Name: Red Velvet Bundt Cake
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 37 min
Total time: 72 min
Ingredients: butter & flour (for greasing and coating the pan); 2 and ½ cups cake flour*; 3 tbsp. natural unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1 tsp. salt; 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature); 2 cups granulated sugar; 3 large eggs (room temperature); 2 tsp. vanilla extract; 1 tsp. white vinegar; 1 and ¼ cups buttermilk; gel red food coloring*; 8 oz. cream cheese (brick-style, softened to room temperature); ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened to room temperature); 2 and ½ cups powdered sugar; ½ tsp. vanilla extract (optional)

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This red velvet bundt cake is soft, light, moist, and topped with a thick, tangy cream cheese frosting. It's a gorgeous dessert that is easy to make and perfect for any celebration!

Red Velvet Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting Red velvet has always been my favorite kind of cake, and this bundt cake version is a real game changer! The texture of the cake is incredibly soft, light, and moist. And of course you can't have red velvet cake without a thick, tangy cream cheese frosting!

The best part about this cake is how easy it is to make! It comes together effortlessly with minimal decoration, and the result is just as beautiful as any intricate layer cake.

What You Need to Make Red Velvet Bundt Cake

Bundt pan: This is the one I used, but there are several different shapes and designs you can choose from.
Butter and flour: So the cake comes out of the pan easily, use a pastry brush to generously paint the inside with softened butter, then sprinkle some flour and swirl it around to coat the butter. Turn the pan upside down and tap it on the counter to shake out the excess flour.

For the Cake:

Cake flour: Cake flour is what gives the cake its 'velvety' texture. If you don't have any, you can make a DIY version with all-purpose flour and cornstarch. For 1 cup of cake flour, measure out 1 cup of AP flour, then remove 2 tablespoons and replace it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Cocoa Powder: Natural unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutch-processed.
Baking soda: Baking soda reacts with the acidic ingredients to make the cake rise. Make sure it's not expired or the cake won't work. You can do a quick test by mixing a little vinegar and baking soda together, the stronger the reaction the better!
Salt: 1 teaspoon.
Butter: Unsalted and softened to room temperature. Properly softened butter should be firm but easily pliable when pressed in.
- To control the amount of salt in the recipe it's always best to use unsalted butter. If all you have is salted butter, reduce the added salt to ½ teaspoon.
Sugar: Granulated, 2 cups.
Eggs: Room temperature. Take the eggs out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before using them, or place them in a bowl of lukewarm water for about 5 minutes to quickly bring them to room temperature.
Vanilla extract: Pure or imitation is fine.
Buttermilk: Required for red velvet cake, no substitutions please!
White vinegar: Adding vinegar ensures there's plenty of acidity in the batter for the baking soda to react with. I know vinegar in cake sounds weird, but I promise you can't taste it!
Red coloring: Use gel coloring for the best results. Stay away from liquid coloring because it can alter the consistency of the batter.

How to Make Red Velvet Bundt Cake

Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease and flour the bundt pan.
Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
Add the softened butter to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with an electric mixer or the paddle attachment in the stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Turn the speed up and beat until well combined, light, and fluffy.
Add the room temperature eggs, one at a time, and mix on low speed until just combined after each. Wipe the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the vanilla extract, vinegar, and buttermilk, and mix until smooth. The batter will look curdled from the buttermilk, but will fix itself once the dry ingredients are added.
Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until the batter is smooth. Mix in the red gel coloring and add more until you're happy with the color.
Pour the batter into the bundt pan, use a spatula to spread it out evenly, and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean or with a few crumbs, if it comes out with wet batter then keep baking a few minutes longer.
Take the pan out of the oven. Once it's cool enough to touch, place an upside down plate, cooling rack, or cake board on top and flip the pan over to invert the cake onto it. Just don't let it cool too much, the cake will come out easier while it's still slightly warm.
Let the cake cool at room temperature, then refrigerate until cooled completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

A red velvet cake isn't complete without a thick, tangy cream cheese frosting to go with it! You only need 4 ingredients to make it: cream cheese, unsalted butter, vanilla extract, and powdered sugar.

Mix the ingredients together in a large bowl until smooth, then add the frosting to a pastry bag and pipe thick vertical strips around the sides of the cake. I like to fill the middle up with more frosting and then add some fresh berries for a simple, elegant finishing touch.

Easy piping tip: I find it easiest to pipe the strips from the bottom of the cake up towards the center. Squeeze the bag slowly and keep the tip pointed away from the direction your piping.

More Cake Recipes:

Red Velvet Bundt Cake

This red velvet bundt cake is soft, light, moist, and topped with a thick, tangy cream cheese frosting. It's a gorgeous dessert that is easy to make and perfect for any celebration!

5 from 3 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 37 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

Servings: servings

Equipment

9 or 10" bundt pan

Ingredients

butter & flour, for greasing and coating the pan

Cake:

2 and ½ cups cake flour*
3 tbsp. natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 and ¼ cups buttermilk
gel red food coloring*

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. cream cheese, brick-style, softened to room temperature
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
2 and ½ cups powdered sugar
½ tsp. vanilla extract, optional

Instructions

Arrange your oven rack to the lower middle position. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Use a pastry brush to rub softened butter all over the inside of the bundt pan. Sprinkle some flour inside the pan and swirl it around to coat the butter, then turn the pan upside down and tap it on the counter to shake out the excess flour.

Make the Red Velvet Cake

Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
Add the softened butter to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat with an electric mixer or with the paddle attachment in the stand mixer until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and mix on low speed until combined. Once all of it is added, turn the speed up and beat until well combined, light, and fluffy.
Add the room temperature eggs, one at a time, and mix on low speed until just combined after each. Wipe the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the vanilla extract, white vinegar, and buttermilk, and mix until smooth. The batter will look lumpy once you add the buttermilk, but it will fix itself once the dry ingredients are added.
Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix on low speed or whisk by hand until the batter is smooth. Use a whisk to mix in enough red gel coloring until you're happy with the color.
Pour the batter into the bundt pan, use a spatula to spread it out evenly, and bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out mostly clean or with a few crumbs.
Once the pan is cool enough to hold, place an upside down plate, cooling rack, or a cake board over the top and flip the pan over to invert the cake onto it. The cake will come out easier while it's still slightly warm.
Let the cake cool at room temperature, then refrigerate until cooled completely before frosting.

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Add the softened butter and cream cheese to a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat until smooth. Add the powdered sugar, about half a cup at a time, and mix until combined after each addition. Add the vanilla extract (if using) and mix until the frosting is smooth with no lumps.
Add the frosting to a large pastry bag with the tip cut off. Pipe vertical strips of frosting from the bottom of the cake up to the middle. Fill the center with more frosting, if desired.

Notes

*Cake flour substitute: For 2 and ½ cups of cake flour, sift 35 tbsp. (2 cups + 3 tbsp.) all-purpose flour with 5 tbsp. of cornstarch.

*Gel food coloring is best because it's more concentrated so you don't need a lot of it to get the right color. You can buy individual gel colors at craft stores for about $1 each. I don't recommend using liquid food coloring since it can make the batter too thin.

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