Red Velvet Cake w/ Cream Cheese Buttercream
Directions
- 1Combine eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, vanilla, vinegar, and red food coloring in a medium bowl.
- 2Mix until well combined.
- 3Add both sugars and mix until incorporated.
- 4In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cocoa powder, salt, and espresso powder.
- 5Sift the dry ingredients on top of your wet batter and mix until well combined.
- 6Grease two 8-inch pans.
- 7Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 8Beat butter, shortening, and vanilla in a mixing bowl until white and fluffy.
- 9Add powdered sugar and water and beat until well combined.
- 10Add the leftover cream cheese icing and some more cream cheese flavoring.
- 11Beat until light and fluffy.
- 12Cut the dome off of one of the cake layers.
- 13Split both cakes in half to make four layers of cake and three layers of cream cheese buttercream.
- 14Apply a base layer of cream cheese buttercream around the cake.
- 15Crumble the leftover cake dome.
- 16Spread crumbs on the sides of the cake over some parchment paper.
- 17Add a border of cream cheese buttercream on top of the cake.
- 18Drizzle some dark chocolate ganache on top of the cake.
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 0.75 cup vegetable oil
- 1.5 cups buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon gel red food coloring
- 0.66 cup brown sugar
- 0.66 cup granulated sugar
- 2.5 cups all purpose flour
- 0.25 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
- 1.25 teaspoon baking soda
- 0.125 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsp espresso powder
- 12 oz. cream cheese
- 0.5 cup vegetable shortening
- 0.5 cup salted butter
- 4.5 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon watkins 1868 cream cheese flavoring
Equipment
medium bowlwhisk8-inch pansovenmixing bowlstand mixerspatulacake standparchment paperpiping bag
Tips
- The cream cheese buttercream is not as sticky as cream cheese icing.