Let's Bake a Red Velvet Cake with Fragrant Cream Cheese

Red velvet cake is a moist red cake with the lovely aroma of cream cheese. The red colour comes simply from cocoa powder and vinegar: when these ingredients are mixed, they react with the anthocyanins, turning the crumb red.

Today we invite you to try making red velvet cake. First, let's look at the ingredients.

Red Velvet Cake Ingredients

• 90 g salted butter, at room temperature
• 115 g caster (fine) sugar
• 2 large eggs (size 1), at room temperature
• 1 to 1.5 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1.5 to 2 tsp red colouring
• 18 g rice bran oil
• 125 g fresh milk + 12 g lemon juice
• 165 g cake flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients

• 200 g cream cheese, at room temperature
• 130 g unsalted butter
• 25 g icing sugar
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of salt
• A little lemon juice

How to Make Red Velvet Cake

Once all your ingredients are ready, it's time to bake.

1. Mix the milk and lemon juice together, then add the cocoa powder and red food colouring. Stir well and set aside.
2. Beat the butter with an electric mixer until pale, add the fine sugar and keep beating until combined.
3. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Gradually add the sifted cake flour, alternating with the cocoa mixture: add the flour in 3 parts and the cocoa mixture in 2 parts.
4. Add the rice bran oil and keep beating. Then mix the vinegar with the baking soda, pour it into the batter and beat well with the electric mixer.
5. Pour into a 1-pound cake tin and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C, with top and bottom heat, for about 35 to 40 minutes.
6. Let the cake cool after baking. Trim off the domed top and set it aside to crumble into crumbs for decoration, then cut the remaining cake into 2 layers.
7. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the butter and keep beating. Add the icing sugar and season with salt, lemon juice and a little vanilla. Beat until well combined.
8. Spread cream cheese frosting over the first layer, place the second layer on top, then cover the whole cake with frosting. Decorate with the cake crumbs.
9. Chill for about 2 to 3 hours before serving.

And that's it: a red velvet cake with fragrant cream cheese frosting.