Blue Velvet Cake Recipe
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
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.
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 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
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
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.
How long should I bake if I am using a 9×13 pan?
Just made 2 dozen cupcakes from this recipe. Beautiful color and loved the flavor. I baked them about 18 min but think 16 would have been better. Thanks for the great recipe.
How full did you fill the liners? Thank you!
When you say “Make a paste of food coloring and cocoa and add to mixture.” What do you mean by make a paste of food coloring???????????? I wanna surprise my sister with this cake for her birthday!!!!
What a fun surprise. You will add the cocoa powder to a bowl (I recommend glass so that it isn’t stained by the food coloring) and then pour the food coloring into the bowl with the cocoa powder. You’ll then stir the two together and it will form a thick paste consistency as the dry and the liquid mix together.
I am anxious to make this cake as a base cake of a “taris” for my 16 y/o daughter’s 16th birthday this week. Obviously a Doctor Who fan. Blue on the inside an out will be a nice surprise I think. Wish me luck!
Is it soda or baking soda?
I just made this cake for a Indianapolis Colts gameday party and it turned out beautifully! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you loved it and what a perfect party to make make this cake!
I would love to make this cake or maybe cupcakes for my 50th birthday party. My colors are Royal Blue and Gold. Would this turn my guests teeth/mouth blue?
If I wanted to make this in orange would I need red and yellow food paste
Could I use butter instead of crisco????
hi is that really soda? or baking soda?
How do you make it pink? It looks like a great idea
I would also like to know this… If we did a light colour, wouldnt the cocoa powder change it?