Make a classic red velvet sheet cake for your next party or celebration. This tender cake is made with a combination of chocolate, vanilla, and tangy buttermilk, topped with a silky, less-sweet ermine frosting.
Heather's recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Tender, moist red velvet cake with soft notes of chocolate, vanilla, butter, and tangy buttermilk. Spread on top is a silky, less-sweet Ermine Frosting.
Pan size: 13x18 or 9x13
Serves: 24 or more
Make cupcakes instead: Red Velvet Cupcakes
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Ingredients and substitutions
- Buttermilk - Don't have buttermilk on hand? Make a buttermilk substitute. Add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to a liquid measuring cup, then fill to the 1 cup line with whole milk and wait 5 minutes before adding to the recipe as directed.
- Cake flour - All-purpose flour can work as a substitute, but your cake will have a slightly more open, less tender crumb.
- Food coloring - Gel food coloring can be substituted with liquid food coloring at a 1:2 ratio (substitute 4 teaspoons of gel coloring with 8 teaspoons of liquid coloring).
How to make red velvet sheet cake
- Start your ermine frosting on the stovetop and cook until it's the consistency of sweetened condensed milk.
- Pour into a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until room temperature while your cake bakes.
- Beat butter in a large bowl, then add milk mixture one spoonful at a time until incorporated.
- Add vanilla and mix to incorporate.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl.
- Beat butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla together in a separate bowl.
- Mix remaining wet ingredients in a third bowl.
- Slowly add half of the dry ingredients and red liquid ingredients to the egg mixture and mix until just combined.
- Cake batter should look smooth and uniform, with no streaks of food coloring.
- Pour into a greased 13x18 (shown) or 9x13 pan.
- Bake until the center of the cake pops back when gently pressed.
- Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Heather's top tip
To test for doneness, gently press the top of your cake. If it springs right back, it's done. If an indent is left, it needs more time. For accurate results every time, use an instant read thermometer. Cake is done when it reaches 210F in the center.
Tips and tricks
Gel food coloring is best - Gel coloring is concentrated, meaning you'll use less liquid to achieve a bold, vibrant color. Liquid food coloring contains extra liquid and works better for pastel colors, but is relatively inexpensive and easy to find.
Allow cake to cool - Warm cake will melt your frosting. Allow it to cool completely to room temperature before adding frosting.
Frequently asked questions
Red velvet is a combination of chocolate, vanilla, and butter, with a hint of tang from the buttermilk. Ermine frosting is a less-sweet vanilla frosting with a light, silky texture.
Ermine Frosting is the traditional choice for red velvet cake (I've included my recipe below). It's silky, smooth, and less sweet than buttercream. Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting is a modern pairing and a popular choice for red velvet. It's sweeter and tangy, but doesn't require any cooking and can be made in about 5 minutes.
This recipe works with a 9x13 baking pan with 2-inch tall sides or a 13x18 sheet pan with 1-inch tall sides. Here are the cake pans I recommend for sheet cakes:
- Nordic Ware Classic Metal 9x13 Covered Cake Pan
- Natural Aluminum Nordic Ware Commercial Baker's Half Sheet (2 Pack)
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Red Velvet Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Frosting
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (480 g) whole milk
- 2 cups (450 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Cake
- 3 cups (336 g) cake flour
- 3 tablespoons natural cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 cups (400 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (100 g) vegetable oil
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar
- 4 teaspoons red gel food coloring
Instructions
Ermine frosting
- In a saucepan over medium heat, add sugar, flour, and salt. Whisk in milk and continue whisking until smooth.
- Cook over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes, whisking frequently, until mixture looks very thick (like sweetened condensed milk consistency). Remove from heat.
- Transfer mixture to a bowl. Press plastic wrap over the top of the mixture and up the sides of the bowl to prevent a skin from forming. Allow mixture to cool completely to room temperature, about an hour. (To speed up cooling, transfer to the refrigerator, but don't allow it to go below room temperature. Mixture will solidify and become difficult to work with.)
- Now is a good time to prepare your cake.
- Once flour mixture has cooled, add room temperature butter to a large bowl and beat with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer) until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add your cooled flour mixture, 1 tablespoon at a time, to the whipped butter and beat until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl frequently. Continue until all of your flour mixture has been incorporated. (If your flour mixture is even a little warm it will melt the butter and ruin the frosting. Flour mixture must be room temperature, not warm, for this step).
- Add vanilla extract and mix to combine. Frosting should be silky smooth with a whipped texture.
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Generously grease a 9x13 or 13x18 inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a bowl, add dry ingredients: cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine and remove any clumps. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add butter and granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer, beat to combine. Add vanilla and eggs and beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add oil, buttermilk, vinegar, and food coloring. Stir to combine.
- To your egg mixture, add half of the dry ingredients. Stir until just incorporated. Add half of your buttermilk mixture and stir until just incorporated. Repeat once more to add your remaining dry and wet ingredients. Do not overmix.
- Pour batter into prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer.
- 9x13 baking pan: 32-38 minutes13x18 half sheet pan: 18-20 minutesBake your cake using the times listed above as an estimate, or until cake is baked through in the center. If your cake jiggles in the middle, it needs more time. If cake is not jiggly, gently press into the center with a finger. If an indent is left, your cake is not done. If cake springs back, it's done. If you have an instant read thermometer, cake is done at 210℉. Ovens can run hot, so I suggest using visual cues and not relying on time alone.
- Remove cake from oven and allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack.
- Spread frosting onto cooled cake, slice, and serve.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Food coloring: 4 teaspoons gel food coloring can be substituted with 8 teaspoons liquid food coloring. Food coloring can be omitted entirely for a pale brown cake.
- Frosting substitutes: Ermine frosting can be substituted with your favorite frosting - popular choices include cream cheese frosting and buttercream frosting.
- Frosting will melt when heated: Ermine frosting melts at high temperatures, around 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit. If you live in a tropical/humid environment, I suggest storing cupcakes in the refrigerator.
- Servings: A 13x18 sheet cake can be sliced to serve anywhere from 24 to 54 guests depending on slice size.
- Storage: Ermine frosting can sit out at room temperature for six hours, and otherwise must be stored in the refrigerator. Allow cake to come to room temperature for 1 hour before serving (butter-based cake hardens when chilled).
- More tips: Be sure to check out my 10 tips for baking cake, based on reader comments and questions!
I had so much fun creating this recipe! I hope you give it a try and love it as much as I do. If you have a question, check out the post above, which is packed with information about the recipe. Tried the recipe? I'd love to hear your thoughts — leave a comment and a star rating to share your feedback!