For Aspiring Baking Stars, Here’s How to Make An Instagram-Ready Red Velvet Cake, At Home

It’s no secret that it’s the age of social media, where every achievement—big or small—is documented for posterity. Culinary exploits are no different, and happen to be among the most consumed content categories across the world.

Showing off your culinary creations in a display of your artistic skills and passion is an oft-admired trait online. The red-velvet cake, therefore, is just perfect to rise to such occassions. The vibrant red-and-white alternating layers, coupled with delicate garnishes, make it a favorite on feeds across the world.

With a little bit of skill, knowledge, and a whole lot of love, you can also create a stunning red-velvet cake that not only looks divine, but is also something you’ll enjoy eating. Here’s a simple red velvet cake recipe you should try at home!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• All-purpose flour

• Unsweetened cocoa powder

• Baking soda

• Salt

• Butter

• Granulated sugar

• Eggs

• Buttermilk

• Vanilla extract

• Red food coloring

• White vinegar

• Baking powder

First, start off the red velvet cake recipe by sifting the dry ingredients together. Sifting ensures the batter is smooth and lump-free. Mix the wet ingredients in a different bowl, ensuring it’s all sitting well together. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient bowl, mixing constantly. You’ll want to make sure there’s enough red food coloring in the batter to ensure that the bright, vibrant color comes through in the final product. 

Bake

Divide the batter evenly between cake pans and bake in a preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely on wire racks before removing them from the pans. Level the tops of the cakes for a polished, professional look.

Prepare the cream cheese frosting

The iconic cream cheese frosting essentially demands beating softened cream cheese and butter until it’s smooth and creamy. Then in goes the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy. For the culinary adventurers, consider adding a touch of lemon zest to the frosting.

Assemble

Place one layer of cake on a cake stand or plate. Add a generous amount of cream cheese frosting, layering the cake entirely. Then place the second cake layer on it and go in with the frosting again, repeating the process for as many layers as you have. The entire cake, including the sides and edges, should be evenly coated with a thin crumb coat of frosting. Before going in with the decorations, let the cake sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes at this point. This ensures the frosting is smooth and set in place. 

Decorate

Pull the cake out of the fridge once it’s cooled, and carefully plan your toppings. The possibilities are endless and you’ll want to think of a theme beforehand, perhaps even sketching out the look with pen and paper first. Here are a ideas to get your creative juices flowing:

• Piping frosting as flowers, petals and leaves on the border of the cake. You can also sprinkle in edible flowers like violets on top.

• Just go in with a piping border and a delicate sprinkle of edible gold or silver dust for a classic look.

• For a fancier look, pipe patterns like laces and ruffles on the cake and along the sides of the cake as well.

• From the top of the cakes that were leveled off, take a few crumbs and sprinkle them on top, with a piping border around the edges, much like cocoa is sprinkled on hot chocolate!

• You can never go wrong with chocolate, so drizzle chocolate sauce lightly on your cake and let it drip down the sides, leading to a scrumptious eating experience.

Photography

Now that you’ve gone through the entire baking process, it’s time to don another creative hat and click the best photograph worthy of the effort you put into baking your subject to life!