This Vegan Red Velvet Cake is super moist and tender and is topped with dairy-free cream cheese frosting! This classic cake is surprisingly easy to make and is the perfect dessert to make for the red velvet lover in your life.
I'm currently working on developing more classic dessert recipes here at Earthly Provisions. Recently, I've made Vegan Vanilla Cake, Vegan Coconut Cake and my Vegan Birthday Cake which are super classic cake recipes. And I've even posted a traditional Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe recently- it doesn't get more classic than that!
So, I thought it was time for a Vegan Red Velvet Cake. This is one of the most classic cakes ever! Red Velvet has a little cocoa powder, and a lot of tangy dairy-free buttermilk and must be frosted with cream cheese frosting. And this recipe ticks all of the boxes! So let's get into it.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This cake is super soft and moist.
- And it's slathered with delicious vegan cream cheese frosting.
- It is surprisingly easy to make.
- This Vegan Red Velvet Cake is dairy-free and completely vegan, so anyone can enjoy it!
- And most importantly it's absolutely delicious!
Ingredient Notes
Non-Dairy Milk: I used oat milk, but any non-dairy milk will work. This combined with lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) makes vegan buttermilk!
Vegan Butter: My top recommendation is Soy-Free Earth Balance Buttery Sticks.
Vegan Cream Cheese: I only recommend Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese for the frosting! It's the most firm of all the dairy-free cream cheeses that I've tried.
Cocoa Powder: I used Ghirardelli cocoa powder, but any cocoa will work.
Red Gel Food Coloring: I recommend Ann Clark Super Red Gel Food Coloring. It is a beautiful red color and is certified vegan!
Special Equipment
You will need two 8" round cake pans to bake the cakes.
But if you prefer cupcakes, I have a Vegan Red Velvet Cupcake recipe!
And either a stand mixer or a hand mixer for the vegan cream cheese frosting.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, non-dairy milk, melted vegan butter, lemon juice, vanilla and red gel food coloring. Whisk well to ensure the food coloring is completely dissolved.
Step 2. Add the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk to form the cake batter.
Step 3. Divide the cake batter between two prepared 8-inch round cake pans.
Step 4. And bake the cake layers in a 350* oven for 26-29 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting.
Step 5. While the cakes cool, make the dairy-free cream cheese frosting. First, cream the vegan butter in a large bowl using a hand mixer until completely smooth. Then, fold the vegan cream cheese into the butter by hand using a rubber spatula.
Step 6. Next, add the powdered sugar and mix with a hand mixer until incorporated. Then, add vanilla and mix until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour to chill. It will firm up in the refrigerator.
Step 7. Once the cake layers are cool and the frosting is chilled, place one cake layer upside down on a cake board, cake stand or large plate. Top the layer with about ¾ cup of vegan cream cheese frosting and spread it all the way to the edge of the cake.
Step 8. Top with the remaining Vegan Red Velvet Cake layer, upside down again, and frost the out side of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Place in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Recipe FAQs
To store, place the cake in a large container or cake box and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Red velvet cake has a little bit of cocoa powder, but not nearly as much as chocolate cake, and is also a little tangy from buttermilk and vinegar. And it's also typically frosted with cream cheese frosting. So, it's quite different from chocolate cake!
Usually, there is cream cheese in the frosting of red velvet cake. If you don't have any, you can always use a vanilla buttercream like my Vegan Vanilla Frosting.
Expert Recipe Tips
Make sure that the vegan butter and cream cheese is at room temperature for making the vegan cream cheese frosting. It will be much easier to mix.
If you are a beginner at stacking cakes, I recommend that you turn the cakes out of the cake pans and freeze the layers for 30 minutes before stacking the cake.
This will give you more stability when stacking and frosting this Vegan Red Velvet Cake.
Be sure to store the frosted cake in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it.
Looking for More Vegan Cake and Cupcake Recipes?
If you tried this Vegan Red Velvet Cake recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Red Velvet Cake
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Whisk
- 1 Rubber Spatula
- 2 8 Inch Round Cake Pans
- 1 Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer with paddle attachment
- 1 Cake Stand, Large Plate or Cake Board
- 1 Offset Spatula
Ingredients
For the Cake Layers
- 1 ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice or apple cider vinegar
- 2 ⅔ Cup All-Purpose Flour
- 2 tablespoon Cocoa Powder, sifted
- 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 ½ Cup Sugar
- 9 tablespoon Vegan Butter, melted and cooled
- 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
- 2 ½ teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring see note
For the Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 tablespoon Vegan Butter, room temperature
- 8 Ounces Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese
- 4 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
- ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Bake the Cake Layers
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans and insert a parchment circle into the bottom of each pan for east removal.
- In a large bowl, combine non-dairy milk and lemon juice to make a vegan buttermilk. Mix and set aside.1 ½ Cup Non-Dairy Milk, 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine and set aside.2 ⅔ Cup All-Purpose Flour, 2 tablespoon Cocoa Powder, sifted, 1 tablespoon Baking Powder, ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda, ¼ teaspoon Kosher Salt
- Into the large bowl with the non-dairy milk mixture, add sugar, melted vegan butter, vanilla and red gel food coloring. Whisk well to ensure the food coloring is completely mixed. Then add the dry ingredients and whisk to form the batter.1 ½ Cup Sugar, 9 tablespoon Vegan Butter, melted and cooled, 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract, 2 ½ teaspoon Red Gel Food Coloring
- Divide the cake batter between the two prepared 8-inch round cake pans. If you are weighing, it will be about 20 ounces per pan. Then, bake in a 350* oven for 26-29 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting. (See Note)
For the Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the vegan butter until completely smooth. Then, add the Tofutti vegan cream cheese and use a rubber spatula to fold it into the creamed butter by hand.8 tablespoon Vegan Butter, room temperature, 8 Ounces Tofutti Vegan Cream Cheese
- Add the powdered sugar and use either the hand mixer or stand mixer to mix until combined. Then, add the vanilla and mix until smooth. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour before frosting the cake. (See note)4 Cups Powdered Sugar, sifted, ¼ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Stack and Frost the Cake
- Once everything is completely cool and chilled, place a cake layer upside down on a large plate, cake board or cake stand. Top the layer with about ¾ cup of frosting. Use an offset spatula or a butter knife to spread the frosting all the way to the edge of the cake.
- Then, top with the remaining cake layer, upside down again, and use the remaining frosting to frost the outside of the cake. Garnish with anything you like. I use a little bit of shaved chocolate. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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