You will be searching for reasons to make this delicious red velvet bundt cake. Luckily, this bundt cake recipe is so quick and easy to make.
Ever since discovering this fancy cupcake shop by my university in London, I've been obsessed with red velvet. Theirs had an amazing crumb and deep flavor that was just unforgettable. I wanted to try the other flavors, but I kept going back to the red velvet every time.
Now, I find that I am always reaching for red velvet.
I don't make a ton of cake here for the blog. I am just so insecure about my frosting abilities. Instead, I tend to go for cupcakes which are easier to frost and make beautiful. I also love a good bundt cake. Bundt cakes are usually perfect right out of the oven. Just a light dusting of powdered sugar or a little bit of icing is all you need for them. That's actually pretty perfect for my frosting loathing daughter. (I know, I know, it's a shame).
Fortunately, she does love the cream cheese icing for this red velvet bundt cake, so that's something.
Are Bundt Cakes Dense?
When you compare a bundt cake to a regular layer cake or an angel food cake, yes, they are denser, but they don't necessarily have to be dense. The texture is often closer to a pound cake than any other type of cake. In fact, baking pound cakes in a bundt pan is one of my favorite things to do.
You can bake a regular cake recipe in a bund pan and it will turn out well. The cake will be lighter overall, but I still find they are denser than their layered counterparts.
How to Get Your Bundt Cake to Release Perfectly.
One of the greatest struggles with bundt cakes is getting them to release perfectly, especially when there is an intricate design.
First, you must grease and coat your bundt pan. There are many different tricks on coating your pan. Some say flour, while others insist on sugar. For chocolate bundt cakes, some people swear you should only use cocoa powder.
I am a fan of using flour. It gives your batter something with texture to climb and get a good rise from and can keep your cake from sticking to the pan - provided you left an even coating around the cake.
I find that sugar doesn't really help with the cake's ability to crawl up the sides of the pan. This is because as the pan heats, the sugar just melts and forms a syrup along the edges. Being in its liquid state may help and protect the top area with the design, but your cake can't rise properly with what is essentially a simple syrup coating the sides.
Using cocoa powder is a good idea with chocolate cakes, but depending on the look you are going for, it might make the outside of your cake look too dark, especially compared to the interior of the cake itself. Not entirely a bad thing, but you can easily lose the details of some designs if it's too dark. I recommend blending cocoa powder and flour together instead.
Next, you need to let your red velvet bundt cake rest. This is so important! As the cake cools slightly, it will naturally begin to pull away from the pan a bit and want to release. Waiting 10 - 15 minutes seems to be the golden wait time.
Now, give the cake a few hardy taps along the bottom and its sides. This helps to loosen any stubborn areas. You don't want to get crazy whacking it. Just a few sturdy taps will do.
Finally, turn it onto a wire rack and let it sit for a minute. Most of the time, the cake will pop right out when you turn it, but if not, give it some time and let gravity help.
Craving More Red Velvet?
You must try my edible red velvet cookie dough - with all the toppings, it's just so much fun to eat! You will also love my red velvet churros. My red velvet Nutella-stuffed cookies are a top favorite on the blog! These red velvet doughnuts are a ton of fun.
Red Velvet Bundt Cake
Ingredients
- 3 ½ cups flour
- 5 tablespoons natural cocoa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 tablespoons red food coloring or red velvet emulsion
- 1 ¼ cups buttermilk room temperature
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
Cream Cheese Icing
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 - 3 tablespoons heavy cream room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a bundt pan
- In a bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and red coloring until well combined. Stir in the buttermilk.
- Mix together the flour mixture and the wet ingredients until just combined.
- In a small bowl, mix together the baking soda and vinegar. Immediately stir well into the cake batter.
- Immediately pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 45 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- While allowing the cake to cool, making the icing. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar together until well combined. Stir in the salt and vanilla, followed by the heavy cream. If your cream cheese isn't soft enough, you might want to use more heavy cream.
- Pour the icing over the cake once it is cooled. Enjoy immediately.
Leave a Reply