Get ready to impress with this delicious Raspberry 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!
What’s in Red Velvet Raspberry Cake?
This red velvet cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting is all kinds of delicious! From its vibrant red color to its rich chocolate flavor, every bite is heaven-sent! The traditional cream cheese frosting is enhanced with raspberry jam for a sweet and tangy bite that everyone will love!
- 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.
- Baking Soda: Gives this cake lift.
- Butter: Using salted butter in both the cake and the frosting allows you to skip measuring out salt. If you use unsalted butter, you’ll want to add a pinch of salt to each.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake, while powdered sugar sweetens the frosting without making it grainy.
- Eggs: Add structure to the cake.
- Vanilla Extract: Adds vanilla flavor to the cake and frosting.
- Milk + Lemon Juice: Combine to mimic the acidity of buttermilk, giving this cake its velvety texture.
- Food Coloring: This is what gives our cake its signature red color, so that it’s nice and bright!
- Cream Cheese: Forms the base of the frosting.
- 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.)
Pro Tip: If you have cake flour and/or buttermilk, you can use those ingredients in place of the flour and cornstarch and milk and lemon juice mixtures.
Variations on Raspberry Cream Cheese Frosting
For a more traditional frosting, leave out the raspberry jam. You could also opt for another jam flavor, like strawberry, blueberry, blackberry, cherry, or orange marmalade. The possibilities are endless!
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 needs to be refrigerated because the cream cheese frosting cannot be left out at room temperature. It will keep for up to 3 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.
How to Store
Store leftover raspberry red velvet cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let come to room temperature before enjoying.
How to Freeze
Freeze raspberry red velvet cake whole or cut into individual slices tightly wrapped in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of aluminum foil for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before enjoying.
Serving Suggestions
This raspberry red velvet cake is delicious served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or for an even more decadent dessert, enjoy it with a scoop of cheesecake ice cream! Drizzle it with some hot fudge sauce or top it with colored sprinkles for Valentine’s Day. If you’re feeling really fancy, whip up some chocolate macarons for a classy decoration.
Raspberry 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?