High-Altitude Red Velvet Cake

Hey there! I’m not sure why I’ve never gotten around to posting a classic high-altitude red velvet cake recipe on here, but today I’m posting a variation of the recipe in my first cookbook, Sugar High. I always feel like I’ve become a better baker over the years, and this is a perfect example- consider this an improved version of my original recipe, and I’ve got some new tips and tricks to add along the way.

I think of red velvet cake as a kind of lightly chocolate cake. It’s not as chocolate-forward as a standard chocolate cake, but it’s got a similar flavor overall with a little bit of extra tanginess. Of course we’re using cream cheese frosting here, and the results are perfect- let’s get to it!

How to Make High-Altitude Red Velvet Cake

We’re starting with the cake- this recipe uses the reverse creaming method which starts by mixing together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl, and then adding in softened butter until the mixture starts to look like loose sand and the butter is just coated in the dry ingredients.

From here, we’re adding in the wet ingredients, including lots of red food coloring. Use as much or as little food coloring as you like here- to get a truly bright red color, you’ll want to add about 2 tbs. of liquid food color, or about 2 tsp. of gel coloring. The wet ingredients get slowly added to the dry mixture and everything is mixed together until you have a thick, smooth cake batter.

Once your cake batter is fully mixed, spread it evenly between three cake pans and it’s off to the oven.

Optionally, after the cakes have baked and cooled, you can trim the tops and use those cake scraps to make some cake crumbs that you can use to decorate the outside of the cake. Simple bake your crumbled up cake scraps and then let them cool, crush them into crumbs, and press them onto your frosted cake for a look similar to my cake.

The frosting is a classic cream cheese frosting. I like to add a bit of cornstarch to help keep the frosting a little bit thicker and easier to work with as you stack your cake, and a bit of salt to balance all the powdered sugar in there.

That’s it- a soft, flavorful red velvet cake with dense cream cheese frosting that is overall pretty fantastic. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for High-Altitude Red Velvet Cake

Here are all my tips and tricks to make this cake!

• How do I know when the butter is mixed in? After adding the butter, you should only mix until the mixture looks like loose sand and the butter is coated throughout. Any longer and you’ll end up with a thick dough consistency, which you want to avoid!
• Do I have to use food coloring? You can certainly skip the color if you prefer to avoid it, but then of course your cake won’t have the classic red color. It’ll still taste great though!
• Why does this cake have vinegar in it? It’s somewhat common to see vinegar added to red velvet cake recipes- it adds to the slight tanginess of the cake, but won’t take away from any of the sweetness
• How do I know when the cakes are finished baking? The cakes should look puffed in the center and no longer wet or jiggly, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes should come out with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
• Why does the frosting have cornstarch in it? The additional cornstarch helps keep the frosting thicker and easier to use. Cream cheese frosting tends to get thin, making it hard to stack cakes with, and the cornstarch helps with that.
• How do I level my cake layers? I recommend using a very sharp knife, and simple taking your time to slice off the top domed portion of the cake before frosting. Going slow and steady is the best way to ensure you’re getting flat layers!
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between about 3,000-7,000 ft do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

Print

High-Altitude Red Velvet Cake

Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tbs. dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 tbs. cornstarch
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups softened butter
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. white vinegar
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tbs. red food coloring

For the frosting:

• 16 oz cream cheese room temp
• 1 cup butter room temp
• 6 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tbs. cornstarch
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. salt

Instructions

For the cake:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease three 8-inch round cake pans. Optionally, line the bottom of each pan with a parchment paper round.
2. In a large mixing bowl stir together the flour, dutch-processed cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking soda, salt, and sugar until well combined. Add in the softened butter, cut into small chunks, and mix with an electric mixer until incorporated throughout the dry ingredients- it should look like loose sand.
3. In a medium bowl, stir together the eggs, vanilla extract, vinegar, buttermilk, sour cream, and food coloring until well combined. With the mixer running, slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry mixture. Continue mixing until the batter becomes smooth, about 1-2 minutes on medium speed. Spread the batter evenly between all your cake pans and bake for 25-28 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
4. Cool the cakes for 10 minutes in the cake pans, and then remove and wrap in plastic wrap while the cakes are still hot. Cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth and well combined, about 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar and cornstarch until you have a thick mixture. Beat in the vanilla extract and salt, and continue whipping for about 1 minute until the mixture is smooth and spreadable.
2. When the cakes have fully cooled, unwrap them from the plastic wrap and use a sharp knife to cut off the tops to create a level surface. Optionally, take your cake scraps from this step and crumble it up onto a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes on 325 degrees. Cool the crumbles, and then crush in a food processor or in a zip lock bag and use the crumbs to decorate the outside of your cake.
3. Frost and stack your layers together with generous layers of frosting, slice and enjoy! This cake will keep at room temperature for about 3-4 days, or in the fridge for about a week. Enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!