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For the sponges

For the icing

Nutrition: per serving (20)

  • kcal656
  • fat31g
  • saturates11g
  • carbs86g
  • sugars66g
  • fibre1g
  • protein6g
  • salt1.5g

Method

  • step 1

    Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line the base and sides of two 20cm cake tins with baking parchment – if your cake tins are quite shallow, line the sides to a depth of at least 5cm.

  • step 2

    Put half each of the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. If there are any lumps in the sugar, squeeze these through your fingers to break them up.

    Ingredients mixed in a bowl
  • step 3

    Mix half each of the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, food colouring and 100ml water in a jug. Add 2 eggs and whisk until smooth.

    Egg cracking into bowl
  • step 4

    Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until well combined. The cake mixture should be bright red, it will get a little darker as it cooks. If it’s not as vivid as you’d like, add a touch more colouring.

    Combine wet and dry ingredients
  • step 5

    Pour the cake mixture evenly into the two tins, and bake for 25-30 mins, or until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

    Cake mix in cake tin
  • step 6

    Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the baking parchment and leave to cool. Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the remaining ingredients, so you have four sponge cakes in total. Can be made up to three days ahead and will stay moist if wrapped in cling film, or you can wrap well and freeze for up to two months.

    Four cooling red velvet cakes
  • step 7

    To make the icing, put the butter in a large bowl and sieve in half the icing sugar. Roughly mash together with a spatula, then whizz with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the soft cheese and vanilla, sieve in the remaining icing sugar, mash together again, then blend once more with the hand mixer.

    Blending icing ingredients with a hand mixer
  • step 8

    To assemble the cake, stick one of the sponges to a cake stand or board with a little of the soft cheese icing. Use roughly half the icing to stack the remaining cakes on top, spreading a generous amount between each layer.

    Icing smoothed over cake
  • step 9

    Pile the remaining icing on top of the assembled cake, and use a palette knife to ease it over the edges, covering the entire surface of the cake. Tidy the plate with a piece of kitchen paper. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, but bring back to room temperature for an hour or so before eating.

    Slice of red velvet cake being removed

    This recipe was refreshed in July 2018 based on user feedback. For the original recipe, see our beetroot cake.

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Comments, questions and tips (184)

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A star rating of 5 out of 5.4 ratings

coreyoulds3097332

question

how long does t take

Michaela Durisek

Made this cake for my 18yr old daughters birthday with raspberries on top. I did three 9” layers & made the whole recipe as one. It was fabulous!

kianbetts38008849

question

So is that list of ingredients for the sponge only for one tier of cake or three?

9dxfm58cqp72135

question

Would Swiss meringue buttercream work with this? Also, is the icing stiff enough to pipe & hold shape? TIA

nmissott14899

Ignore the bad comments !!! I have used this EXACT recipe twice !!!! Also Comes out AMAZING!!!!!!! Only thing is the icing is running… but you don’t have to coat the entire cake anyways… I served it with double cream it was sooo good and finished on three days ( 3 of us ate the cake)

Julie Edwards 1

Just stir in the cream cheese, do not beat otherwise it liquifies. I make this loads and it works perfectly as you have already said ☺️

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