Original Red Velvet Cake with Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
My Red Velvet Bundt Cake recipe combines an incredibly moist cake with a decadent, silky icing made with Bailey's Irish Cream and without using harmful red dyes. This original red velvet cake recipe without food coloring is rich, decadent and tender.
1 ½teaspoonswhite vinegarreduce to ½ teaspoon is using Dutch Process cocoa powder
1 ⅓cupsbuttermilkI used whole, 2% may be used or make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup milk, stir and let sit 5-7 minutes.
1-1 ½cupssemi-sweet chocolate chipsregular or mini, these are optional
Optional
1packageplant-based red food colorI used SuperNatural Food Dye Powder, mixed according to package directions, this is optional - it's a lovely cake without much red without it.
Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
½cupbutterroom temperature, salted or unsalted
8ouncescream cheeseI used full fat, but Neufchatel may be used too
2tablespoonsBailey's Irish Cream Liqueuror substitute with heavy cream, ½ & ½ or miolk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (375 degrees F for high altitude). Grease 10-12 cup bundt pan well and then dust with cocoa powder or lightly with flour, discarding any leftover. Or use my favorite bundt pan baking spray, La Tourangelle Baking Spray.
Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Reserve 1 tablespoon of flour mixture and toss with chocolate chips if using.
In the bowl of a stand mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, scraping sides occasionally, about 4-5 minutes.
Slowly drizzle the oil into the butter/sugar mixture. Then add eggs, one at a time, mixing 30 seconds after each addition. Add vanilla extract, vinegar and red food coloring* if using. *if not premixed, mix food color according to package directions.
With mixer on low/stir, alternate the flour mixture and buttermilk with about ⅓ each addition. Mix until just combined, do not overmix.
Carefully stir in chocolate chips if using, if you forgot to reserve some flour, add a couple of teaspoons of cocoa powder to the chocolate chips, tossing to coat. This will help your chocolate chips from sinking in the cake.
Pour batter into prepared 10-cup bundt pan (larger is fine, just don’t go smaller) and smooth. Gently tap the bundt pan with cake batter on a cutting board or oven mitt a couple of times, to settle the batter.
Bake on middle rack of preheated oven (350F regular and 375F for high altitude). For regular pans bake 40-55 minutes or until toothpick (I like to use a skewer) comes out clean or with a few crumbs. For non-stick or dark pans, bake at 25 degrees lower and check for doneness at 40 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool in bundt pan for 10 minutes on cooling rack. Then invert onto cooling rack and cool completely before frosting. TIP: Leave hot bundt pan over inverted cake while cooling to help retain moisture.
Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until light and smooth. Add vanilla, then slowly add powdered sugar, alternating with Bailey’s Irish Cream (or regular cream) until desired consistency, you want it light and fluffy, but not super soft or super stiff, add salt if using unsalted butter.
Add frosting to the pastry bag (I used a large round/plain tip, but you can just snip the ends off a pastry bag or gallon size baggie, about an inch). And pipe generous amounts of frosting back and forth from the inside out and down the sides.
Store the cake in an airtight container on the counter for 1-2 days, then transfer to the fridge up to 7 days. May be frozen up to 3 months (frosted or unfrosted), thaw and enjoy.
Notes
For all the best tips, tricks and variations be sure to read the post! Especially when it comes to the red food coloring and your final bundt.High Altitude Adjustments
Increase unbleached flour to 2 ¾ cups
Reduce baking soda to ¾ teaspoon
Decrease sugar to 1 ⅔ cups
Bake in 375 degree oven if using regular pan, if dark pan, keep at 350 degrees.
Red Dye Food Coloring vs. All Natural Red Velvet Cake
Don't have non-Dutch Processed cocoa powder? Use your favorite cocoa powder, Rodelle is my favorite! The reaction won't quite be the same, but it will still be delicious!
Want to use Red Food Dye? For the traditional blood red, red velvet cake color! Go for it, use up to 2 tablespoons food grade red dye or 3 teaspoons of red gel food coloring.
Try beetroot powder? Use up to 2 tablespoons, let me know how it turns out.
Fresh Tips
The secret to getting your bundt cake out of the pan in one piece is to do a good job greasing and flouring it ahead of time. Either take the time to brush with softened butter or grease well, then dust with cocoa powder or flour. OR use a quality baking spray with flour in it, like Baker’s Joy, La Tourangelle Baking Spray (also gluten-free) or Bak-Klene.
It is also important to allow bundt cakes to cool for at least 10 minutes before trying to remove them from the pan.
If you don’t have a large round piping tip, you can simply snip the end off of a pastry bag - or even a gallon size Ziplock! Cut off about an inch to get a nice, round opening.