Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Scandinavian-style red velvet cake baked in a combi-steamer without steam, featuring cocoa and buttermilk with a silky cream cheese frosting. The batter includes white wine vinegar and baking soda for tang and lift. Topped with crispy cake crumble for textural contrast. Ideal for Valentine's Day or special occasions.
Ingredients
- 11 oz eggs, whole
- 5 cups sugar, granulated
- 5 ½ cups wheat flour, sifted
- ⅓ oz salt, fine
- 4 ½ tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
- ⅓ cups vanilla sugar
- 53 tbsp buttermilkmilk + vinegar1 cup milk + 1 tbsp vinegar per cup buttermilk neededdairy-based
acidic component already in recipe
Full guide → - 19 tbsp liquid margarine with butter
- ¼ oz red food coloring, powderliquid red food coloringreduce quantity significantly, start with 3-4 dropsstandard
powder and liquid have different concentrations
Full guide → - 1 ¼ oz white wine vinegar
- ½ oz baking soda
- melange form fat, for pans
- 25 tbsp margarine, for frosting
- 1 ¾ cups cream cheese, neutral flavor such as Philadelphia
Instructions
- 1
Combine and sift all dry ingredients except baking soda and red food coloring powder in a bowl
- 2
In a separate bowl, mix the red coloring into the buttermilk, then combine with the liquid margarine mixture
- 3
Whisk eggs and sugar until slightly voluminous
- 4
Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk-margarine-color mixture to the egg mixture
- 5
Combine vinegar and baking soda, add to batter and stir minimally
- 6
Spray melange form fat on the bottom and sides of a 1/1 gastronorm pan, line the bottom with baking paper
- 7
Pour entire batter into pan and bake at 325°F for 40 minutes in a combi-steamer without steam
- 8
For frosting, whisk margarine and powdered sugar until combined
- 9
Add cream cheese and whisk until smooth and even, being careful not to overwhisk
- 10
For the crumble topping, remove about 1 cup of raw batter and spread thinly on baking paper, bake at 325°F for 10 minutes, remove and let dry until crisp, then crumble
Tips
Minimize stirring when adding the vinegar-baking soda mixture to prevent over-mixing and loss of lift
Do not overwhisk the cream cheese frosting or it will become too soft and runny
Spread the batter for the crumble topping very thinly for even crisping
Good to Know
Store frosted cake covered in refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store unfrosted cake layers wrapped at room temperature for 1 day or frozen for up to 1 month.
Bake cake layers and crumble topping up to 1 day ahead. Prepare frosting up to 2 days ahead, stored covered in refrigerator.
Serve chilled or at room temperature. The crumble topping is best added shortly before serving to maintain crispness.
Common Mistakes
Overmix the vinegar-baking soda mixture to avoid loss of leavening power
Overwhisk the cream cheese frosting to avoid it becoming too soft and curdled
Spread the crumble batter too thickly to avoid it remaining cake-like rather than crisping
Substitutions
Dairy-Free Swaps
acidic component already in recipe
Full guide →Vegan Options
Gluten-Free Swaps
General Alternatives
powder and liquid have different concentrations