Elevate any celebration with this stunning Red Velvet Bundt Cake! Moist, tender, and richly red, it’s perfectly paired with a creamy, sweet glaze that drips beautifully down each slice. Easy to make yet impressive, this cake is sure to steal the show at any gathering.
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- Lucy’s notes
I hope you make this recipe. I think you’ll love it!
Ingredient notes
Here are a few things to know about the ingredients in this recipe.
➡️➡️➡️ The full ingredient amounts and instructions are listed below on the printable recipe card. Scroll below the recipe card for frequently asked questions and tips for success.
For the bundt cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup neutral oil (eg. canola, vegetable)
2 cups white granulated sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons red gel food coloring
For the glaze
4 ounces full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
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Red Velvet Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the bundt cake
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- ½ cup neutral oil (eg. canola, vegetable)
- 2 cups white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons red gel food coloring
For the glaze
- 4 ounces full fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 4 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350oF. Grease a 12 cup bundt pan (see notes on how best to prepare your pan).
- To a medium sized bowl add the flour, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder then mix together and set aside.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the softened butter and oil. Beat on the lowest speed until creamy then slowly pour in the sugar. When all the sugar has incorporated turn the speed to medium and beat for two minutes.
- Keeping the speed on low, add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time, beating for 20 seconds between each addition. Turn the mixer up to medium and beat for one minute.
- Add the vanilla and buttermilk to the mixing bowl, beat on a low speed until thoroughly combined.
- Add the red food coloring to the mixing bowl, beat on a low speed until all the ingredients in the bowl are bright red and uniform in color.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, beat on the lowest speed until you can no longer see white streaks of flour.
- Use a spatula to turn the mixture in the bowl over and check everything is mixed together. Take care not to over mix.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake in the center of the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove the bundt cake from the oven then set a timer for ten minutes. After which time invert the cake onto a cooling rack to completely cool.
Make the glaze:
- To a large mixing bowl add all of the glaze ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy. The consistency should be that of a pourable glaze.
- When the Red Velvet Bundt Cake has completely cooled, pour over the cream cheese glaze.
- Slice, serve and enjoy!
Notes
- This striking Red Velvet Cake boasts a deep chocolate flavor with a hint vanilla. The unique and unmistakable texture is both dense and light, with a melt-in-your- mouth moistness. Topped with a luxuriously smooth cream cheese glaze, it’s sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
- Traditionally, Red Velvet Cake was colored with beetroot. Today, we achieve the vibrant red hue with food coloring. Opt for gel food coloring for the richest color. You will notice other recipes call for substantially more food coloring than this one in some cases more than twice as much. We used Sugarflair’s red extra gel coloring. It is very concentrated so you can use less. Food gels will vary in strength and vibrancy. We recommend starting with a small amount and building up the color from there. If you use too much it can really spoil the flavor of the cake and a little goes a long way.
- We have found the best way to keep bundt cakes from sticking to the pan is to make cake “goop”. You can easily make this by combining equal amounts of shortening, neutral oil and flour. Add a 1/4 cup of each to a bowl and thoroughly whisk until smooth then use a pastry brush to coat the inside of the pan with the goop. For an extra safety measure we sifted in a small amount of cocoa powder and then tapped out the excess.
- On removing the bundt from the oven we have found the optimum time for it to sit in the pan is 10 minutes, that is why the recipe tells you to set a timer. If you leave the bundt to completely cool in the pan it is likely to get stuck and you’ll lose the beautiful pattern.
- Buttermilk adds a delightful tang and contributes to the heavenly texture, and it’s irreplaceable in this recipe. If you’re out of buttermilk, simply create your own by mixing one cup of milk with a tablespoon of white vinegar. Let it sit until curdled, then you’ll have homemade buttermilk!
- For the glaze, cream cheese is the star ingredient. Use room-temperature full-fat block cream cheese to avoid a lumpy texture.
- Adjust the glaze consistency if needed; it should be pourable but not too thick nor too thin. Add powdered sugar by the tablespoon for a thicker frosting, or a tablespoon of milk or cream for a thinner one. The added salt really helps cut through the sweetness.
