Red Velvet Chocolate Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter two 9-by-2-inch round cake pans. Sprinkle with flour, and tap out the excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk cake flour, salt, and cocoa; set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the sugar and oil, and beat on medium speed until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add food coloring and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add flour mixture, alternating with buttermilk, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
• In a small bowl, mix baking soda and vinegar until combined. Add to batter, and beat for 10 seconds. Evenly divide batter between the prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool in the pans for 5 minutes. Remove from the pans, and return to the rack to cool completely.
• Spread 1 1/2 cups of the frosting on one of the layers. Place the second layer on top; spread and swirl the remaining frosting around the sides and top of the cake.The cake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cut two 22-by-3 1/2-inch strips of parchment paper. Spray a 7-inch springform pan with nonstick spray. Line the bottom with parchment and fit one of the strips of parchment around the inside of the pan, so that the parchment sticks up above the edge. Spray again with nonstick spray.
• Whisk together the coffee and cocoa powder in a small heatproof bowl until the cocoa has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
• Whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, mix together the granulated sugar and vegetable oil on medium speed. Add the eggs, vanilla and food coloring and mix until well combined. Mix in the cocoa mixture. Mixing on low speed, add the a third of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
• Add half the buttermilk. Add another third of the dry ingredients, mix until combined, and then add the remaining buttermilk.
• Stop the mixer. Stir the baking soda and vinegar together in a small bowl (it will bubble up). Immediately add it to the batter along with the remaining dry ingredients and mix for 15 seconds.
• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, set the pan on a baking sheet tray and bake until the top springs back when gently pressed and a toothpick comes out clean, 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack for 20 minutes, then remove the sides and slide the cake off the bottom to cool completely on the rack.
• Once completely cool, use a large serrated knife or a cake knife or cake leveler to trim off any doming on top of the cake. Slice the cake horizontally into 2 even layers.
• For the filling: Sprinkle the gelatin over 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Set aside to bloom for 5 minutes.
• Mix the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high until creamy and smooth. Transfer 3/4 cup of the mixture to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and set aside in the refrigerator. Microwave the bloomed gelatin until melted, about 20 seconds. Beat the gelatin into the remaining cream cheese along with the sour cream. Mix until smooth.
• Set aside 5 of the prettiest strawberries for decorating the top of the cake. Remove the green tops from the rest of the strawberries. Trim the berries if necessary so that they are similar in height when standing up on the trimmed end.
• To assemble the cake, set one layer of cake on a cake board or flat serving platter. Unlock the clean ring of the springform pan and place it around the cake layer. Take the second strip of parchment and wrap around the cake inside the ring so that it is standing up, then lock the cake ring so that it hugs the parchment against the cake.
• Spread 1/3 cup of the cream cheese filling over the cake layer. Slice a strawberry in half vertically and press the cut halves up against the parchment so that they touch at the bottom. Repeat until you have a ring of berries around the inside of the parchment. Take the remaining whole berries and fill in the interior of the ring, trimmed side down (you may not use all the berries, depending on their size).
• Spread the rest of the filling over the berries, making sure that it fills in the gaps between them.
• Gently tap the cake on the counter to eliminate any air pockets. Place the second cake layer on top, making sure the parchment is around the sides, and gently press down. Wrap the cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate until the filling is chilled through and set, at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours.
• When ready to serve, unlock the springform ring and lift it off the cake. Peel off the parchment strip, being careful not to pull it straight out but rather peel it gently away from the sides of the cake. With the reserved frosting, pipe 14 stars in a circle around the top edge of the cake, then pipe 10 stars in a smaller circle, and then 2 large rosettes in the center. Cut the reserved 5 strawberries in half vertically, leaving the green tops on, and place 7 strawberry halves in every other gap between the 14 piped stars. Arrange the remaining 3 strawberry halves on the rosettes in the center of the cake. Slice and enjoy!

Steps:

• Prepare cake pan (s) for baking by rubbing them with butter and sprinkling flour throughout the inside.
• You can either use one 9"x13" pan or two circular 8" or 9" cake pans.
• Make a paste of cocoa and red food coloring.
• Set aside.
• Cream shortening and white sugar.
• Add 2 eggs, beat well.
• Add vanilla and the paste of cocoa and red food coloring.
• Sift 2 cups of flour and salt.
• Add alternatively with milk.
• Beat mixture well.
• Dissolve baking soda in vinegar.
• Add to cake mixture while foaming.
• Pour mixture into pan (s) for baking.
• Bake at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes.
• Test to see if the cake is done by sticking a toothpick into its center.
• If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
• After cooled, top with Red Velvet Chocolate Cake Icing.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Grease 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan.
• Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• Combine sugar, eggs, and oil in a mixing bowl.
• Beat with an electric mixer set at medium speed for 2 minutes.
• Beat in the beets, cooled chocolate, and vanilla.
• Gradually add dry ingredients, beating well after each addition.
• Pour into prepared baking pan.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until cake tests done.
• Cool in pan on rack.
• Cover and let stand overnight to improve flavor.
• Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Oil and line the base and sides of two 20cm cake tins with baking parchment - if your cake tins are quite shallow, line the sides to a depth of at least 5cm.
• Put half each of the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarb, sugar and salt in a bowl and mix well. If there are any lumps in the sugar, squeeze these through your fingers to break them up.
• Mix half each of the buttermilk, oil, vanilla extract, food colouring and 100ml water in a jug. Add 2 eggs and whisk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and whisk until well combined. The cake mixture should be bright red, it will get a little darker as it cooks. If it's not as vivid as you'd like, add a touch more colouring. Pour the cake mixture evenly into the two tins, and bake for 25-30 mins, or until risen and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the baking parchment and leave to cool.
• Repeat steps 1 and 2 with the remaining ingredients, so you have four sponge cakes in total. Can be made up to three days ahead and will stay moist if wrapped in cling film, or you can wrap well and freeze for up to two months.
• To make the icing, put the butter in a large bowl and sieve in half the icing sugar. Roughly mash together with a spatula, then whizz with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the soft cheese and vanilla, sieve in the remaining icing sugar, mash together again, then blend once more with the hand mixer.
• To assemble the cake, stick one of the sponges to a cake stand or board with a little of the soft cheese icing. Use roughly half the icing to stack the remaining cakes on top, spreading a generous amount between each layer. Pile the remaining icing on top of the assembled cake, and use a palette knife to ease it over the edges, covering the entire surface of the cake. Tidy the plate with a piece of kitchen paper. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 2 days, but bring back to room temperature for an hour or so before eating.This recipe was refreshed in July 2018 based on user feedback. For the original recipe, see our beetroot cake.