Small 6 Inch Red Velvet Cake
Homemade Small 6 Inch Red Velvet Cake is a moist and delicious one layer red cocoa cake from scratch without a cake mix. Top it with cream cheese frosting.
You asked – I answered!
Recently on Instagram I asked what 6 inch cake recipe you want to see next. Several of you said red velvet cake.
I knew that answer was coming, but I kinda dreaded it.
You see, red velvet and I haven’t always gotten along. What really turned me off of red velvet for years was ordering a red velvet flavored latte (I know) from a national coffee chain.
All I could taste were chemicals. Not wanting to waste coffee and money, I tried to sip through it. Finally about halfway I gave up and threw the rest away.
Over the years I slowly warmed back up to red velvet. My rule now is it must be a cake (with some exception for red velvet sugar cookies and red velvet bars) and not be red velvet flavored random crap.
With Valentine’s Day coming up shortly, what better time than now to share my Small 6 Inch Red Velvet Cake recipe?
This is an easy red velvet cake recipe I’m happy to stand behind. No funky chemical taste like that mistake of a latte I bought.
It’s perfect for February because it’s red for Valentine’s Day and makes dessert for two. Ok maybe there’s a slice or two leftover, but it IS an easy one layer red velvet cake.
I say this every year and this year is no different: I’m single for Valentine’s Day.
Which don’t me wrong – I’m ok with being single. Quite confident even.
However, sometimes I look at these cutesy holidays and realize how different I am. I’ve never been on a Valentine’s Day date. I don’t want kids. I’d rather travel solo than with a friend.
It’s good to be different, but sometimes it’s also isolating.
But I’m not here to whine. Instead, I want to inspire you. If you’re single, treat yourself with your favorite dessert. Take yourself out on a coffee date. Don’t be afraid to eat at a restaurant alone.
And if you do have a date this year, stay home. Make one of my romantic meals for two at home then follow it up with my Small 6 Inch Red Velvet Cake for dessert.
What is red velvet cake?
While researching red velvet cake recipes for testing, I realized not every recipe was the same.
Some used only butter. Some used on oil. Some used both butter and oil. Some used a lot of cocoa. Some only used a tablespoon. One recipe even used only egg whites.
So let’s talk about what red velvet cake is exactly. It’s not a vanilla cake with red food coloring, yet it’s not just a chocolate cake with such a small amount of cocoa powder.
Red velvet cake is a subtle chocolate cake flavored with buttermilk and vinegar then enhanced in color with red food coloring.
What is the difference between chocolate cake and red velvet cake?
The difference between chocolate cake and red velvet cake is the amount of chocolate used.
Chocolate cakes like my small chocolate cake have a deep rich chocolate flavor, thanks to melted chocolate and cocoa powder. The brown color is also too dark for red food coloring to shine through.
Red velvet cake uses a small amount of cocoa powder, allowing the red to shine through. It’s not meant to be a rich chocolate cake.
Red Velvet Ingredients
The ingredients that make red velvet cake unique are cocoa powder, buttermilk, vinegar, baking soda, and red food coloring.
The chemical reaction among these ingredients helps give red velvet a natural deep maroon color, which is often enhanced with food coloring.
If you’re ever reading a red velvet recipe without those ingredients, run. Don’t make it.
For the fat, you want to use a neutral flavored oil such as vegetable or canola oil. Using all oil allows the tangy buttermilk flavor to shine while also making a moist cake.
I saw some recipes using butter. However, if you used butter, its flavor would overpower the buttermilk and vinegar.
Red velvet cake also uses whole eggs. I saw one recipe using only egg whites, which I thought was weird because red velvet cake is not a white cake.
Buying A 6 Inch Round Cake Pan
In order to make this small red velvet cake recipe, you need to buy a 6 inch round cake pan. Easy enough, right?
A 6 x 2 inch round cake pan holds about 2 cups of batter. You can buy one online from Amazon (affiliate link) or from your local craft store in the cake decorating aisle.
Don’t have a 6 inch pan? Make my small batch Red Velvet Cupcakes instead.
Got a 6 inch springform pan? Make my Red Velvet Oreo Cheesecake.
How To Make Red Velvet Cake
Like most cake recipes, first you beat together the fat and sugar. Then you beat in the egg followed by food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
Next, you want to alternate adding your dry ingredients with the buttermilk. This method is important.
Adding the buttermilk all at once could saturate the batter, causing it to split.
However, adding all of the dry ingredients at once will thicken the batter greatly and will likely overmix, causing a tough cake.
Add the dry ingredients in three additions while adding the buttermilk in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
Transfer your batter to a 6 inch round cake pan and bake until done.
How long do you bake a 6 inch cake?
You bake a 6 inch red velvet cake at 350F for about 20-23 minutes.
It’s important your oven temperature is accurate. Just because your dial says it’s 350F degrees doesn’t mean it actually is 350F.
I highly recommend investing in an oven thermometer. It’s inexpensive and will help prevent you from ruining your cake and wasting ingredients.
To tell if your cake is done, insert a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. A few crumbs are ok, but you definitely don’t want wet batter.
Servings In A 6 Inch Cake
Serving sizes are subjective, especially if you only want a small bite of cake. Generally 6 inch cakes can be sliced into 4-6 slices, making it about 4-6 servings per 6 inch cake.
However, if you slice the cake small enough, you can push for 8 slices, equaling 8 servings.
Ultimately serving size is up to you depending on how small you cut your 6 inch cake.
What can I use instead of buttermilk?
Buttermilk is necessary because its acidity reacts with the baking soda and cocoa powder. If you’re going to substitute for buttermilk, you need to make sure its replacement is also acidic.
To substitute for buttermilk, use 1/4 cup whole milk plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes until it curdles.
What kind of food coloring should I use?
I used liquid food coloring, the kind you add by the drop.
You can also use gel or paste, but the amount used will vary. The color will bake out a little, so make your batter a little brighter than what you want.
How do I get red food coloring off my counter?
Food coloring is messy, leaving stains everywhere including your countertop.
To remove red food coloring, cover the stain with some liquid dish soap. Let sit about 1 minute then use a wet paper towel to remove. Repeat until the stain is gone.
What kind of frosting do you use for red velvet cake?
Traditionally, you frost red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting.
I published my Small Batch Cream Cheese Frosting in a separate post, which makes just enough to frost a 6 inch cake without leftovers.
Although not traditional, you can also make Small Batch Buttercream Frosting or even Small Batch Chocolate Frosting.
More Small Cake Recipes
Looking for more small cake recipes? I wrote a 6 Inch Cake Recipes guide. Some of my favorites are:
Equipment You Will Need
Small 6 Inch Red Velvet Cake For Two
Homemade Small 6 Inch RedVelvet Cake For Two is a moist and delicious one layer red cocoa cake fromscratch without a cake mix. Top it with cream cheese frosting.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons red food coloring
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
- 1/4 cup buttermilk (or substitute whole milk with 1 teaspoon lemon juice added)
- Small Batch Cream Cheese Frosting (get recipe here)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease one 6-inch round cake pan then line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and cornstarch then whisk in cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and oil until moistened and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Beat in the egg, food coloring, vanilla, and vinegar.
- Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, adding the flour in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions (begin and end with dry ingredients).
- Transfer the batter to the pan. Bake 20-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs (no wet batter). Cool for about 15 minutes, run a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen, and invert onto a cooling rack. Cool right-side-up.
- Top with Small Batch Cream Cheese Frosting (get recipe here).
- To store frosted cake, refrigerate in an airtight container. Let sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before serving.
Notes
To make a 2 layer cake, double all of the ingredients and divide between two 6 inch pans.
Enjoy this recipe? Check out my full list of 6 inch cake recipes!
Don't have a 6 inch pan? Make Small Batch Red Velvet Cupcakes!
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Looks amazing, do you know of any natural red food colorings that produce the same look? I love red velvet but prefer a natural dye. tysm
I’ve only made this with food coloring. However, I know you can play around with beet juice, beet puree, and possibly even beet powder. Just note adding the juice or puree means you’ll have to adjust the other ingredients to make up for the extra liquid.
Hi Carla,
The cake was amazing – thanks so mich for the tasty reciepe!
By the way, I would like to bake this using fresh beets could you please let me know the measurements for the ingredients if I use beets instead of artificial food
Coloring?
Glad you enjoyed the cake! I haven’t tested it for beets. It’ll add more liquid to your batter, so you’d need to adjust the dry ingredients to compensate for that if you wanted to experiment. I also don’t think it’ll be a bright red – more like a red brown. If you do make it with fresh beets, let me know how it turns out!
Hi Carla,
If I use cake flour instead of all purpose, do I still need to add the extra tablespoon of cake flour instead of the cornstarch?
Yes, you’ll want 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cake flour.
I used Red Velvet baking emulsion from LorAnn.
Hi I used beets and it turned out brown and it pissed me off a bit.. my parents don’t allow food coloring in the house. The cake still came out tasting good and not beet flavored though
I’m trying this tomorrow. Have you ever made it GF? Wondering if subbing standard GF baking flour will be sufficient.
I have not, but I’ve heard good things about substituting Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 GF flour. Let me know how it works out!
The cake is cooling, and Bob’s 1:1 is exactly what I used. The cake took quite a bit longer to bake, but I checked it every 3 minutes. I wish I had added more food coloring, but otherwise, it looks and smells great! Can’t wait to surprise my hubby with it tomorrow for his 40th!
Oh wonderful! Sounds like the GF flour worked out. Happy birthday to him!
i do not have any distilled vinegar at home at the moment is there any other ingredient i can substitute for it?
You can use apple cider vinegar or lemon juice. Whatever you do, don’t skip it.
Hi ,Carla..this is me trying to make red velvet cake for the very first time…so was wondering y corn starch though?
Great question! Ideally you’d want to use cake flour. However, most people don’t have that so all purpose flour + cornstarch is the substitute.
Can I leave the cornstarch out of the recipe all together or use baking powder in place?
Thank you.
Nikki
All purpose flour and cornstarch together is a substitution for cake flour. If you’re going to use cake flour, then you can leave it out. However, if you’re using all purpose flour I highly recommend keeping in the cornstarch for best results. Will you still get cake without it? Yes, but it’ll be a little more denser. If it’s the difference between having cake and no cake because you’re stuck at home, you’ll be fine enough without it. It won’t be a brick or anything; just not as light as it could be. Also cornstarch is not leavening, so please don’t use baking powder.
Forgot to mention – if you do leave out the cornstarch, use an extra 1 tablespoon flour. Otherwise your dry to wet ratio will be off.
Hey Carla, I don’t have baking soda can I use baking powder?
No, they are not interchangeable. It needs to be baking soda.
I’m really glad & happy I found your website XD.
I tried this recipe & double it for a 2 layer 6 inch cake,
Aaaaaaaand it was awesooome~!^^ It was exactly the texture I wanted for a cake & it wasn’t dense at all (I was kinda scared).
It was moist but not oily, just perfect… thank you.. I planning to try your german & carrot cake few days later.. ???? (p.s. newbie baker here, this was my first successful cake, very happy)
Oh that’s wonderful to hear! I’m glad the recipe worked out for you.
Hello! This is exactly what I want to do! You doubled all ingredients for the 2 layers? Please let me know!
Yes you double the recipe for 2 layers.
Hi! Just want to ask you, how did you alter the recipe for a 2 layer 6” pan? I am planning to do tbe same but I’m hesistant it might not turn out good. Thanks!
To make 2 layers, you double all of the ingredients then divide between two pans.
Hi Carla! I am planning to make this cake and already watch like twenty different recipes, none of them convinced me at all until I found yours! I am looking for a tiny cake because we are only two at home, but I was really wondering if I can add butter to this cake instead of oil? I really like butter flavor in cakes. Would you please let me know if I can switch somehow to butter? Thanks a lot for sharing all of your great ideas! I will bake more of your recipes for sure!
Red velvet cake isn’t meant to be butter flavored, hence the vegetable oil to allow the tanginess of buttermilk to shine through. With that said, you can use an equal amount of melted butter instead.
Thanks for the quick answer, I guess that oil is just weird to me because I usually put butter in my cakes. But if you say that it has a special purpose in the flavor I will give it a try. I am making this next week for my birthday, I am exited to see how it turns out!
I agree butter is better because it adds more flavor, but here it muddles the flavor. You can certainly still use melted butter, but it’ll taste different than intended. Regardless, happy early birthday and enjoy!
I finally tried this cake. I wanted to make a small cake (by testing it on myself first) and wanted to try it in the pressure cooker. It turned out well. The only thing I didn’t like was that the initial light chocolate flavor was overpowered by the food coloring.
Glad it worked out in a pressure cooker!
Loved it but it didn’t rise or turn red and I used cake flour and the soda and corn flour, please help!
It tastes gorgeous though!!
Hmm let’s see if we can figure this out:
1 – All purpose flour + cornstarch = cake flour. So you don’t need both the cake flour and the cornstarch. The extra cornstarch probably made it a little heavy and/or dry.
2 – Make sure your baking soda isn’t expired.
3 – Did you change any of the other ingredients? Did you use buttermilk (or milk + acid)? It’s very important none of the acidic ingredients were omitted. Acid + baking soda = rise. If you left out any of the acid, it may not rise properly.
4 – As for the food coloring, what brand did you use? Make sure it’s artificial coloring and not natural red food coloring. Natural coloring tends to lose its vibrancy after baking.
Those are some of the basic troubleshooting questions for now. According to your IP address, you live outside of the US so I’m not sure if other factors come into play – altitude, measuring cups (one time someone in Europe said they used coffee cups instead of dry measuring cups), properly converting measurements, weather, etc.
Thank you so much for the suggestions… Used measuring cups the baking ones yay but also buttermilk, vinegar, baking soda and cornflour with the self raising flour oops.
So I should have omitted the corn flour, both colourings were artificial one Dr. Oetoker gel and the other Jane asher food colouring liquid.. Thank you for your help and tips
Self rising flour is not cake flour. Self rising flour is all purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. You’re adding extra ingredients that shouldn’t be there. There is no baking powder in red velvet cake. I highly recommend following the ingredients as written.
Just thought i’d comment to help the commenter and to let you know self raising flour is what is used in the UK and a lot of other countries we don’t call our flours all purpose flour or cake flour. There’s no such thing here, from research and what us bakers over here are aware of is that, plain flour is all purpose and cake flour is self raising flour.
With that said i used self raising flour a few times using this recipe and have never had any issues, i don’t like using plain flour in my cakes so prefer self raising and it has risen very well.Of course i don’t use cornflour (cornstarch as you say) when putting self raising or cake flour so that probably was the reason with why it may have not risen or over beated the mixture possibly?
Thank you for the info! As you can imagine, I’m not familiar with all the differences in ingredients outside of the US, so this is helpful knowledge. If self raising is the same as cake flour, then it’s likely there was too much cornstarch in the recipe.
Hi,
Made the cake and taste and wonderful turned out awesome. Just want to know why my cake didnt turn out red in color. It was more brown. Have tried twice with less or more red color ( liquid) but its always been brown more and hardly red. Why could that be?
Please let know so can make it better next time.
Thanks,
Sheena
Hmm that’s a new one. You measured out 2 teaspoons of liquid red food coloring? I use the basic food coloring you find in the spice aisle (McCormick red food coloring to be exact because they make a large bottle of red on its own). Did you adjust any of the other ingredients? Did you use buttermilk (or whole milk with the acid added)? You didn’t skip the acid part did you? The acid from the milk plus the 1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar is needed to react with the baking soda and cocoa powder, which helps contribute to the red color as well. What kind of cocoa powder did you use? It wasn’t Dutch processed, was it?
Greetings all the way from
India !! :)
Yes, I measured the 2 teaspoons of red color and used milk with lemon juice option as didnt have buttermilk available.
I tried twice- simple receipe for 6 slices and even doubled the qty too. Cocoa was Hersheys.
Maybe its a brand and quality difference!!
If I increase the qty of red color, you think that will help? Tablespoons instead of teaspoons??
Which food coloring brand are you using? You can increase the food coloring to 1 tablespoon, but I would be cautious doing more because then the cake will taste like food coloring.
Am using an Indian brand called SUN for food color. Will try and make again with revised measurement for the color. Lets hope it turns out nice ????
Hmm this may sound silly, but maybe check the ingredients and make sure it doesn’t use beet root? Beets would make the color more brown than red.
Hi,
Even I tried this cake. Taste wise it good but colour was not red it turned out brownish red… Was Super excited because the batter color was very nice & great 4ed color but after it got baker color changed…
What kind of food coloring did you use? You’ll want to use artificial coloring and not natural coloring. Double check the ingredients of your coloring.
Hi,
Do I have to triple the reciepe if I need to bake 3 cakes (in three 6 inch pans)?
Yes. This recipe is for one 6-inch layer, so in order to get 3 you need to multiply by 3.
Can u differentiate what is butter milk and whole milk
Buttermilk is slightly sour milk, similar to sour cream but in milk form and has less fat than whole milk. It’s also more acidic than milk, which is needed to react with the baking soda in this recipe. That’s why if you substitute whole milk, you need to add acid to it.
Hi Carla! I would like to know if I can use a 6-inch square pan instead of a round pan? will there be any taste difference or in the size?
I don’t own a 6 inch square pan to measure, but as long as it holds roughly the same volume I think you should be fine.
Thanks for the quick response.I will try the recipe and let you know soon.
How much frosting shoukd I make if i need to cover 2 layers of such 6 inch cakes and put the frosting in middle also
You would need to double the frosting recipe.
What is the purpose of adding cornstarch?
In an ideal world, you’d use cake flour instead of all purpose flour because it has less gluten. However, most bakers don’t have cake flour on hand so all purpose flour + cornstarch is a substitute for that. I replaced some of the all purpose flour with the cornstarch to mimic less gluten.
Hello Carla,
What if i have a 8″ baking pan. what measurements may you recommend?
Thank you
I do not have measurements for an 8 inch pan. I know some people have made it in an 8 inch pan as written. It’ll still turn out albeit really thin, so keep an eye on bake time. I’d do it for 10 minutes less then go from there. Another solution is to make cupcakes. Usually 6 inch cakes make around 8 cupcakes or so.
Hi Carla,
Will the recipe be good if tripled? I’m planning to make a 3-layer cake. Also, if multiplying the ingredients by 3 for the frosting, is it only sufficient for a plain frosting or will there be more leftover to pipe roses on top?
Thanks :)
As long as you keep the same proportions, you should be good tripling. If you want to pipe roses, I’d recommend making more frosting than the 3x.
Yiippeee it turned out awesome. Just want to know tbat if i want to make a bigger size, i double all the ingredients, does it hold true for the red color too? And also, i made white chocolate ganache to go with this for a change; and yes that tasted yumm too.
Double everything, including the coloring. Love the idea of white chocolate ganache!
Hi Carla, I was wondering if I can use food coloring in the frosting too? Also, if I want to make a 2-layer cake, do I just double the ingredients for both the frosting and the cake batter?
Yes and yes
I am impressed with the recipe I will try it tomorrow thanks I appreciate
Let me know how it goes!
Hi.
I want to bake this cake today.
So I was wondering what would the Metric measurements be?
I don’t have those measurements, but there are plenty of conversion charts out there. Try this one: https://www.myrecipes.com/how-to/metric-conversion-charts
Baked this cake for my birthday and it was an absolute hit! So moist and tasty. Thank you for doing what you do
Wonderful! Glad you enjoyed it.
Hey,can I bake this cake using a gas cooker
I’m not sure what you mean by gas cooker. If you mean gas oven, yes. If you mean camping equipment, good luck. I haven’t baked it in anything other than an oven.
Hi carla, I’m wondering if I’m going to use a buttermilk (skim milk) do I need to add a tsp of lemon? And if I’m going to use this recipe but cooking it with steamer will it work? Thank you in advance ☺️
I’m not sure I understand the question because buttermilk and skim milk are not the same thing. If you’re using buttermilk, it already contains an acid so no need for more. If you’re using skim milk, you need the lemon juice because it contains no acid. Also I’ve never made this cake in a steamer, but I’m predicting it’s not going to be good because there is no browning and maybe even get soggy.
Hi. I am learning to bake and this is so helpful. If I were to double the engridients and bake in an 8″ pan, how long would I need to bake it?
I’d check on it at 20 minutes then go from there. The baking time shouldn’t be TOO much different, maybe a 5 minute difference, no more than 10.
Hi how thick is this cake? I only have a 9 inch pan so i was wondering how thin it might turn out… thank you in advance!
You won’t have enough batter for a 9 inch cake. You’ll need to double the recipe.
Oh ok, thank you so much. Also, can I use 1% milk instead of the whole milk?
It’ll work in a pinch, although it may be slightly on the drier side for having less fat. Don’t forget the lemon juice!
Hi Carla!
Planning to make this cake soon. I’m a vegetarian so don’t eat eggs. Could you please suggest an alternative to that?
Thanks.
This recipe has not been tested without eggs. You can look up egg substitutes and see which one works for you.
Hi! I saw some comments about use of cornstarch vs. cake flour. I do have cake flour, so what is the appropriate substitution? Thanks!
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cake flour
Hi! If I use cake flour, how many cups do I need to use?
Omit the cornstarch, use 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon cake flour.
I would like to divide the batter into 2 4 1/2″ springform pans so that I have an even smaller, 2 layer red velvet cake. Your thoughts?
I feel like you may end up with 3 layers instead of 2, but it should work fine (I have a mini layer cake here for reference: https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2017/05/15/mini-peanut-butter-layer-cake/).
Hi! If I want to add coffee to this recipe, how many tablespoon of coffee should I add? Thanks!
What are you hoping to accomplish? I ask because adding coffee to red velvet cake isn’t common. For starters, it certainly won’t be red anymore. Second, if you want to taste the coffee flavor you would need to add a lot of coffee and this recipe hasn’t been tested for that. If you were to add only a little bit, the flavor isn’t noticeable (similar to my chocolate cake where the coffee brings out the chocolate but you don’t actually taste coffee: https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2018/01/29/small-chocolate-cake-for-two/). You can maybe add 1 tablespoon instant espresso with the dry ingredients, but again I can’t guarantee anything.
Another alternative would be adding a coffee frosting or whipped cream. You can add 1 tablespoon to my small batch whipped cream: https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2019/03/04/small-batch-homemade-whipped-cream/ or replace the milk with coffee in my buttercream frosting: https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2019/04/29/small-batch-buttercream-frosting/
Hi Carla,
Am interested in your red velvet cake recipe. May I know do you have a recipe for 9inch round baking pan?
Thank you.
Best regards
Theresa
No, I do not have one. It’s likely you can double it, but I haven’t tested it myself.
20-25 minutes wasn’t enough to bake the cake.
It is currently in the oven and I am really excited how much more it’s going to take. But I am checking the cake every few minutes to see if it’s still wet or not.
Are you using an oven thermometer? Most oven knobs are unreliable, so it’s best to hang a thermometer for accurate temperature. Also I noticed you’re outside of the US, so I’m wondering if different oven types are a factor. I’m guessing based on location, you don’t live at high altitude but that would also be a factor if you did.
Hi Carla.. thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have tried this cake and it’s turned out so good..it’s my first ever red velvet cake.. planning to bake this cake for my daughter’s first birthday next month.. could you please share the measurements for 8 inches pan?
Glad you enjoyed the cake! I don’t have measurements for an 8 inch pan. Here is a chart for pan sizes. Looks like it’s either going to be the same or multiply 1.5 times https://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html
Im looking at trying this recipe but dont have any cups is it possible you could change the units please? Thankyou
Here’s a handy calculator for converting cups to grams: https://www.thecalculatorsite.com/cooking/cups-grams.php
Lover of your recipes here. I probably made the carrot cake like 15 times, for all friends and family. That’s how much I loved it
But just took the red velvet out of the oven and trying to understand where it went wrong. After 20 minutes, I checked it and I had liquid batter on my stick so left it for another 5 minutes. And again. I think it took 35 minutes in total. But it raised like a volcano in the middle and cracked. Never happened to me before. Any ideas of why it happened?
I curdled the milk with lemon juice (fresh made, not store bought) to make the buttermilk.
Another thing is that I always use cake flour. But didn’t see until after, in the comments, that if I use cake flour I am not supposed to use the cornstarch but another spoon of flour?
Dunno. Just trying to understand what happened as I would really like to make it perfect for a friend’s birthday.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
The recipe calls for all-purpose flour. If you used cake flour without adjustments, it sounds like you may have answered your own question. All purpose flour and cake flour are not 1:1 interchangeable. Also I see you’re in the UK. Does your flour having baking powder or baking soda in it? I remember a comment on another post something about the flour names in the UK aren’t the same as the US, so double check you’re not using self-rising flour.
Thank you so much for your reply, Carla!
Bought plain flour and learnt something new about it, had no idea about the difference, so thank you.
Also bought an oven thermometer and realised the temperature in my oven fluctuates a lot during the cooking. Don’t know if this is normal.
Had to cook it for 35 minutes but that might be because I’m using cake strips to make sure the sponge is flat. Turned out great. Can’t wait to taste it!
Once again, thank you for all your work!
Most ovens do fluctuate like that, which is why it’s important to use an oven thermometer and not rely on the oven knob. For example, my oven is always 25 degrees hotter, so if I want to bake at 350, I have to put it at 325. My friend’s oven has one side hotter than the other on the same shelf! Do you know about the toast test? Pretty much you bake slices of bread and you should be able to see if your oven has any hot spots. Here’s a guide that explains it better https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2018/05/15/how-to-identify-oven-hot-spots
Once you get a feel for how your oven works, you should hopefully be able to adjust for baking.
Hi Carla, thanks for the recipe, I have tried the recipe twice but doubled it the 2nd time around. I have only learned now that one cannot use corn starch in a cake flour baking. Firstly, when doubling the recipe, can I bake the cake in one cake pan instead of dividing the butter into two cake pans? Secondly, do I double the baking time as well?
That is correct. All purpose flour and cake flour are not a 1:1 substitute, so if you’re using cake flour you do not want to use cornstarch. And yes you need double the pans because doubling the batter won’t fit into one pan. Assuming you’re using two pans, bake time will be roughly the same, give or take a few minutes. It depends on how even your oven bakes.
Carla, this is an awesome recipe! I doubled it to make a 6″ layer cake for a friend’s birthday with fabulous results. The only downside, for me, was that the cream cheese frosting seemed to overpower the cake’s delicate flavor.
I made it a second time this weekend, using an ermine (cooked milk ) frosting from another recipe. This was PERFECTION – I may never make frosting any other way again. Ermine frosting is the perfect balance between American and Swiss/Italian buttercream in my opinion – it’s less sweet than the American frosting, and silky-smooth with zero grit like the European buttercream but without tasting like I’m eating only butter, in my opinion.
This will be my go-to red velvet cake recipe from now on. Thank you so much!
FYI, I found that adding a pinch more baking soda allowed me to double the original recipe without doubling the egg, for a 6″ layer cake.
Oh, and I also made a variation today, since the red velvet cake is gone. I doubled the recipe again, omitted the cocoa powder and increased the vanilla to 1T. Baked two layers and iced it with chocolate ermine frosting. YUM!
Glad you enjoyed the cake recipe! Cream cheese is definitely traditional but the ermine sounds like a great alternative as well. Thanks for sharing!
Hi, Carla!
I’m an ardent fan of your recipes and your commentary about yourself. I laughed out loud when I read about the Red Velvet Latte description. No funky chemical taste like that mistake of a latte I bought. :0)
Keep the great and REALISTIC recipes coming!!
Ha thanks! To this day, I can still taste that horrible latte.
I doubled this reciepe and used for a 8 inch round pan. Taste was perfect. Loved it. Thank u
Glad that worked out for you!
Can we use 2 4 inch cake pans if we don’t have a 6 inch cake pan but just shorten the baking time?
Yes, but you may need three 4 inch pans. You can use my mini German chocolate cake for reference https://www.chocolatemoosey.com/2015/02/05/mini-german-chocolate-cake-for-two/
I made this cake and it smells amazing, I haven’t tasted anything but the batter yet haha but I did have to cook it and additional 12 minutes I’m wondering if my 6 inch pan was too deep?
Ovens can be finicky, especially since you live outside of the US. My guess is your internal temperature may not have made it up to 350F or you picked a “cooler” spot in your oven. That’s why I include how to tell when the cake is done vs. a strict baking time.
Hi Carla,
Love your small batch baking and they easily convert to gluten free-(I use Bobs 1-1) do you think I should add the cornstarch . My gut is saying yes.
I haven’t worked with gluten free flour, but I would keep it in.
That’s what my gut is telling me. Thank you
My husband loves red velvet cake. I made this cake exactly like the recipe. He said it was the best cake he has ever tasted.
Oh wonderful! Glad to hear he enjoyed the cake.