Sky-High Pink and Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients & Substitutions

You probably have most of what you need to make this cake already, but here are a few things to keep in mind as you gather ingredients. (Links are affiliate links and I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases.)

• Oil: This cake uses vegetable oil instead of butter, so it stays moist for days. You can swap in another neutral oil, like canola oil, if you’d like.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds moisture and flavor, and is a signature part of red velvet cake. If you don’t have any, you can whisk together equal amounts of sour cream and milk, or Greek yogurt and milk, or check out the FAQ below for instructions on making your own.
• Eggs: Use large eggs, and for the best results, have them at room temperature before beginning. Either let them sit out for 20-30 minutes, or submerge them in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes to warm them up quickly.
• Vinegar: The cake recipe uses a little white vinegar to help react with the baking soda, which gives the cake a lot of lift and a super-soft texture. Don’t worry, you can’t taste it in the final product!
• Cocoa powder: Cocoa powder is a traditional part of red velvet cakes. This isn’t a chocolate cake, however — it has just a hint of light cocoa flavor.
• Gel food coloring: For this cake, I used Americolor gel coloring in Super Red and Soft Pink. Gel color is preferred to liquid color because it’s much more potent, so you can get brighter colors with less coloring.
• Butter: Make sure the butter is at room temperature when making the frosting. This means it’s pliable but cool–you don’t want it to be greasy and melty.
• Cream cheese: Be sure to use full fat blocks of cream cheese for the best results. Avoid “light” and “whipped” cream cheese, and any cream cheese sold in a tub. I recommend using Philadelphia brand cream cheese when possible–I have had mixed experiences with store brands. Also, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature before you begin.
• Marshmallow cream: I like to add a bit of marshmallow cream to this cream cheese frosting — it helps with stability and texture. But you can omit it if you’d like.
• Heart-shaped jelly beans: This cake is decorated with these sweet “cherry lovers” heart-shaped jelly beans. If you can’t find them, you can recreate the look with basically any heart-shaped candy. I think conversation hearts would be a fun variation on this idea!

Equipment

• 8-inch cake pans: My absolute favorite cake pans are 3-inch tall pans with removable bottoms, like these 8-inch cake pans. They’re super versatile, can handle extra-high cakes and cheesecakes, and make removing even the stickiest cake a cinch.
• Mixer: You’ll need some kind of mixer to properly beat the cake batter and frosting. Either a stand mixer or hand mixer will work fine.
• Cake turntable:You can certainly make this cake without a cake turntable, but it’s much easier to layer and decorate cakes when you use one. If you think you will be making cakes regularly, it’s worth it to pick one up — my favorite is this Ateco revolving cake stand.
• Offset spatula: A medium offset spatula is perfect for smoothing frosting on the sides and top of the cake.
• Piping bag and tip: I like these piping bags (I wash them and re-use them to reduce waste!) and used a large closed star piping tip to pipe the rosettes on top.

💭 Variations

There are lots of different ways to play around with this recipe! Try one of these fun variations:

• Turn it into cupcakes: this recipe can easily be converted into Red Velvet Cupcakes. A single batch of the red velvet cake batter makes about 24 cupcakes, and you can bake them at 350 F for about 20-23 minutes.
• Put it in a jar: use this Red Velvet Cake in a Jar recipe to assemble this cake in adorable, single-serving jars. Perfect for parties and celebrations!
• Add additional flavors: because red velvet and cream cheese frosting are both fairly neutral flavors, you can get creative and add extra flavoring extracts to the cake batter or frosting. One of my favorites is adding a bit of mint, like in this wintery Red Velvet Trifle.
• Change the color scheme: maybe it’s not Valentine’s Day, or maybe you hate pink and red. No worries! Most colors will work with this cake batter. But because there is a bit of cocoa in it, it’s not a great choice for lighter colors like yellow.
• Decorate differently: you can use other candies for decoration, or go in a whole different direction entirely! Try rolling the sides in sprinkles, or get creative by topping it with a heart like this Valentine’s Day cake.
• Try other frostings: Swiss meringue, easy Swiss meringue, or even stabilized whipped cream would be great with this tender cake.

💡 Tips and FAQs  

Homemade Buttermilk replacement

If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can easily make your own. Combine 3 TBSP of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar with 3 cups of 2% or whole milk. Stir well, and let the milk sit for 10 minutes, until it’s thickened slightly, then you can use it!

💖 More Layer Cakes You’ll Love

• Blueberry Layer Cake
• Mint Chocolate Chip Layer Cake
• Circus Animal Layer Cake
• Strawberries and Cream Layer Cake
• Spring In Bloom Layer Cake
• Watermelon Layer Cake