Red Velvet Bundt Cake
I love the festive red color of red velvet cake for holidays like Christmas, Fourth of July, and Valentine’s Day, and I also love the glamour of a bundt cake. So I thought, why not combine them, and this fabulous red velvet bundt cake recipe was born! It has a super moist crumb and unlike some bundt cakes, it isn’t at all dense. Top it with a tangy cream cheese glaze and you’ve got a fabulous dessert for any special occasion!
Red velvet is kind of an obsession for me. Besides this bundt cake, I also have recipes for Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake, Oreo Red Velvet Cake, and Red Velvet Cupcakes. The obsession extends to brownies, with two different red velvet brownie recipes—one with whipped cream cheese frosting, and another one with an Oreo truffle topping. Plus, rice krispie treats, popcorn, donuts…what can I say? I love red velvet!
Why This Recipe Works
- Moist red velvet bundt cake. If I could make one rule about cakes, it would be this: they must be MOIST! No dry, crumbly cake here. Buttermilk and vegetable oil help give this cake a tender crumb.
- Ideal amount of cream cheese. It’s pretty widely accepted that cream cheese is the best frosting for red velvet cake. The cream cheese icing for this cake is just the way I like it—not too think, and not too thick.
- Showstopping but simple. Something about bundt cakes just feels so elegant to me. They’re suitable for any occasion, from a loved one’s birthday to a holiday dinner. The vibrant red color makes it feel extra special and perfect for Valentine’s Day or Christmas! But, even with all that elegance, it’s actually super simple to mix up and bake. No fancy ingredients or extra steps required.
Ingredient Notes
- All-purpose flour: No need for cake flour here! Even using all-purpose flour, which has a higher protein content than cake flour, we get a light and tender cake.
- Granulated sugar: Besides sweetness, granulated sugar plays an important role in creating a soft and moist texture.
- Buttermilk: In addition to providing flavor and moisture, buttermilk will react with other ingredients to help the cake rise.
- Vinegar: Did you know white vinegar is an important ingredient in red velvet cake? It’s one of the ingredients that gives red velvet its signature flavor. It will also help the cake rise when it reacts with other ingredients.
- Baking soda: The only leavening agent in this cake, it will react with the buttermilk and vinegar to help the cake rise.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: Red velvet is a chocolate cake. But it’s not the chocolatiest cake. It has just a hint of cocoa flavor, which is why we use unsweetened cocoa powder instead of something with a richer chocolate taste like Dutch processed cocoa.
- Vegetable oil: To help make the cake moist and tender.
- Vanilla extract: For delicious complementary flavor.
- Eggs: To add structure and richness to the cake.
- Red gel food coloring: To create the signature red color of red velvet cake. I prefer to use gel food coloring to liquid food coloring because the colors are more intense, so you don’t need as much.
- Cream cheese: For the delicious icing that goes on top of this cake.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Prep oven and pan. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Generously spray a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and lightly flour the pan. This will ensure the bundt cake comes neatly out of the pan.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 2½ cups of all-purpose flour, 1½ cups granulated sugar, 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 1 teaspoon of salt.
- Mix liquid ingredients. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together 1 cup buttermilk, 1 cup vegetable oil, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, 2 large room temperature eggs, 2 teaspoons of white vinegar, and 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring.
- Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with your dry ingredients. Using the paddle attachment on your stand mixer, or a hand mixer, mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined with no dry flour streaks remaining. You may want to pause occasionally to scrape down the sides of your bowl or along the bottom to ensure everything gets mixed evenly.
- Bake. Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan and bake in your preheated oven for 43-50 minutes. You want to be careful not to overbake this cake, otherwise it will be dry. To test for doneness, a toothpick inserted into the bundt should come out with moist crumbs clining to it. If there are no crumbs, it has baked too long, and if there’s batter, it needs more baking time.
- Remove from oven and pan. Once baked, pull your red velvet bundt out of the oven. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the glaze. In a medium bowl, beat together 4 oz of room temperature cream cheese, 2 cups of powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons of milk, and ½ a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. I like my cream cheese glaze to be the texture and thickness of craft glue, but you can make it as thin or thick as you like by adding addition powdered sugar or milk.
- Add glaze to cake. Pour the glaze over the completely cooled cake and enjoy. If you’re making this for a holiday party, you may choose to add some festive sprinkles to the glaze on top of the cake.
Recipe Tips
Use the right pan. I used a 12-cup pan for my bundt and my cake only came up ¾ of the way when it baked. I think this recipe would work perfectly in a 10-cup pan. That being said, of course 12-cup still works!
DO NOT OVERBAKE. Seriously, this cake simply will not be as good if it’s dry! If you’re concerned, I would start checking right around the 43 minute mark—this is when mine was done.
Dress it up! I think the simplicity of a bundt is part of its elegance and appeal, but some holiday sprinkles, fresh fruit, or chocolate shavings would be a lovely addition.
Don’t skimp on the nonstick spray and flour! Bundt pans can be tricky, especially if you have a decorative one with some kind of intricate design. You need both oil and flour to get the best results when removing the bundt from your pan. That being said, since we’re covering this bundt cake with a thick glaze, I would pick a regular bundt pan over an ornate one.
Allow the cake to cool completely before you add the glaze. Otherwise, it might slide right off! The thickness of the glaze is also important. If it’s too thin, it will just drip right off the cake.
No buttermilk? No problem! Make your own using either more white vinegar, or fresh lemon juice. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk and let it stand for 10 minutes.
Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing
Make Ahead: Once you add the icing, this cake must be kept in the fridge because the cream cheese is perishable. It will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge, so you can definitely make it ahead of time. You can also make the cake and wrap it, without glaze, in plastic wrap and keep it at room temperature for 1-2 days before adding the glaze and serving.
Storing: Cover leftover red velvet bundt cake with plastic wrap or put it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days.
Freezing: The cake can be frozen, but I would not recommend freezing the icing or the cake with icing on it. For a full guide on how to freeze this cake and other cakes, check out my guide on How to Store and Freeze Cakes!
Recipe FAQs
Unfrosted, this red velvet bundt can be left out at room temperature. However, cream cheese icing—the classic accompaniment—is perishable and should not be left out at room temperature. After your cake is glazed, keep it in the fridge.
Red velvet does contain cocoa powder but it’s definitely more like a hint of chocolate.
Absolutely! Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store in the freezer for 1-2 months. Check out my guide on freezing cakes for more details!
More Bundt Cake Recipes
- Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Bundt Cake
- Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
- Blood Orange Bundt Cake
- Apple Cider Bundt Cake
Moist Red Velvet Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cake
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup vegetable oil - or canola oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs - at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon red gel food coloring
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 oz cream cheese - room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk - more or less as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Generously spray a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray and lightly flour the pan. I used a 12 cup bundt pan, and it baked up only ¾ of the way, so it would fit perfectly in a 10 cup pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer whisk flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a medium size bowl whisk the buttermilk, oil, vanilla, eggs, white vinegar, and red gel food coloring. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix (with a paddle attachment) until just combined and no dry streaks remain. Scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl so everything is evenly incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and bake in the oven for 43-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the batter comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While the cake is cooling make the cream cheese glaze by beating the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl until smooth. If the glaze is too thick add more milk as needed. And if the glaze is too thin, add a tablespoon of powdered sugar at a time until desired consistency is reached. I like to shoot for a consistency similar to craft glue.
- Once cake is cooled drizzle the glaze overtop of the cake. Enjoy! Store leftovers in the fridge covered for 4-5 days.
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