Homemade Red Velvet Cake With Cooked Frosting

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Updated on 12/27/22
Homemade Red Velvet Cake With Cooked Frosting

The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 32 mins
Total: 47 mins
Servings: 12 to 16 servings

This red velvet cake recipe is made with butter, eggs, vanilla, red gel food coloring, cocoa, buttermilk, and other ingredients. A favorite red velvet cake recipe with cooked frosting or use a homemade or ready-made cream cheese frosting for this popular cake.

Use gel or paste food coloring for the most vivid color. Make the frosting ahead of the cake and give it plenty of time to cool before frosting.

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Ingredients

For the Frosting:

  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 cup milk (or cream)

  • 1 cup butter

  • 1 cup sugar

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Cake:

  • 12 tablespoons butter, softened

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar

  • 2 large eggs

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

  • 2 tablespoons red food coloring

  • 2 tablespoons water

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

  • 1 cup buttermilk

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • 1 tablespoon vinegar

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    frosting ingredients

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  2. Whisk together flour and milk in a saucepan and cook, stirring, until thickened.

    milk and flour in a saucepan

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  3. Transfer to a small bowl and cool in refrigerator.

    milk and flour mixture in a bowl

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  4. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer.

    butter sugar and vanilla in a bowl, hand mixer

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  5. Add cooled flour and milk mixture a little at a time.

    flour mixture added to the butter mixture in the bowl, hand mixer

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  6. Beat well for several minutes or until mixture is not grainy, adding milk (or cream) as needed. Set aside while baking cake.

    frosting in a bowl

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

Make the Red Velvet Cake

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Homemade Red Velvet Cake With Cooked Frosting ingredients

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  2. Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans or two 9-inch cake pans.

    cake pans

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  3. Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy.

    butter and sugar mixture in a bowl, hand mixer

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  4. Add eggs and beat 1 minute longer. Beat in vanilla until blended.

    egg added to the butter mixture in the bowl, hand mixer

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  5. Combine cocoa, food coloring, and 2 tablespoons water in a separate bowl.

    Combine cocoa, food coloring, and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  6. Beat red cocoa into egg creamed mixture.

    Beat red cocoa into egg creamed mixture in a bowl

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  7. Combine flour and salt in a separate bowl.

    flour and salt in a bowl

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  8. Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to batter, beating on low to medium speed.

    batter in a bowl, hand mixer

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  9. Combine baking soda and vinegar in a cup.

    Combine baking soda and vinegar in a cup

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  10. Add soda-vinegar mixture to cake batter.

    Add soda-vinegar mixture to cake batter, hand mixer

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  11. Spoon batter evenly into greased and floured cake pans. Bake for 22 to 28 minutes.

    cake batter in cake pans

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  12. Cool completely on wire racks.

    baked cake in cake pans, on cooling racks

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

  13. Remove from pans and frost tops and sides.

    Homemade Red Velvet Cake With Cooked Frosting, frosted

    The Spruce / Bahareh Niati

Tips

  • Bundt Cake Conversion: Bake the cake in a generously greased and floured 12- to 15-cup Bundt cake pan, but allow more time. Check for doneness with a long wooden or bamboo skewer. It could take up to twice as long to bake. Use a thin cake glaze to ice a Bundt cake.
  • To make superfine sugar from granulated sugar, measure the amount you need for the frosting into a food processor. Process for about 2 minutes, or until the grains are quite fine. Let the dust settle before you lift the lid off the food processor.​
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
449 Calories
27g Fat
50g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12 to 16
Amount per serving
Calories 449
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 27g 34%
Saturated Fat 16g 82%
Cholesterol 94mg 31%
Sodium 360mg 16%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 1g 3%
Total Sugars 33g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg 1%
Calcium 41mg 3%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 77mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)