Best Red Velvet Cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream

Best Red Velvet Cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream (Progress Pictures)

This is probably the best red velvet cake you will ever taste. Moist, light and fluffy with just the right amount of acidity and hint of cocoa. A simple butter-based recipe that’s surprisingly easy to mix from scratch. Today I have used a meringue buttercream frosting but you can frost it with cream cheese for a classic red velvet affair.

This week I had three red velvet cake orders. Was weird because they were all from different people. Not very common for me because I don’t do so many orders in a week. Plus, I’ve not had a red velvet order in over a year and then suddenly three in the same week. That is weird, right?  Is there a red velvet week? 

Ah well, one cake was a 30th birthday celebration and she asked to add a touch more of chocolate so I actually frosted that with chocolate ganache. Have you ever had red velvet with chocolate? I tasted it for the first time. She said she loved it. 

The second was for a grandmother and she wanted a red velvet with no added vinegar. Of course, I made her my moist red velvet cake which is oil-based and does not have any vinegar.
The third said she wanted this classic red velvet but with a Meringue buttercream. So, I made her this red velvet with Italian Meringue Buttercream.
I thought I’ll share that recipe with you so I made a little one (small cake for home) to share the recipe with you. 
The kids were excited about the red velvet fiesta so I also made a few of my red velvet cupcakes this week for the kids.
So in all, we had a red velvet kinda week.

About this cake

This is a deliciously light and airy cake. Not to be mistaken for classic chocolate or vanilla cake dyed in red. The vinegar added just before baking combines with the leavening in the cake batter bubbling to make a lighter and fluffy cake texture. The resulting cake ends up being so light you can enjoy it on its own without frosting. 

Frost it with cream cheese frosting for a light and indulgent dessert or dress it as I have with meringue buttercream. I have used Italian meringue buttercream today but Swiss meringue would work just as well.

If you do not want to use Italian meringue try Swiss meringue or others. You know I love frosting so I have lots of options for you to try. Check out my 30 plus homemade buttercream frosting recipes

Do you remember this cake tutorial with the Brush embroidery lace?
This is also this cake recipe but with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and the progress, pictures below are from this cake. 

Let’s talk ingredients and substitutes (Save/Pin)

• Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the quantity of sugar in my recipe but if salted butter is all you gave go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
• Eggs – Always use large size eggs when baking unless specified. The size of eggs varies significantly these days so as a guide on large eggs weighs between 50 to 60 grams
• All-purpose flour – yes, regular plain flour (maida) is all you need for this cake and it does make the cake incredibly moist with a soft crumb. Do not use any self-raising as those contain more leavening.
• Cocoa Powder – The cocoa powder in a red velvet enhances and deepens the color of the red with just hint of flavor. I used regular unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder.
• Buttermilk – keeps the cake moist with a soft crumb. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make buttermilk at home in just 5 minutes – here’s my tutorial for homemade buttermilk. 
• Vanilla Extract – always use a good quality vanilla extract. I know it’s expensive which is why I make my own vanilla extract, vanilla bean paste as well as vanilla sugar.

Food coloring for red velvet cake?

The food color is what makes a red velvet cake red. So yes, you do need some good red food coloring. I like to use gel food colors diluted with water because they are more concentrated give that rich shade of red.
If you want to use natural food coloring just substitute the red color with approximately 1 tsp beet powder

Useful Tips and Tools

• If you bake often, it would be a good idea to invest in a cake mixer. Because often we try to mix by hand and then we are too tired to give it enough creaming or mixing. So, if you are making this cake go ahead and remove that K-Mix or Kitchen Aid from your kitchen cabinet.You don’t have to buy an expensive stand mixer, a simple hand mixer works great too.
• I believe in weighing ingredients by weight, which makes my kitchen scaleone of the most valuable items when baking.
• The same goes for mymeasuring cups and measuring spoons. It’s always a good idea to have these handy and use them when baking rather than trying to guess measurements.
• I think one set of baking pans is a must for anyone a home baker. I like to bake three layers rather than torte my cakes and it bakes faster too. For most of my layer cake recipes on this blog I use 3 x 6-inch round pans
• Once baked always invert your cakes on a cooling rack. This encourages air circulation and prevents the steam from pooling at the bottom of the pan.
• Every oven works differently. So the baking times are just guidelines. In the case of cakes, a skewer inserted in the center is a great indication. If the cake bakes too quick or too slow compared to the time given it might be a good idea to check if your oven needs calibration. An oven thermometer is a great little gadget to help keep the oven temperature in check. All you need to do then is adjust the temperature accordingly

How to make a Red Velvet Cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream (Save/Pin)

Method

Prepare

• Preheat the oven to 160 °C/ 320 °F 
• Grease and line two 6-inch baking pans with parchment paper
• Melt butter – aside to cool.
• Mix yogurt into the milk and mix thoroughly to ensure no lumps – set aside
• To prepare red food color –  combine the gel color with the water – set aside
• Sift together – flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – set aside

Whip eggs

• Whip the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. 
• Slowly add melted and cooled butter into the eggs.
• Next, add the yogurt/milk mixture. 
• Followed by the prepared red food color and vanilla 
• Lastly, add the flour mixture. 
• Mix until just combine – but do not overmix.

Bake

• Make sure the oven is hot and the baking pans are ready
• Add vinegar to the batter.  
• Once you add the vinegar the mixture will start to bubble. 
• Divide batter evenly between the prepared baking pans.
• Place in the middle rack in the oven. 
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes invert onto a baking rack.
• Let cool completely before you decorate.

Decorate

• Prepare Italian meringue buttercream as shown in this recipe with step by step 
• Once cooled – cut off any dome on the cake to level them

• Torte/cut each layer of cake into two horizontally so you have four layers.
• Spread buttercream and sandwich the three layers

• Stack the layers
• Crumb coats or spread a little buttercream around the cake. (this helps seal the crumbs) 
• Chill the cake if necessary for 10 to 15 minutes so the layers won’t move.
• Add pink gel food color to the half of the remaining buttercream
• Put both colors of buttercream in a piping bag with a star piping tip nozzle
• Pipe swirls around the cake. These swirls are exactly what you would do on a cupcake just smaller and on the side and top of the cake.

Storage 

• The cake will stay fresh for up to four days at cool room temperature, longer if kept in the fridge. 
• It can be frozen for a month or more. 

10 Tips to Successfully Baking a Cake from Scratch (Recipe included)

Learn how to bake a cake from scratch every single time with these 10 tips, step-by-step progress pictures, video tutorial, and more than 50 cake recipes. Understand cake ingredients and how they work before you can use them to get the best results with desired outcomes. This article is going to make you a better baker.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use another frosting for this cake instead of Italian Meringue buttercream?

If you do not want to use Italian meringue try Swiss meringue or a classic cream cheese frosting. My favorite is my no-butter cream cheese frosting, it is a bit softer but very delicious.
You know I love frosting so I have lots of options for you to try. Check out my 30 plus homemade buttercream frosting recipes

30 Plus Homemade Buttercream Frosting Recipes

Need a buttercream recipe in 5 minutes? Have a buttercream related question? Wondering what buttercream to use for your cake? It’s all here in one place. 30 plus homemade buttercream frosting recipes for you to explore. With recipes, tips, trick, and troubleshooting, as well as popular questions, answered.

Don’t forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.

Best Red Velvet Cake with Italian Meringue Buttercream

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 19 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course – Dessert

Cuisine – American

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Total Time: 35 mins

Calories: 512

Adjust Servings Here: 12 servings

Description

This is probably the best red velvet cake you will ever taste. Moist, light and fluffy with just the right amount of acidity and hint of chocolate. A simple butter-based recipe that’s surprisingly easy to mix in less than 10 minutes. Frost it with cream cheese for a classic red velvet affair or try my exotic homemade Italian meringue buttercream that takes this cake to a whole new level. 

Equipment /Tools

• 2 x 6-inch baking pan
• Stand Mixer
• Stainless steel mixing bowl
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Spatula
• Baking Tray
• Oven

Ingredients

For the cake

• 90 grams Unsalted Butter
• 190 grams All-purpose flour
• 2 tsp  Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp  Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp  Vinegar
• 2 large Eggs
• 1/8 tsp cream of tartar
• 200 grams White Sugar
• 120 ml Buttermilk
• 2 tsp  Vanilla Extract
• 30 ml water
• 2 tsp  red food color or few 1/2 tsp red gel food color

For the filling and frosting

• 4 cups Italian Meringue Buttercream
• 30 ml Sugar Syrup

Metric – US customary

ADJUST SERVINGS HERE – 12 servings

Conversions – Switch between Metric & US for other measurement options

Instructions

Prepare

• Preheat the oven to 160 °C/ 320 °F
• Grease and line two 6-inch baking pans with parchment paper
• Melt butter – aside to cool.
• To prepare red food color –  combine the gel color with the water – set aside
• Sift together – flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt – set aside

Whip eggs

• Whip the eggs and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Slowly add melted and cooled butter into the eggs.
• Next, add the buttermilk
• Followed by the prepared red food color and vanilla
• Lastly, add the flour mixture.
• Mix until just combine – but do not overmix.

Bake

• Make sure the oven is hot and the baking pans are ready
• Add vinegar to the batter.
• Once you add the vinegar the mixture will start to bubble.
• Divide batter evenly between the prepared baking pans.
• Place in the middle rack in the oven.
• Bake for about 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
• After 10 minutes invert onto a baking rack.
• Let cool completely before you decorate.

Decorate

• Prepare Italian meringue buttercream as shown in this recipe with step by step
• Once cooled – cut off any dome on the cake to level them
• Torte/cut each layer of cake into two horizontally so you have four layers.
• Spread buttercream and sandwich the three layers
• Stack the layers
• Crumb coats or spread a little buttercream around the cake. (this helps seal the crumbs)
• Chill the cake if necessary for 10 to 15 minutes so the layers won’t move.
• Add pink gel food color to the half of the remaining buttercream
• Put both colors of buttercream in a piping bag with a star piping tip nozzle
• Pipe swirls around the cake. These swirls are exactly what you would do on a cupcake just smaller and on the side and top of the cake.

Recipe Video

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Nutrition Information

Calories: 512kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 256mg | Potassium: 125mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 64g | Vitamin A: 245IU | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1.1mg

The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you

Keywords – baking, cake, recipes, Red Velvet

Did you make this recipe? I’d love to hear how it was.Mention @veenaazmanov or tag me on Instagram #veenaazmanov

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