This easy red velvet cake is fluffy, moist, topped with cream cheese frosting, and has the most beautiful red color. It has the perfect red velvet flavor that’s slightly tangy with hint of cocoa. Easy to make & oh so delicious – it’s the perfect red velvet cake recipe. 

**This post was updated February 1, 2026 with new photos and recipe tips. While the ingredients have stayed the same, the recipe steps have changed slightly to help avoid overmixing the batter**

Ingredients

First, there’s a few key ingredients for the cake. I only recommend using substitutions that are listed.

• Butter & Oil. For the fat, this recipe uses both butter and oil. Butter adds flavor and oil makes the crumb extra moist and the cake stays softer for longer.
• Granulated Sugar. For sweetness.
• Eggs. For tenderness. They should be at room temperature for best results.
• Buttermilk. It creates a soft, deliciously moist cake that’s synonymous with red velvet. It also adds a slight tanginess to the flavor that’s key. 
• Red Food Coloring. I use gel because it is more concentrated. The amount you use is up to you and how vibrant you want your cake to be. I used 2 1/2 teaspoons.
• Vanilla. Just a touch to round out the flavor.
• Vinegar. At the very end, we mix vinegar into the cake batter. Vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the cake rise. It also helps to bring out the red color of the cake when it reacts with the cocoa powder, and it adds just enough acidity to give the cake it’s classic red velvet flavor. 
• Cake flour. It gives the lightest, most delicate cake crumb. If you don’t have cake flour you can use a combination of cornstarch & all-purpose flour (see recipe notes), but I find cake flour works the best.
• Natural Cocoa Powder. Because we want just a hint of chocolate in red velvet, I use natural cocoa as opposed to Dutch process. It gives a mild chocolate flavor and because it isn’t as dark in color, ensures that the cake looks red and not brown.
• Baking Soda. Baking soda reacts with the acidity of the buttermilk and vinegar for the cake to rise beautifully.
• Salt. To balance out the sweetness.

For the cream cheese frosting, you’ll need:

• Unsalted Butter. It should be softened slightly, but still slightly below room temperature and definitely not starting to melt or become slimy.
• Full-Fat Cream Cheese. Whenever making frosting, the cream cheese needs to be brick-style, full-fat. Otherwise it will be too thin.
• Powdered Sugar. Always be sure to sift it first to remove lumps.
• Vanilla Extract & Salt. To balance out the flavor.
• Whipping Cream. You may or may not need cream, depending on how thick your frosting is.

Method – with Photos

1. Prep. Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Lightly grease and dust with cocoa a 9×13 inch pan.
2. Sift Together the Dry Ingredients. Cake flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Give the bowl a whisk. Set aside.
3. Combine the Wet Ingredients. Buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar and red food coloring. This step helps the food coloring and vinegar to be evenly distributed throughout the batter. Set aside.

4. Beat the Butter & Sugar. The mixture won’t look fully creamed because of the ratio of butter to sugar. You should no longer have large chunks of butter.
5. Beat in the Oil. After this step, there should be no lumps of butter.
6. Mix in the Eggs. This is done one at a time. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the bowl as necessary.

7. Mix the Dry Ingredients and Wet Ingredients into the Butter Mixture. Alternate between additions of dry ingredients and wet ingredients, incorporating about 1/3 at a time. Do not overmix.

8. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 35-45 minutes, or until the top is set and slightly springy to the touch and an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no gooey cake batter.

Once the cake is baked and cooled, it’s time for the frosting.

1. Beat the Butter. It should be smooth and creamy.
2. Mix in the Cream Cheese. Cut it into cubes first for easier mixing. Do not over mix.
3. Add in 2 Cups Powdered Sugar, Vanilla & Salt. Mix until smooth, starting on a low speed.
4. Adjust. Beat in the rest of the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time until the desired sweetness is reached. If the frosting is too thick, beat in the whipping cream 1 tablespoon at a time.

Then frost your cooled cake, and optionally decorate with sprinkles. If you want to learn even more tips about making cream cheese frosting – you can also check out my full guide to making it here. 

Make Ahead Tips for Red Velvet Cake

The red velvet cake can be made the day before. Cool fully, then cover and store at room temperature or in the fridge for up to 1 day. Then I recommend making the frosting the day you plan to serve the cake.

Unfrosted cake can be frozen. Simply cool the cake after baking, wrap tightly and freeze. Then thaw overnight in the fridge, and frost it when you’re ready to serve. Do not thaw on the counter or the cake will become gummy in texture.

This easy red velvet cake has the perfect red velvet flavor, deliciously moist and tender cake crumb, and tangy cream cheese frosting. You’ll love how simple the recipe is – and will quickly become your favorite red velvet recipe.

More red velvet desserts:

• Red Velvet Cupcakes
• Cake Mix Red Velvet Cookies
• Red Velvet Cookie Cake
• Red Velvet Doughnuts