This Red Velvet Cake recipe makes an easy to follow, classic dessert. Red velvet cake is delicious with cream cheese or cooked heritage frosting.

Growing up, my mother always made me a this special red velvet cake topped with heritage frosting on my birthday. Sometimes, she’d also make them for Christmas, but I knew them as “my” birthday cake. No one else in our family had this cake as “their” cake. I felt like it was especially mine.

But then Little Buddy came along and decided it would be “his” birthday cake when celebrating his birthday with my family. When we celebrate his birthday with my husband’s family, he always wants my mother-in-law’s caramel cake. The boy knows how to make special requests that everyone loves making sure happen!

And of course, Mama made her red velvet cake for him for his birthday this year.

I love looking at this picture. It just makes me wonder what he wished.

Knowing him, he probably wished to get the biggest slice of this cake!

Thanks Nana for making his birthday cake.

We love ya. And we love your cake.

Here’s how she makes her Red Velvet Cake recipe.

Red Velvet Cake Recipe

This Red Velvet Cake recipe makes an easy to follow, classic dessert. Red velvet cake is delicious with cream cheese or cooked heritage frosting.

4.8 from 5 votes

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Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time50 mins

Servings: 24

Author: Robyn Stone | Add a Pinch

Ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 eggs room temperature
• 2 ounces red food coloring
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 scant teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350º F. Prepare three (8-inch) cake pans with nonstick baking spray or by thoroughly greasing and flouring. Set aside.
• Cream vegetable shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs one at a time, completely incorporating after each addition. Make a paste of food coloring and cocoa powder and add to the mixture. Sift together flour and salt in a separate medium bowl, set aside. Pour buttermilk and vanilla into a measuring cup, set aside. Alternately, mix flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into shortening/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.
• Evenly distribute into cake pans and bake 25-30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool cake thoroughly before frosting.

Notes

We prefer to frost with Heritage Frosting or Cream Cheese Frosting.

from Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers, Desserts Edition, 1963

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This cake will be a favorite on your holiday dessert buffet, next birthday celebration, or family dinner.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo
This recipe was originally published on November 7, 2010, republished December 1, 2014.