Desserts

Retro Red Velvet Cake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Red velvet cake is dessert royalty. From Victorian Era roots, Waldorf Astoria fame, commercialization, 70’s decline and renewed fame, it remains one of our most beloved layer cakes. Its striking red color, silky cocoa crumb, with thick layers of rich cream cheese frosting….what’s not to love?

And now, its popularity has never been higher, as it’s newly discovered, rediscovered, and heralded as a must make “retro” dessert. 🙂 In tribute to its vintage and emerging dessert status, I created this Retro Red Velvet cake recipe as a fresh take on the classic dessert.

King Arthur Flour’s Red velvet cake is swirled with buttery golden cake, then filled and frosted with a mint cream cheese frosting, garnished with peppermint dust. Beautiful red and gold colors are in bold display as a luxurious cake with sexy retro style. The flavors and textures of this cake are divine, with butter cake woven into the rich cocoa crumb, enrobed in my creamy rich peppermint cream cheese frosting.

I’m serving this cake at Christmas time, it’s perfect for holiday celebrations or any time of year!

Enjoy! I’d love to see your “cake swirl” pics!

Retro Red Velvet Cake with Peppermint Cream Cheese Frosting

Servings: 16 - Makes a towering 9' 3 layer cake

What'll You Need

Red Velvet Cake Ingredients:

2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (28g) liquid red food color (to substitute beet powder, see instructions at the end of this recipe)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar
4 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
2 cups buttermilk, or low-fat plain (not Greek) yogurt, at room temperature

Golden Yellow Cake Ingredients:

King Arthur Golden Yellow Cake Mix
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup milk
dash salt

Mint Cream Cheese Frosting

King Arthur Baking Company’s red velvet cake recipe is as close to you’ll get to perfection, so we will prepare their recipe, after we quickly mix the batter for the golden yellow cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease and flour (3) 9″ cake pans, then line the bottom with parchment rounds, and lightly grease the parchment, too. Set aside.
Prepare the King Arthur Flour Golden Yellow Cake Mix according to package directions, which takes only minutes. This cake mix creates a fragrant golden cake that rivals any scratch recipe!
Set aside batter while you prepare the red velvet cake.

King Arthur Red Velvet Cake:

In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until well combined. Add the room temperature eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
Stir in the food color, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and vinegar.
Beat in the flour alternately with the buttermilk or yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour.

Place the red velvet and golden cake batter into the prepared cake pans, as follows:

Scoop several large spoonfuls (approximately half) of red velvet cake batter into each of the three pans, cover the bottom of the pans. Smooth with a spatula.
Place several scoops of golden cake batter (approximately half) randomly on top of the red velvet batter.
Scoop the remaining red velvet batter, in large spoonfuls, on top.
Scoop the remaining golden cake batter, in large spoonfuls, on top.
Lightly tap the pan to even out the batter, smoothing it with a spatula if needed.
Using a butter knife, run the knife randomly through the batter in swirling patterns.
Bake the cakes for 30-34 minutes, until the tops feel set and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cakes from the oven, and allow them to cool for 10 minutes before turning them out of the pans onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Assemble the cake:

Fill and frost cooled cake with Peppermint Cream Cheese frosting.

Crumb Coat

To create a smooth frosting with no cake crumbs, create a “crumb coat” by lightly frosting the outside of the cake, then place in freezer for 30 minutes to set the frosting. Remove cake from freezer and frost with another layer of frosting. Perfectly frosted cake with no crumbs!

Garnish with crushed peppermint, if desired.

For best flavor, serve cake at room temperature. Store cake in the refrigerator where it will stay fresh for 3-4 days.

Cake stays optimally fresh in freezer up to 2 months. Before freezing, wrap cake tightly in plastic wrap, then place in airtight container, or cover in aluminum foil.

Visit King Arthur Baking for more delectable inspiration!

King Arthur Golden Yellow Cake Mix

Substituting Beet Powder for red food coloring:

For a standard red velvet cake recipe, Suncore Foods recommends substituting the red food coloring with 2 tablespoons of Suncore Foods organic beet powder. I would recommend starting with no less than 1/4 cup.

Remember that the red hue won’t be as vibrant as is achieved with artificial colors. To properly use it, ensure you dissolve the beet powder in a small amount of liquid from your recipe (e.g., buttermilk) to ensure even color distribution and avoid specks in the batter. Increase amount of beet powder if desired. Do not exceed 1/2 cup.