Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red velvet cake

1. Grease two 9 inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper, and dust the sides with flour. Set aside. Preheat the oven 325°F / 163°C.
2. Place a sieve over a bowl, and then place the flour, cocoa powder, and baking soda in the sieve. Sift the dry ingredients into the bowl and whisk to evenly combine. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, place the melted butter, oil, salt, white sugar, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla. Whisk to evenly combine all the ingredients.
4. In a small bowl, mix the red food coloring and hot water (if using gel food coloring). If using liquid red food coloring, then you can skip this.
5. Add the dissolved red food coloring into the wet ingredients and whisk to combine.
6. Next, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in 2 - 3 additions. Use a whisk to fold in the dry ingredients to combine. Be careful not to whisk the mixture too fast or for too long to prevent gluten development.
7. When the batter is ready, divide it between the two cake pans. Use a scoop or measuring cup to evenly portion the dough, OR use a kitchen scale to weigh the batter equally between the cake pans.
8. Use an offset spatula to evenly spread the batter inside the pan. Knock the pans on your kitchen counter a few times to evenly spread out the batter.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 - 35 minutes, or until the cake is baked through. The cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
10. Remove the cake pans from the oven and let them cool down slightly for a few minutes. Once the pans are cooled down enough to be safely touched (while still warm), turn out the cake onto a wire rack to cool down completely.
11. Once cooled down to room temperature, wrap the cake layers individually in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill.

Cream cheese frosting

1. While the cake is chilling, make the cream cheese frosting.
2. Follow my easy cream cheese frosting recipe to make the frosting.
3. Use immediately.

Assembly

1. If needed, use a serrated knife to slice off any domed tops from your cake layers to make them nice and even. This step is optional.
2. Place one cake layer on a cake turntable or flat serving plate, with the bottom facing down.
3. Spread a layer of frosting on top of this layer, making sure to keep it as even as possible.
4. Place the second cake layer on top, with the bottom of the cake layer now facing up.
5. Spread frosting on the sides, making sure to fill any gaps between the cake layers. Spread a thin layer of frosting to ensure that the sides are straight and to trap any cake crumbs. Repeat with the top of the cake. This is the crumb coating.
6. Allow the crumb coating to set in the fridge for about 20 - 30 minutes until the frosting is fairly firm.
7. Spread the remaining frosting as a second layer on top of the cake (to the thickness you prefer). In the pictures here, I kept the sides as a crumb coating, while only spreading extra frosting on top.
8. Optional - decorate the cake with extra frosting, or chopped nuts or even cake crumbs.
9. Chill in the fridge until needed.