The Creativity Exchange

The Most AMAZING Red Velvet Cake Recipe…

Food· Recipes

It doesn’t get more southern than my father-in-Law. Born and raised in a small Georgia town, my father-in-law is so southern he sweats sweet tea! I just love it when he talks. Georgians have the most beautiful southern accent that I have ever heard. The words just sort of roll off the tongue like poetry- sort of like formal old English meets Mobile, Alabama. I’m a native Minnesota girl, so this beautiful accent is especially noticeable to me.  He also bakes too!  My favorite is his amazing Red Velvet Cake!

My father-in-law is an amazing cake baker. Seriously amazing! He has amassed some of the best cake recipes that can be found, and his specialty is Red Velvet cake. Although, he also makes the best pound cake that I have ever tasted and his apple cake is unbelievable. Really, everything he bakes is out of the ball park, but his red velvet cake is hands down the most incredible cake I have tasted! He has really perfected this recipe and I have made it myself many times (which tells you how easy it is) and it turns out perfect every time!

I was thrilled when he agreed to share it with us along with a few cake tricks that he has learned along the way!

So let’s just jump right into the recipe itself and then if you want to follow along below the recipe, you will find some great tricks and tips in making this incredible cake.

RED VELVET CAKE
2 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour (sifted)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ounce red food coloring
1 teaspoon vinegar
Frosting: (father-in-law recommends doubling the frosting recipe below)
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 box (1 pound) powdered sugar (minus 1/2 cup for softer frosting or leave as is for a stiffer frosting)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Begin by sifting dry ingredients together (except sugar!):

Cream sugar, milk, eggs and oil. My father-in-law creams these ingredients together in the mixer on the lowest setting. Slowly blend dry ingredients into the creamed mixture with a 1/2 cup measuring cup:

Next, add vanilla, food coloring and vinegar and mix on medium speed until ingredients are well mixed but not too long (less than 2 minutes):

Grease and flour (3) 9-inch layer pans.

My father-in-law introduced me to this great product called “Baker’s Joy” that is a spray/flour mix all in one! Brilliant!

Evenly divide mixture with a 1/2 cup measuring cup to the three pans.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes. Test with toothpick. Cool on wire rack.

Begin mixing the ingredients in the mixer for the frosting:

My father-in-law likes a very creamy and softer frosting so he follows the recipe as is above. However, if you like a stiffer frosting like I do, use the full box of powdered sugar. My father-in-law also doubles the frosting recipe which generously covers the cake and each layer. Plus, it leaves a tad extra for little munchkins that may be circling you in the kitchen:

If your layers are even, you can just begin by placing your first layer on a cake plate. If your layers are not even, you may have to use a long thin knife to gently glide across the top of a layer or two to even out. You can flip over the trimmed layer and frost the bottom as the top.

Begin frosting each layer:

My father-in-law places three tooth picks through the cake on the top layer to prevent sliding:

The “Cake Master” in frosting action:

And we have cake!

Thank you so much to my father-in-law for taking the time to share this recipe with us. I can’t wait for you all to try it!

Have a wonderful weekend friends and as always, thank you so much for your sweet comments, emails and notes! I so appreciate the time you take to share your feedback with me. I was blown away this week with all of your kind comments about my front porch revamp challenge found here. Thank you so much!!

Check back next week for some fun new projects!

Cheers!

 

Comments

  2. Miss Kitty says

    Wow! Thank you so much for posting this! Gorgeous pictures and a yummy recipe. I am from the South…red velvet cake seems to be THE cake to have for special events here but I have never made one. Maybe now I will. I have thought that some Southern accents sound a little bit British too. I think that I heard that one of the reasons Vivian Leigh was picked as Scarlett O'Hara for the "Gone With The Wind" movie was that her British accent would be easily adapable to a Southern accent.

    Reply

  3. The Exchange says

    Sorry, I'm not sure how to make a "print" option for the recipe. I'm lucky to have figured out how to post on the blog, LOL! Any ideas how I can create one? I'll research that and see if I can learn. Thanks!

    Reply

  4. Jane says

    Would you believe that I awoke this morning, dreaming of Red Velvet cake? Yep…I'm true GRITS (girl raised in the south). Give your FIL a great big southern THANK YOU! (drawl and all) for sharing his recipe. I'm heading to the kitchen, now…
    Jane (artfully graced)

    Reply

  6. Prissy says

    I love that your FIL is so southern that he sweats sweet tea. His cake sounds divine…I'm going to use it to make cupcakes to take tailgating next week end. FOOTBALL SEASON is here….can cooler weather be far behind?

    Reply

  7. Lori says

    Came over from funky junk. Georgia accents are great, red velvet is the greatest cake ever. Good job, now he will bake one every time he comes over, since you made him a star of his own post.

    Reply

  21. Kate says

    I stumbled across your FIL’s recipe via Pinterest. I made it this weekend for my boyfriend’s birthday and it was AMAZING! I have never made a cake from scratch and was very nervous. After remixing the dry ingredients (didn’t realize sugar went with the wet ingredients) it was a piece of cake to follow…no pun intended. Thank you so much for sharing and please thank your FIL as well. Thanks to you guys your Red Velvet Cake has made it to Nebraska tummies! 😉

    Reply

  24. stacy says

    isn’t 1 3/4 cups of oil too much?
    I’m just asking i’m not trying to be rude but i’m going to try it anyway. thanks!

    Reply

    • Cyndy says

      Yep, it’s 1 and 3/4 cup oil! Good ole Southern recipe! I’m sure you could substitute with something else but I have never tried it. It is a 3 layer cake if that makes you feel better, LOL! Please let me know if you substitute and how it turned out. Thanks for stopping by Stacy!

      Reply

  26. Khin H Thein says

    If I want to make Red Velvet cupcakes, should I use this same recipe and divide it in to cupcakes pan or is there different recipes? I haven’t try this yet but it looks moist and yummy. My experiment with cream cheese frosting was I add sour cream to it.

    Thanks to you and your FIL for sharing.

    Reply

    • Cyndy says

      Yes, I think the same recipe should work for cupcakes. I’m not sure about how long to bake but I’m sure they would be amazing as cupcakes. If you try it, I would love for you to come back and tell me how long you baked and any variations that you made. Thanks so much Khin for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

      Reply

  27. Ruth says

    Hi! Cake looks amazing! I thought red velvet cakes normally have cocoa powder in them. Am I wrong?

    Reply

  28. Elizabeth B. says

    I made this cake for a friend’s birthday and it was absolutely delicious! I used cake flour instead of regular flour and I didn’t have enough food dye (like an idiot). This cake really is fool-proof! I blogged about the whole experience and linked back to your recipe! Thank you for sharing! 😀

    Reply

  29. ally says

    Curious…there’s NO cocoa powder in this recipe. This would be the first red velvet cake recipe that I have seen that didn’t call for some amount of cocoa.

    Reply

    • Cyndy says

      Hi Ally! If you search the internet, you will see that there are a lot of red velvet recipes without cocoa powder. In fact, a lot of people do not care for cocoa powder and I’m sure that’s why there are the no cocoa red velvet recipes. Not sure if this was the exact reason was why this recipe was created without the cocoa but I can tell you, I have tried a lot of red velvet cakes and this one is by far my favorite. There is just something different about it that I can’t describe. It does have that cocoa powder red velvet taste but it’s a tad different. Thanks for stopping by!

      Reply

  30. nattygal says

    I have been looking for a red velvet recipe that mimics one I had years ago and this one looks like it right on the money! Can’t wait to try it!! Thanks for posting!

    Reply

  31. Karen says

    This recipe is the same as my great grandmother’s recipe (sans the salt). She passed away about 15 years ago and we thought that we had lost her special recipe forever!! My mom had helped her type it up and saved a copy of it for herself! We also were a bit taken back to find that great grandma had gotten the recipe out of a magazine! I’m glad to see that other families enjoy this recipe too!

    Reply

    • Cyndy says

      That is such a sweet memory! I was never sure where the recipe originated (although I know he made it for decades) but I just know that I have never in my life tasted a red velvet cake this amazing! It’s extra special for us now as my Father-In-Law has dementia. 🙁

      Reply

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