Vegan Red Velvet Cake

You have to make this vegan red velvet cake for your next birthday party! This is seriously the red velvet layer cake of your dreams, and no one will believe it’s vegan. This super moist cake is topped with my favorite dairy free cream cheese frosting.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Diet Low Lactose, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings slices

Calories 266

Author Gabby Kislanko

Equipment

2 or 3 8 inch round cake pan
Whisk

Ingredients

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

10 oz vegan cream cheese, softened
¾ cup vegan butter, softened
¾ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt
4-5 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar/confectioner's sugar)
6 Tablespoons cornstarch

Vegan Red Velvet Cake

1 cup + 6 Tablespoons vegan milk
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
¾ cup neutral oil (like sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, or canola oil)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2½ teaspoon vegan red food coloring
3 cups all-purpose flour
1⅓ cup granulated sugar
3 Tablespoons dutch process cocoa powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoon baking powder

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

In a medium bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, add the cream cheese and butter and beat until fully combined.
Mix in salt and vanilla extract. Add in the cornstarch and powdered sugar slowly until the desired consistency is reached. Start with the lower amount of powdered sugar and add more as needed.
Cover the bowl and store the frosting in the fridge until ready to use. For more tips check out the full vegan cream cheese frosting post.

Vegan Red Velvet Cake

Make vegan buttermilk. In a large liquid measuring cup, (or a bowl) mix 2 Tablespoons of white vinegar with vegan milk of choice. Set aside until it looks curdled.
Preheat the oven to 350°F and prepare three 8 inch round cake pans. Spray the inside with cooking spray, then cut round pieces of parchment paper so that they fit in the bottom of each pan (do not skip the parchment paper lining!)
Whisk flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda together in a large bowl.
Add oil, red food coloring, and vanilla extract to the measuring cup or bowl of buttermilk and whisk together.
Slowly add the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk until combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the three cake pans and bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean.
Let the cakes cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then run a butter knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan and flip upside down onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Once the cakes have cooled completely, frost and assemble. Please see tips in post above or in vegan cream cheese frosting post for tips on how to successfully assemble a cake with cream cheese frosting, as it is runnier than traditional buttercream!

Video

Notes

PLEASE NOTE: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to weigh your dry ingredients. Metric measurements are found above under the "Metric" tab.

Parchment Paper: It is highly likely that the cakes may break when you try to remove them from the pan if you don't line the pans with parchment. Lining the round pan with parchment paper will make your life so much easier when removing the cakes from the pan, trust me. To do this, trace then cut a circle in the shape of your cake pan out of the parchment paper and place it inside the pans.

Measuring Dry Ingredients: Either measure your flour using a kitchen scale or use the proper scoop and level method: fluff the flour in the bag/container with a fork then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then run the back of a knife along the top of the cup to even it out. Do the same for the cocoa powder.

Storage and Freezing: Desserts frosted with cream cheese frosting should be stored in the fridge.

To freeze the cake layers, let them cool completely, then tightly wrap them in plastic wrap, then aluminium foil. Freeze in ziploc bags for up to 3 months, then let them thaw at room temperature.

To make as a two layer cake: no modifications to the recipe are necessary. Simply divide the batter between two cake pans. The cake layers will be thicker and will take a few minutes longer to bake!

Nutrition