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Purple Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
4.5 from 36 votes

Purple Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

This purple velvet cake is a variation of the classic red velvet cake that uses purple food coloring instead of red. It's a unique and visually stunning cake with a moist, cocoa-flavored crumb and white chocolate cream cheese frosting.

Prep Time
1 hr
Cook Time
1 hr
Cooling
3 hrs
Total Time
5 hrs
Servings: 12
Calories: 519 kcal
Course: Cake
Cuisine: International

Ingredients

Cake layers
  • 2⅛ cups all-purpose flour 2⅙ is 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons, 266 grams
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder not Dutch processed, if possible. Plus more for dusting the cake pans, 24 grams
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 8 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for greasing the cake pans, softened, 4 ounces
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar 300 grams
  • 2 egg room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 cup buttermilk use a 2cup measuring cup for convenience
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • Food Coloring if desired
White chocolate cream cheese frosting
  • 8 ounces white chocolate 226 grams
  • 12 ounces cream cheese softened, 340 grams
  • 6 ounces unsalted butter softened, 12 tablespoons or 170 grams
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Food Coloring if desired

Instructions

Purple velvet cake layers
    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Grease and line two 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper, and then grease the parchment paper and dust with cocoa powder.
  3. Sift the dry ingredients for the cake layers (flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt) into a medium bowl.
  4. In the bowl of stand mixer (or in a large mixing bowl if using a hand mixer), beat the butter for 3 to 5 minutes until soft and light, scraping the bowl intermittently.
  5. Add the sugar, and beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, another 1 to 2 minutes.
  6. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat for one minute after each one.
  7. Scrape the bowl, add the vanilla, and beat for an additional minute.
  8. Measure out the buttermilk into a 2 cup measuring cup, and then add the vinegar and food coloring (see notes) to the measuring cup.
  9. Add the dry ingredients in three parts and alternate with the buttermilk mixture (in two parts), starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix only as long as needed to incorporate the addition, and scrape down the bowl as needed.
  10. Pour the batter into the prepared pans, even the batter out in the pan, and give it one or two gentle thwacks (i.e. careful drops) onto the kitchen counter to remove any air bubbles.
  11. Bake on a middle rack of the oven for about 25 minutes until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. I start checking at about 18 to 20 minutes.
  12. Cool the cake layers in the pans for about 10 minutes and then turn out onto cooling racks. Cool completely.
White chocolate cream cheese frosting
  1. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, being careful not to overheat the white chocolate. Let cool.
  2. In a mixing bowl, cream the cream cheese and butter together until soft.
  3. Add the vanilla and cooled white chocolate and blend.
  4. Add food coloring, if using, to achieve desired color.

Notes

  • This purple velvet cake recipe was edited on April 24, 2024 with the goal of keeping the cocoa flavor but making it easier to obtain a purple cake. The cocoa was reduced from 6 tablespoons to 4 tablespoons, and the flour was changed from 2 cups of cake flour to 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose.
  • I found that the key to a purple cake is using a strong purple food coloring but also adding white, to lighten the overall color.

Nutrition Information

Calories 519kcal (26%) Carbohydrates 50g (17%) Protein 7g (14%) Fat 34g (52%) Saturated Fat 20g (100%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g (12%) Monounsaturated Fat 9g (45%) Trans Fat 1g (50%) Cholesterol 113mg (38%) Sodium 310mg (13%) Potassium 169mg (4%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 33g (66%) Vitamin A 1044IU (21%) Vitamin C 1mg (1%) Calcium 106mg (11%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 12 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 519

% Daily Value*

Calories 519kcal 26%
Carbohydrates 50g 17%
Protein 7g 14%
Fat 34g 52%
Saturated Fat 20g 100%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 9g 45%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 113mg 38%
Sodium 310mg 13%
Potassium 169mg 4%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 33g 66%
Vitamin A 1044IU 21%
Vitamin C 1mg 1%
Calcium 106mg 11%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.