Get ready to impress with this delicious red velvet cake! With its bright red color, chocolatey flavor, and raspberry cream cheese frosting, it really can’t be beat. This homemade, two-layered cake is perfect for any occasion!
Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe
Red velvet cake just got one delicious make over! This easy, made-from-scratch recipe is moist, flavorful, and so fun.
The traditional cream cheese frosting is enhanced with raspberry jam for a sweet and tangy bite that everyone will love! It’s the perfect complement to the red cake for holidays and other festivities.
Why You’ll Love this Red Velvet Cake with Raspberry Frosting:
- Made from Scratch: There’s no boxed mix in sight for this recipe, and yet it’s still so easy to make!
- Flavorful: Red velvet cake is known for its unique, delectable flavor. It’s irresistable!
- Festive Cake: There is no bad time to make this cake! Its red and pink color makes it perfect for Valentine’s, but it’s great for Christmas, baby showers, graduations, and everything in between!
This delicious red velvet chocolate cake is perfect to make for Valentine’s Day and makes for a great birthday cake throughout the year too. It’s so pretty, it always makes for a good show cake!
How to Make Red Velvet Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Be sure to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!
- Combine the dry ingredients and set to one side.
- Cream the butter and sugar, mix in the eggs, vanilla and lemon juice.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients and milk in increments.
- Mix in the food coloring.
- Pour the batter into two pans and bake.
- Let the cakes cool and cut the cakes flat, save the crumbs for decoration.
- Mix together the ingredients for the frosting and place on the cooled cake.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour: A combination of all-purpose flour and cornstarch makes for a great cake flour substitute, so you still get that ultra light and fluffy texture.
- Cocoa Powder: Use an unsweetened cocoa powder–I recommend using natural cocoa powder rather than a Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
- Food Coloring: This is what gives our cake its signature red color, so that it’s nice and bright!
- Raspberry Jam: This gives our cream cheese frosting a bit of a twist. It’s sweet, fruity, and tart! (Feel free to skip this if you prefer a more traditional frosting.)
Red velvet cake is flavored with cocoa for a rich chocolate flavor, but it is so much more than that! The lemon juice and cream cheese frosting gives it a slight acidic taste that balances out wonderfully with the sugar.
While you can use any unsweetened cocoa powder you prefer, I like to use natural cocoa powder here because the baking soda helps to neutralize the acidity of natural cocoa powder, letting its rich flavor shine.
The frosted cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Place the cake in a large airtight container to keep it as fresh as possible.
Yes, you can freeze this raspberry red velvet cake either frosted or unfrosted for up to 3 months. Place a frosted cake in a large freezer-safe container to protect it and layers can be wrapped in plastic wrap and foil. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature before decorating or serving.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- For the best red velvet cake, all ingredients should be at room temperature before you combine them. They will mix more easily so that you have a uniform texture.
- Make cupcakes instead! This recipe will make around 30 cupcakes and they will need to bake for around 20 minutes.
- Skip the raspberry jam if you prefer a traditional cream cheese frosting for your red velvet cake.
- Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
This cake is so easy, so moist, and so delicious! It has just the right amount of chocolate flavor, with the best cream cheese frosting.
More Red Velvet Desserts
- Red Velvet Cake Truffles
- Red Velvet Fudge
- Cheesecake Stuffed Red Velvet Cookies
- Red Velvet Cupcakes with Blueberry Compote
- Red Velvet Cheesecake Dessert Lasagna
- Red Velvet Ice Cream
This red velvet cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting is all kinds of delicious! From its vibrant red color to rich chocolate flavor, every bite is heaven-sent! I can’t wait fo you all to try this!
If you make this recipe be sure to leave us a comment or rating. Enjoy!
Red Velvet Cake with Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2¼ cups all-purpose flour 270 grams
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch 15 grams
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 15 grams
- 1 teaspoon baking soda 6 grams
- ½ cup salted butter 113 grams, room temperature (1 stick)
- 1½ cups granulated sugar 300 grams
- 2 large eggs 50 grams, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice 5 grams
- 1 cup milk 227 grams, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring 28 grams
For the Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese 227 grams, room temperature (1 brick)
- ½ cup salted butter 113 grams, room temperature (1 stick)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
- 3½ cups powdered sugar 395 grams
- 2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam 43 grams
Equipment
- Kitchen Scale (optional)
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray 2 8-inch round cake pans with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Stir together to combine, then set the bowl aside.2¼ cups all-purpose flour, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy. Add in the eggs, vanilla, and lemon juice, mixing to combine.½ cup salted butter, 1½ cups granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- Add in the flour mixture and milk, alternating, in two additions, to the butter mixture, mixing until well combined.1 cup milk
- Add in the food coloring, mixing on medium speed until the color is evenly distributed. You may add in an additional teaspoon of color, until it reaches your desired color.2 tablespoons red food coloring
- Evenly pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or the top of the cake springs back when touched.
- Allow the cakes to cool before frosting. Cut any dome, or “tops”, of the cakes so they are both even and flat. Save the tops to crumble and coat/decorate the cake.
For the Frosting
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until soft and creamy. Add in the extract and powdered sugar, beating until the frosting is smooth and creamy.8 ounces cream cheese, ½ cup salted butter, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 3½ cups powdered sugar
- Mix in the seedless jam and mix until it is evenly distributed and the frosting is a soft pink color.2 tablespoons seedless raspberry jam
Assembly
- Place 1 chilled cake on a cake stand. Add a ¼-inch thick layer of the frosting to the top of the cake, then set the second cake on top. Frost the top and sides of the assembled cake, and coat with leftover cake crumbles to decorate.
Notes
- This recipe is enough frosting to frost a two-layer, 8-inch cake.
- For the best red velvet cake, all ingredients should be at room temperature before you combine them. They will mix more easily so that you have a uniform texture.
- Make cupcakes instead! This recipe will make around 30 cupcakes. They will need to bake for around 20 minutes.
- Let the cakes cool completely before frosting.
I made this cake and the cake turned out ok, but with the addition of the jam in the icing, the icing was not firm but rather loose. I don’t recommend using this icing recipe. Maybe I did something wrong?