cake if desired.
Professional Tip:
Use Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting between your cake layers to boost the chocolate taste of the trace of cocoa cake.
How one can Beautify Crimson Velvet Cake
The signature pink coloration of the cake layers is what Crimson Velvet Cake is legendary for, so there isn’t a want for elaborate decorations. After frosting:
- Apply red sprinkles across the prime and backside 1 1/2″ borders of the cake.
- Add red icing sugar in the identical sample to fill in among the areas.
- Add coconut or white chocolate shavings as a substitute of sprinkles, patting it gently to safe it onto the perimeters. This provides a visually interesting texture to the skin whereas preserving the cake elegant and white.
- Reserve some frosting in a piping bag fitted with a big open star tip and refrigerate for a couple of minutes for simpler piping then pipe frosting in puffs or rosettes across the prime border of the cake.
Widespread Questions
This cake was initially served with ermine icing (a flour-based, depression-era, cooked frosting). Extra not too long ago, it was changed with Cream Cheese Frosting. In case you are in search of a extra steady frosting, you can use Buttercream, however historically, cream cheese frosting is used (and we predict it tastes the most effective).
We don’t advocate Dutch-processed cocoa as a result of it’s an alkalized cocoa powder and received’t react with baking soda. Persist with an acidic natural unsweetened cocoa powder like Hershey’s or Nestle (not Particular Darkish).
The cocoa in pink velvet cake does technically make it a chocolate cake, however there are solely 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder so it’s a lot lighter and isn’t as chocolatey as a traditional Chocolate Cake.
You may make Crimson Velvet Cupcakes should you alter the baking time since they bake quicker. Verify for doneness round 17-20 minutes. You may additionally make Crimson Velvet cake pops.
Pure cocoa turns a darkish brick pink when it reacts with buttermilk and vinegar. Including pink meals coloring makes the cake a extra vibrant pink.
Should you restrict meals dyes in your eating regimen, you possibly can definitely omit the coloring with out affecting the flavour in any respect, your cake will simply be brown with a reddish hue, fairly than vivid pink. You should utilize pure components reminiscent of beetroot powder to tint your cake batter – begin with 5 Tbs and blend, add one tablespoon at a time till you get your required pink coloration.
Make-Forward
- To Refrigerate: Totally assemble and refrigerate this cake for as much as 4 days.
- Freezing a Entire Cake: You’ll be able to freeze a totally assembled cake in a cake box (cowl the field with foil to stop freezer burn) for as much as two months.
- Freezing Cake Layers: Cool cake layers to room temperature then place plastic wrap or parchment paper between layers to stop sticking. Wrap fully in plastic wrap and a layer of foil.
- To Thaw: Thaw a totally assembled cake or cake layers within the fridge in a single day. Should you thaw it on the counter, you’ll find yourself with soggy cake. Carry to room temperature for two hours earlier than serving.
This bakery-quality Crimson Velvet Cake recipe is a show-stopper and it’s surprisingly straightforward to grasp proper at house. Plus, you’ll fall in love with the Cream Cheese Frosting and need to apply it to your entire desserts and cupcakes!
Extra Cake Recipes
Should you love this Crimson Velvet Cake recipe, you then received’t need to miss these top-rated cake recipes:
Crimson Velvet Cake Recipe
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Preheat oven to 350°F with racks within the heart of the oven. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with butter and dirt with flour, tapping out the surplus.
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Stir then sift collectively 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 Tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.
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In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat collectively 1/2 cup softened butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar for a couple of minutes till sugar is moistened and the combination seems powdery like snow. Combine in two eggs, including them separately, and beating nicely to include between every addition. Beat in 2 tsp vanilla extract till blended. With the mixer on, progressively add 3/4 cup oil and blend on medium velocity till nicely integrated.
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Stir 1 tsp vinegar into your 1 cup buttermilk, then combine it into the batter on medium velocity till integrated.
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Add flour combination and blend on medium velocity simply till nicely blended and no streaks of flour stay, scraping down the bowl as wanted.
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Add 1/2 tsp pink gel meals coloring (add extra to achieve the specified coloration) and blend simply till blended, scraping down the bowl as wanted.
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Divide batter evenly between ready 9-inch pans and bake at 350°F for half-hour. Let relaxation in cake pans for 20 minutes then invert onto a wire cooling rack and let cool fully to room temp earlier than assembling with Cream Cheese Frosting.
