Description
Red velvet cake by Bobby Flay delivers classic Southern dessert charm with rich cocoa undertones and silky cream cheese frosting. Home bakers can recreate this iconic recipe with precise ingredients and careful technique for a restaurant-worthy result.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 sticks (340 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 12 tbsps (170 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 ¼ cups (450 grams) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 ¾ cups (470 grams) all-purpose flour
- 7 tbsps (55 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (180 ml) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240 ml) whole milk
- ½ cup (120 ml) heavy cream
- 1 ½ cups (180 grams) powdered sugar
- 3 tbsps Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- 1 ½ tsps baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 ½ tsps pure vanilla extract
- ½ vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
- 1 ½ tsps red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp red food coloring
Instructions
- Preparation: Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans, line bottoms with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C).
- Dry Ingredients: Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl, eliminating any lumps.
- Creaming: Using a stand mixer, blend butter, granulated sugar, and vegetable oil until pale and voluminous, about 3-4 minutes.
- Egg Integration: Add eggs individually, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping bowl sides for even distribution.
- Flavor Infusion: Incorporate vanilla extract, red wine vinegar, and red food coloring, creating a uniform crimson batter.
- Batter Assembly: Gently alternate adding dry flour mixture and buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture to maintain batter integrity.
- Baking: Distribute batter evenly between prepared pans, smoothing tops. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cooling: Let cakes rest in pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for complete cooling.
- Frosting Base: Combine heavy cream, whole milk, vanilla bean, and seeds in a saucepan. Heat until hot but not boiling, stirring continuously.
- Pudding Preparation: Whisk flour and powdered sugar, gradually mixing into hot milk. Cook until thickened to pudding consistency, then cool to room temperature.
- Chilling: Refrigerate mixture for minimum 2 hours until thoroughly chilled.
- Frosting Finalization: Beat room temperature butter until creamy, then gradually incorporate chilled pudding mixture until light and fluffy.
Notes
- Prevent Cake Crumbling: Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting to ensure structural integrity and prevent breaking.
- Master Color Intensity: Add red food coloring gradually and mix thoroughly to achieve a vibrant, consistent crimson color without streaks.
- Avoid Overmixing Batter: Gently fold dry ingredients and buttermilk to maintain cake’s tender texture and prevent dense, tough results.
- Temperature Precision: Use room temperature ingredients like eggs and butter to guarantee smooth mixing and optimal cake rise.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 11
- Calories: 620
- Sugar: 77 g
- Sodium: 280 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 18 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 12 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 82 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 100 mg