Red Velvet Christmas Cake and Cupcakes
This easy Red Velvet cake recipe so moist and delicious. Filled and frosted with creamy cream cheese frosting, then covered with red velvet cake crumbs.
Servings: 12
Equipment
- 2 of 5"x2" or 6"x2" round baking pans, or 3 of round baking pans
- 1 of 6-muffin pan
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour 300g, plus 1 tbsp for dusting
- 2½ tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
Wet ingredients
- 2 eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- 1 cup coconut milk add 1 tbsp vinegar or you can use buttermilk add 1 tsp vinegar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp red gel 14 g, or powdered food colouring
- 1 tsp vinegar
- ½ cup hot coffee or 1 tsp instant coffee granules dissolved in ½ cup hot water.
For the Cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened
- 3½ to 4 cups powdered sugar or to taste, adjust to desired consistency
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp salt
- 30 g white chocolate ganache (Optional) creamed to stabilize the cream cheese frosting
For decorating the cake
- ½ cup cake crumbs from the cake trim
- 1 cup cream cheese frosting with red gel food colouring
- ½ cup cream cheese frosting with red gel food colouring
- Edible gold candy sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Prepare the baking pans. Grease the pans with butter, then dust with flour or cocoa powder.
- Make the buttermilk. Add the vinegar to the coconut milk or any milk you prefer.
- Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. This will allow the milk to curdle like buttermilk texture.
- Make the cake batter. Sift all dry ingredients in a small bowl, mix and set aside. In a large medium-sized bowl, whisk the eggs, then add the rest of the wet ingredients. Mix in the dry ingredients until incorporated. Gradually add the hot coffee until well blended.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared greased pans.
- Bake in preheated oven at 350°F for 30 to 35 minutes or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. 15 to 17 minutes for the cupcakes. (Depending in your oven)
- Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Make the Cream Cheese Frosting. Cream the softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar, then add in the vanilla and melted white chocolate or white chocolate ganache. Mix until fluffy or until getting the desired consistency and texture.
For the cake assembly
- Make the cake crumbs. To trim the cake, cut the dome top of the cake. Place the cake trims in a food processor to create uniform crumbs, or use a grater to create fine crumbs.
- Layering the cake. To make a 4-layer cake, slice the cake into an inch thick. Use a cake slicer for even and uniform slices.Place directly to your cake server, or if using a cake turntable, use a cake board for easy transfer.Spread a tablespoon of frosting on the cake server or cake board to glue the first layer of the cake.To fill each layer of the cake, use an offset spatula or piping bag to fill each layer of the cake evenly.Pro Tip- To avoid the filling squeezing out of the cake. After filling the first two layers, refrigerate for at least15 minutes or until the frosting is a bit set.
- Crumb coating the cake. If you want a thicker and even frosting, do a crumb coat then refrigerate for 30 minutes. Add the final coat of frosting. Refrigerate for another 30 minutes before applying the cake crumbs.
- Decorating the cake (Christmas poinsettia flower design). In two separate small bowls, add the food gel colouring on each cream cheese frosting, then adjust the colour to your preferred shades of colour. I added more powdered sugar to add structure to the poinsettia flower design. Transfer in the piping bag with nozzle tip. See the step-by-step photos.