Original Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Try the original Red Velvet cake recipe with  fluffy meringue frosting. This cake is traditional in the south as a grooms cake.

Also check out the recipe underneath the video from a website visitor who shared her version with an amazing custard style buttercream.

Scroll down to see the video and or Robin's recipe for Red Velvet cake with a luscious Ermine custard style frosting recipe. 

Note: Q&A below the recipes for you. 

Original Red Velvet Cake Recipe Video

Robin's Recipe

The recipe below is different than the one in the video. People really seem to like Robins recipe. I know for a fact that the frosting is truly scrumptious. I'm sure the cake is equally as good. I still need to try it. I don't get many Red Velvet cake orders these days.

Preheat oven 335-350
Eight cups of batter 

Cake Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup white vegetable shortening
  • 1 and 1/2 cups white pure cane sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp of salt
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 2 oz. of red food coloring-two 1 oz. bottles
  • 2 Tbsp. cocoa
  • 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour

Filling Ingredients

  • 1 cup salted butter
  • 1 cup confectioner's sugar
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 5 Tbsp. regular flour

Method

In a large mixing bowl, cream 1/2 cup white vegetable shortening with 1 and 1/2 cups white pure cane sugar. Add 2 eggs and add 1 tsp pure vanilla extract. Combine and set aside...1 tsp of salt and 1 cup buttermilk In a small glass or cup, mix 1 tsp baking soda and 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.  After the fizzing dies down add it to your batter and combine. In a small glass bowl mix 2 oz. of red food coloring{two 1 oz. bottles] with 2 Tbsp. cocoa, stirring till combined. Add it to your batter and mix just until it is incorporated. In three additions add 2 1/2 cups of sifted cake flour alternately with the buttermilk. Beat on medium speed a minute or so until smooth. Pour into 2 , 8 inch greased and floured pans and tap evenly on counter to control the bubbling.

Bake in the center of racks for about 35 minutes depending on your oven. Cake springs back and will come away from the sides a bit when done. Cool on wire racks while you prepare your filling.

Filling Method

Cream 1 cup softened butter {lightly salted], with 1 cup confectioners sugar. Set aside and in a medium saucepan put 1 cup of whole milk, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract and 5 Tbsp. of regular flour. Whisk it so you achieve smooth lump free pudding consistency over med heat, remove and chill 10 minutes. Combine with butter mixture and beat on high. The filling will fluffy

The two cake layers become four and the filling is used as the icing. Chilling for at least two hours improves taste and stability of the cake.

Recipe by Robin Covey (West Akron Ohio)

Original Red Velvet Cake Recipe for a Wedding Cake

This beautiful cake was made for a lovely bride and groom who lived in France. They were married here in Connecticut.

Wedding cakeA Red Velvet Wedding Cake by Lorelie

Comments and Variations on
Robins Original Red Velvet cake recipe


by: Robin Covey

I've had 30 years to play with this cake recipe and I have changed things here and there. The filling was changed from the 1 cup of granulated sugar to conf. sugar due to a better decor consistency was needed, depending on how stiff i need it i may add 1/2 pkg. cream cheese and or another 1/4 th to a 1/2 c. of confectioners. you can even add a touch of Amaretto, you can candy pecans for the top or even use cherry pie filling to present a torte. curls or flowers of white or dark chocolate. Best served well chilled for "curing" the taste. The butter tends to separate [especially with the cane sugar in the original frosting, that's why I changed it to conf.sugar] . Best decorator tip I can give is to make a batch of filling, crumb coat the cake, chill for 15 minutes to set and frost again to cover thicker. if your going to pipe design then make a double batch and stiffen the consistency or use fondant or buttercream. cake is moist if not over baked and its easy to cut in layers after chilling a bit.

Great tips for using your Original Red Velvet Cake Recipe
by: Lorelie

Thanks Robin for all of those great ideas and tips for your Red Velvet Cake Recipe. Candied pecans are one of my favorite things to eat.

I have a very special champagne spiced pecan recipe that is my favorite if you want to try them out.


I would love to try your original red velvet cake recipe
by: Robin Covey

Your pecan recipe sounds like it is a very tasty. that may work great on a peach cake recipe that i have or how about a German chocolate. I love cake. I love to admire all the handcrafting of the fondant and buttercream cakes from all the designers out there as well as to eat it. I have learned a lot of needed important information from your site as well. I'm in the beginning stages of making wedding cakes. This recipe sounds like a welcomed addition to my collection of recipes.

Me Too!
by: Lorelie

That is great Robin!!! if you ever need any help with your wedding cakes let me know. Yes I really love cake too and love watching people create things with frosting as well. I love doing it for a living too although it is hard physical work at times.

You can do a lot with those spiced pecans. I chop them up finely and use them as decoration on the side of a cake. I have added them to pancakes, cake and cookie batter, frosting's etc...Glad you are enjoying my website.

100 people
by: Carmen

Hi, I'm new at this cake thing. I haven't made it before and my question is if you can give me a recipe for a wedding of 100 people because I don't know how to guess and is my first time baking a big cake.


Comment for Carmen
by: Robin

One cake recipe covers a 9" double layer, are you wanting to create a 3 tier, 2 layered cake? it's usually 6 batches made up depends on amount of layers sometimes you need more

Original Red velvet cake recipe
by: Anonymous

Thank you so much for sharing your info with me. thanks again.

Help
by: Anonymous

Where does the cream cheese come in? I don't know if I am missing it or it is missing from the recipe.

Hi Lorelie here. Robin will probably respond, but I believe that her recipe does not call for cream cheese. The custardy buttercream that goes with this recipe is amazing! I tried it with my red velvet cupcakes . WOW!!!

Red velvet cake icing answer
by: Robin Covey

This recipe does not call for cream cheese and I recommend this whole recipe should be chilled !!!


Beet Juice?
by:Anonymous

I thought there was beet juice in the original recipe for Red Velvet cake.

Beet juice in  original red velvet cake recipe
by: Robin Covey

Originally there was beet juice in this recipe and there are still some recipes out there using beet juice. It was the way bakers got the red color into their food the real reason is because the cake recipe was designed to put certain nutrients back in the system that is was lacking.

Robin's Original red velvet cake recipe by: Sandra

Hi Robin,
In your cake recipe you said use 1/2 cup shortening but below in a comment tip I read beat, whip to get rid of the grit when using 2 sticks of butter and cane sugar. Is that for the frosting or the cake batter. Or is it if you are using butter, instead of shortening in the cake batter? How much beet juice goes into the original red velvet recipe?

Original red velvet cake recipe
by: Anonymous

Thank you so much for sharing your info with me. thanks again.
Thank you, C

A TIP...
by: Robin Covey

When you cream and work that pure cane sugar with the 2 sticks of butter, BEAT, WHIP, whatever you have to do to get it GRIT FREE it takes work, but the reward is scrumptious and well worth the effort. this cake layers well and cuts well especially when chilled.

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This article was printed from Wedding-Cakes-For-You.com

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History of the Red Velvet Cake 

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