Baby showers are so fun, aren’t they? You ooh and aah over the cutest baby clothes in pastel shades, ogle over the new-fangled baby gear and how much it has changed since your baby showers, and then play shower games that can get just a wee bit crazy when they involve guessing how many inches around the pregnant belly is. They also always have a mighty impressive spread of food.

Blue Velvet Cake Recipe

Cake is always a favorite part of any shower and I wanted it to have a surprise inside when you cut it.

Unexpected, vibrant, and perfect for a little boy.

Blue Velvet Cake

Blue Velvet Cake has all of the great taste of the more traditional Red Velvet Cake, but with such a fun twist that everyone will remember it.

Blue Velvet Cake Recipe

4.95 from 18 votes
Blue Velvet Cake is perfect for a fun twist on the traditional red velvet cake with the same great taste.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 24

Ingredients 

  • ½ cup (92 g) shortening
  • 1 ½ cups (297 g) sugar
  • 2 large (100 g) eggs
  • 1 ounce (28 g) royal blue gel paste food color
  • 2 drops (0.2 g) violet gel paste food color
  • 2 tablespoons (10.5 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 2 ¼ cups (270 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 scant teaspoon (2.6 g) kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon (4.7 g) vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (227 g) buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon (6 g) baking soda
  • 1 tablespoon (15 g) distilled white vinegar

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease and flour 3 8-inch round cake pans.
  • Cream Crisco and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs one at a time, completely incorporating after each addition.
  • In a small bowl, make a paste of food coloring and cocoa powder and add to mixture.
  • Stir together flour and salt in a separate medium bowl, set aside.
  • Pour buttermilk and vanilla into a measuring cup, set aside.
  • Alternately, add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into Crisco/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl to ensure all ingredients are well incorporated.
  • Reduce speed of mixer and stir in baking soda, making sure incorporated into batter. Then, stir in the vinegar, taking care not to beat hard or over mix.
  • Distribute cake batter evenly into the three cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until cakes have gently pulled away from the edges of the cake pans and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done.
  • Cool cake thoroughly before frosting.

Nutrition

Calories: 142kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 79mg | Potassium: 39mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 13g | Vitamin A: 39IU | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Notes: I used Americolor Soft Gel Paste in Royal Blue and Violet. You may also want to try a natural-based food coloring.

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About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Recipe Review




250 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Hi, thanks for sharing the recipe, looks amazing!

    I just wanted to check, 1oz blue colouring i 30ml? So i need 2 bottles of 15ml gel liquid colouring? And does that much not make the cake taste bitter?

    Cant wait to try it out!

    1. Zacki, I used the gel paste, not liquid, food coloring. The Americolor Soft Gel Paste in the amounts I used made the cake the color I wanted. The cake did not taste bitter at all with the gel paste.

  2. Hello! I am so excited to make this recipe, but after extensive Google searching, I figured I would just ask.
    Can I substitute the 3 8 inch pans for 2 9 inch? I do have 8 inch pans but only 2 of them.
    Thank you so much!

    1. Cheris, you can bake this cake in 2 9-inch pans. Just be careful and not overfill the pans. I hope you enjoy!

  3. Have you ever tried a pink version of this cake, for say a baby shower for a girl, or a little girl’s birthday who loves pink but also likes red velvet cake?

    1. Crystal, you could make this as a pink cake. Just use red food dye. Here is my Red Velvet Cake Recipe that she might enjoy!

  4. Why do you use shortening instead of butter? And can you replace the shortening for butter?

    1. Alwjandra, the cake is more moist with the shortening and I like the texture better. You can use all butter if you want but the texture will be a little different. Hope you enjoy the cake.

    2. My daughter wanted a blue velvet cake for her birthday. I know of red velvet but not blue. can’t wait to see the results, especially again black buttercream icing.

  5. I need to serve 45 people with this recipe for a 3 layer cake. Should I use 3- 12″ cake pans?? Also, does it make a difference if I use butter flavored Crisco instead of regular?

    1. Danielle, I haven’t made this cake in 3 12-inch pans but I think you should be able to serve 45 people with that. You would need to double the recipe for those 3 12-inch pans. I haven’t used the butter flavored Crisco in this cake so I’m not sure it it will affect the flavor of the cake.