Vegan Red Velvet Cake
This vegan red velvet cake is incredible! It has a silky, velvety crumb, and is wonderfully soft, fluffy and moist. Made with simple pantry ingredients and mixed all in one bowl, this cake is super easy to make. And it’s topped with vegan cream cheese frosting for the most classic pairing!
Simple Ingredients You’ll Need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes About The Ingredients
Vegan-friendly red food coloring. Red dye sometimes contains carmine which comes from beetles! Some vegan-friendly brands include AmeriColor, Wilton, and Queen Fine Foods (Australia). Beetroot powder can work but the results are inconsistent and depend on the brand and age of your powder. Some companies also sell vegan-friendly natural red dye.
Dairy-free milk. In baking, I always prefer using unsweetened soy milk, as it’s higher in protein and results in a more tender cake. However, any milk will work for example, oat milk or almond milk.
Sugar doesn’t only add sweetness but makes the cake fluffier and moister!
Cocoa powder adds a hint of chocolate flavor. Since cocoa powder doesn’t have gluten in it, it also helps create a lighter and fluffier cake. I used Dutch-process cocoa powder for a stronger chocolate flavor, but natural cocoa powder will also work.
Apple cider vinegar reacts with the non-dairy milk to make vegan buttermilk. It gives the cake a more tender crumb and reacts with the raising agents to add depth of flavor. Lemon juice or white vinegar will also work.
Making The Cake Batter
The batter for this red velvet cake truly comes together in one bowl! First, stir all the dry ingredients until well combined. Add the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. And that’s it!
For the best vegan red velvet cake, here are some expert tips:
- If your cocoa powder is lumpy, sift it beforehand!
- I recommend adding more red food coloring than you think you’ll need. The red color will fade and darken in the oven!
- Avoid overmixing your cake batter. Some lumps in your batter are fine, as long as they aren’t lumps of dry flour. If you use a hand mixer or stand mixer, I suggest mixing the batter on low speed to prevent overmixing.
Tips For Baking The Cake
This red velvet cake is also very straightforward to bake!
For the best results, here are some extra tips:
- For even cake layers, use a kitchen scale or measuring cups to divide the cake batter evenly between your prepared cake pans. Having the same batter in each pan means the cakes will bake at the same rate. And you won’t have one dry thin layer and one underbaked thick layer!
- For extra flat layers, I recommend using cake strips. Cake strips encourage cakes to bake more evenly and minimize doming. They’re always ideal for layer cakes!
Cream Cheese Frosting And Alternatives
This red velvet cake is perfectly paired with a soft and tangy cream cheese frosting. Here are my top tips for the frosting:
- Use a reliable brand of vegan cream cheese for example, Toffuti. Some brands tend to split when you whip them. And make sure your cream cheese is fresh. If you freeze cream cheese then thaw it, it will also split in frosting.
- Cream cheese frosting is more temperature sensitive and will soften quickly when it’s warm. When you frost your cake, make sure your cake layers aren’t warm at all. If your frosting softens while you decorate the cake, pop your cake in your fridge or freezer for 30 minutes.
If you don’t want to make cream cheese frosting, here are some other options:
- Vegan lemon buttercream from my lemon cake recipe. The lemon adds tanginess to the buttercream which is slightly reminiscent of cream cheese frosting!
- Chocolate buttercream frosting
- Strawberry buttercream frosting
Storage Tips
If you’d like to make this vegan red velvet cake ahead of time, store the cake layers separately from the frosting. Store the cakes in plastic wrap or an airtight container at room temperature for 1 day or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. And you can keep the frosting in your refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
If you live in a warm climate, store leftover cake in an airtight container in the fridge. Cream cheese frosting tends to soften when it’s warm! 1-2 hours before serving, let the cake come to room temperature and it’ll be perfect for serving.
If you live in a cooler climate, store the cake at room temperature for up to 1 day.
Customizing This Red Velvet Cake Recipe
My team and I have tested a few gluten-free variations and recommend either King Arthur’s measure for measure flour, and a blend of all-purpose gluten-free flour and almond flour. Please see the notes in the recipe box for more details.
To make the cake refined sugar-free, you can use brown sugar or coconut sugar but your cake will be a dark red-brown color.
This recipe will also work in:
– Two 7-inch and 9-inch cake pans. If using 7-inch pans, they’ll need to be at least 2 inches tall otherwise they will overflow. You will also need to adjust the baking time.
– One 9-inch square cake pan
– One 10-inch round cake pan
– One 9×13 inch rectangle pan for a sheet cake
You can also make this cake into a heart-shaped cake! For cupcakes, check out my vegan red velvet cupcakes recipe.
More Vegan Cake Recipes
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Vegan Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose plain flour
- 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 2 ½ tablespoons (15g) cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup (440g) dairy-free milk
- ⅔ cup (165g) neutral flavored oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, white vinegar or lemon juice
- ~2 teaspoons vegan red food coloring gel, or as needed (note 2)
Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting (note 3 for alternatives)
- 1 cup (8 oz or 240g) vegan cream cheese, room temperature
- ¾ cup (170g) vegan butter, room temperature
- 3-4 cups (300g-400g) powdered sugar / icing sugar, as needed (note 4)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Line 2 x 8-inch (20 cm) round cake pans with parchment paper.
Make the cake:
- Add all the dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl and whisk until the mixture is well combined. Add all the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. If desired, add more food coloring and gently mix until the batter is your desired color.
- Evenly divide the cake between your two cake pans.
- Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes. The cakes are ready when you insert a toothpick in their center and it comes out clean (a few crumbs are fine).
- Cool the cakes in their pans for 15 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack. Cool completely.
Make the frosting:
- Add the butter to a large bowl or stand mixer and beat until light fluffy. Add the vegan cream cheese and beat until just combined and there are no lumps. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until just combined. If you overmix the frosting, it will become loose and may not hold up. Add more powdered sugar for a firmer frosting. Chill until needed.
- If your cakes are domed on top, use a large serrated knife to slice a thin layer off the tops to create a flat surface. Spread or pipe around ¾ cup of frosting on the cake and place the remaining cake on top. If you have time, I recommend crumb-coating the cake by spreading a thin layer of frosting on the sides and top to 'trap' in the crumbs. Finally, coat the cake with the remaining frosting.
- Keep the cake in an airtight container in the fridge until serving. Allow it to come to room temperature for 30 minutes to 1 hour before serving.
- Store leftover cake in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before serving.
Notes
- This red velvet cake can be made gluten-free by replacing all of the flour with King Arthur’s measure for measure flour OR 1 3/4 cup (280g) gluten-free all-purpose flour and 1 1/3 cup (135g) almond flour. I suggest baking the cake for at least 35 minutes to ensure it’s fully baked and won’t sink. I don’t recommend using Bob Red Mills 1:1 flour by itself because it results in a gummy cake.
- All brands of red food dye vary in color and intensity so you may need to adjust accordingly. I used 2 teaspoons of gel food coloring for a vibrant color. If you have a liquid food color, you’ll need around 1-2 tablespoons. Alternatively, you can use 3 tablespoons of beetroot powder. Beetroot powder has a distinct flavor and produces inconsistent results as some brands of powder and older powder will cause the cake to turn brown during baking. If using beet powder, add it with the dry ingredients.
- If you don’t have vegan cream cheese, I recommend making a classic buttercream with a hint of lemon. It’s also more stable than cream cheese frosting! Use the lemon buttercream recipe from my lemon cake post and adjust the amount of lemon juice to taste. The lemon flavor mimics the tangy flavor of cream cheese.
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Made this for a 50th Birthday Cake and it was absolutely awesome .
Didn’t tell half the people at the party it was vegan and they loved the cake .
Wow, we’re so happy you chose this recipe for a 50th! And absolutely love it when people don’t guess it’s vegan! Thank you for sharing!
The cocoa powder turns the cake too brown
Hi Apollo, it sounds like your food coloring wasn’t strong enough and perhaps a little too much cocoa powder was added (this can easily happen if you’re measuring with spoons rather than grams). We always use a dark dutch-process cocoa and a strong red food gel, and the cake comes out a vibrant red every time.
This is one incredible recipe! Wow! So easy to bake and the results are amazing. Noone would ever be able to pick it was vegan. Thank you so much.
Thank you for such lovely feedback! We’re delighted you found it easy to make and that no one would suspect it was vegan — that’s always the best compliment!
Can we make it yellow food dye and make a yellow velvet cake instead?
Hi May, yes you can but I would replace the cocoa powder with corn starch otherwise your cake may not be as yellow. Enjoy!
I am looking forward to making this cake! Is it possible to swap the dairy free milk for buttermilk 1:1?
Hi Julia! I imagine it’d work fine as a 1:1 swap – I just haven’t tested it myself as I don’t drink dairy. Hope that helps!
Hi! We loved the red velvet cupcakes made from your recipe site so I am planning to try this cake for my daughter’s birthday. One question – what are the red colored sprinkles made of that you decorated the top with?
Hi Jean! I’m so glad you enjoyed my red velvet cupcakes! The red bits on top are crumbled leftover cake – sometimes the cake domes and I slice this off and break it apart. If the cake crumbles are too moist, I’ll leave them uncovered in the kitchen so they dry out. Hope that helps!
Offspring no. 3 requested your Red Velvet Cake for his birthday on Saturday morning. It’s the first time I’ve made one (which always makes me a bit nervous, especially given it was for dessert that same night!). 😬
I had to use a combination of Queen’s ‘Red Piller Box’ and ‘Rose Pink’ liquid food colouring. Given the lack of notice afforded me. So I’m thoroughly chuffed with the result. It was absolutely cracker! Everybody loves it! 🥰
Thanks for always making such easily reproduced, reliable recipes. 💜
Hi Nina, I’m over the moon that and your family loved this cake! I totally get that it’s nerve-wrecking to make a layer cake (honestly, I still get like that for certain events), but it sounds like your cake turned out well. And thanks for letting me know which food colours worked for you and it’ll be very helpful for the Aussies out there! Thanks so much for your ongoing support – I appreciate it so much x
Sooo good! It’s also so simple to make! I can’t believe it has almost the same ingredients as my vanilla cake but had a wayyy different flavor and texture. This cake is moist and soft! I was using a recipe that required me to cream sugar and butter then add applesauce. It was very moist and soft much work. This one is definitely my go to now! Thanks
Hi Zay! I’m so so happy that you loved this cake and found it easy to make! It’s so interesting how just a couple of different ingredients can change the flavor/texture of a cake, isn’t it! Thanks soo much for your wonderful feedback 🙂
Can I use unsweetned applesauce instead of oil? And how long do you think the bake time would be if I used a sqaure pan (9×13)
Applesauce will work but the texture of the cake will be a little different. I haven’t baked this cake in a 9×13 pan, but from experience with my cake recipes, the baking time will be exactly the same.