Easy and Quick Red Velvet Cake

Elena Butuc

I've been playing with the idea of making a red velvet cake so, when I found this quick recipe on a Youtube channel, I said this was the moment! I will tell you right from the start that it was phenomenally tasty. It's been ages since I've enjoyed anything so delicious and eye-catching like this cake. Besides the taste, I really loved the quick preparation method - the cake will cool down in a few minutes and it's so tender that it doesn't require refrigerating for a long time.

I must admit that one of the reasons which stopped me from trying to make a red velvet cake was having to use food colouring. But eventually I said this won't be such a big problem if I do it only once a year. Unfortunately, using beetroot juice won't help, because it won't be able to create this amazing colour. On the other hand, you can do it without food colouring, only with cocoa powder, or even without - but then, it won't be the red velvet anymore.

My little girl doesn't eat cakes at all, she doesn't like them, she'd rather have a cucumber instead! I was surprised when she asked for a slice and then she declared it was the best cake she'd ever eaten!

The interesting fact was that I made this cake in the first part the day, by midday and in the afternoon, my sister and I were already tasting-enjoying it over a cup of coffee. Really quick and nice, you definitely must try it!

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Ingredients

Metric US

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Egg

3 pieces

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Salt

0.25 tsp

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Sugar

400 g

200g for the cake and 200g for the cream

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Vegetable oil

180 ml

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Buttermilk/Youghurt/Kefir

260 g

preferably not very thick

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Vanilla Extract

2 tsp

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Red food colour

2 tbsp

it can be more or less depending on the concentration or pigment - you'll see in the steps below where you find it

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Baking powder

1 tbsp

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White flour

280 g

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Cacao powder

10 g

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Whipping Cream(32-35%)

500 ml

it must be cold, from the fridge!

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Philadelphia cream cheese

500 g

I replaced this with 250g mascarpone + 250g ricotta

Step by step

Step 1

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking soda and cocoa powder.

Step 2

In a bigger bowl, place the eggs, 200g sugar and a little salt.

Beat with a mixer until white foam.

Step 3

Then little by little, add in the oil and the kefir, beat well after adding each one.

Step 4

Now the food colouring. First, I used simple dr. Oetker food colouring, bought from the shop. Notice it's not red, it's just (nice) pink, which is not OK.

So I added a different one, more professional, bought from a specialized online shop - it's so easy to find now.

Step 5

I obtained a stronger red, this is what it should look like because it will change its colour after baking.

So, just adjust the quantity of food colouring by eye, depending on the concentration and pigment.

Step 6

Stir in the flour and cocoa mixture, whisk well.

The cocoa powder is meant to intensify the red colour which, after baking, might change a bit.

Step 7

The batter will be quite thin and runny, that's how it's supposed to be.

Pour into a large stove tray, lined with parchment paper. Even out with a spoon and bake in the preheated oven at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes.

Step 8

The cake might puff up in the middle during the baking process.

Carefully prick it with a knife in that place and continue baking.

Step 9

After baking, carefully pull the parchment paper to lift out the cake onto the table, let cool. 15-20 minutes is enough and after that you can already start to work it.

Trim the edges to even them.

Step 10

Here I recommend using a measuring tape to be able to divide the cake in equal parts.

Step 11

This time I cut the cake into 4 equal squares and the final result was spectacular, but a bit too tall.

Next time I will cut 2 equal parts, so the cake will be smaller.

This is something you can adjust depending on your likes and needs.

Easy and Quick Red Velvet Cake - Step 11

Step 12

Blend the leftovers from trimming the edges in a blender/food processor - we will use these crumbs to decorate the cake.

Step 13

In a big bowl, place the cold whipping cream, the cheese, 200g sugar and a bit of vanilla extract.

Whisk well with a mixer until it you get a dense, firm, smooth cream.

Easy and Quick Red Velvet Cake - Step 13

Step 14

Now we start to assemble the cake.

First, I recommend lining the edges of the platter with bits of parchment paper (so that you don't have to tidy it at the end). Then place a spoonful of cream in the middle of the plate, this will keep the cake in its place.

Easy and Quick Red Velvet Cake - Step 14

Step 15

Then place the first piece of cake, generously spread the cream over.

Step 16

As I said, next time I will make the cake from 2 pieces, it will still be tall enough. This is up to you.

Step 17

The cake is ready, you can see the 4 layers - this view is quite spectacular when serving the cake.

Step 18

Make sure you leave some soft cheese cream for the top and the sides of the cake.

Ease the cream over the cake with a spatula or a knife.

Easy and Quick Red Velvet Cake - Step 18

Step 19

After you've finished with the cream, carefully pull out the parchment paper - and the platter is clean!

Step 20

Using a knife or a spoon, sprinkle the sides of the cake with the red crumbs you prepared earlier.

Step 21

You can decorate the cake with some red fruits on top, here I had frozen red currants.

Carefully wrap the plate with cling film and refrigerate for 2-4 hours, or overnight.

Easy and Quick Red Velvet Cake - Step 21

Step 22

To be honest, I don't think it can get more tender if refrigerated overnight. The sponge cake was so soft after only 2 hours and we savoured it with great pleasure.

Delicious, spectacular, interesting, out of the ordinary and quick = the formula for the perfect cake!

Enjoy!