The Best Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake
An easy to make airy and moist red velvet cake with a creamy delicious vanilla cream cheese icing.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
For the Red Velvet Cake
- 3 1/8 cups Gluten Free Flour (400 g) Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1 to 1 Baking Flour
- 1 3/4 cups sugar (325 g)
- 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 3/4 cups neutral oil I used vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk room temperature
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tbsp vanilla paste or extract
- 2 1/2 tbsp red food coloring Gel, if possible; I like Wilton's "No-taste Red"
For the Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
- 2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks) room temperature
- 1 cup cream cheese room temperature
- 5-6 cups powdered sugar depending on humidity
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla paste or seeds from one vanilla bean
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
To make the Red Velvet Cake
- Preheat your oven to 350°F / Grease your cake tins with butter or coconut oil and line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or a large bowl if mixing by hand, add in your flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cocoa powder and mix on slow speed just for a few seconds to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine all your wet ingredients: oil, buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and red food coloring and mix, using a whisk, making sure it is fully combined.
- Add your wet mixture into your stand mixer bowl, and mix on very low speed, pulsing on and off a few times to get it started, preventing the mixture from splattering. Continue to mix on low speed just until combined; alternatively, you can do this by hand. Make sure to not over mix the batter; the batter will be pretty wet.
- Evenly distribute your batter into your prepared tins and bake for about 30-35 min, or until the top is set and the cake springs back when slightly pressed with your finger.
- Time will vary depending on how many tins and what size tins you use, but once the top is set, and springs back when touched, they are perfect. Remember, they will continue to set in the middle as they cool, so make sure to not over bake them as they might dry out otherwise.
- Let your cakes cool in their tins, and once cool enough to handle, you can remove them onto a cooling rack.
- Once completely cooled, use a serrated knife to even the tops (saving the shavings for crumbs, if desired) and layer them if you wish to do so.
To make the Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, with a paddle attachment, or a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until it is light in color and fluffy (4-5 minutes).
- Add salt and vanilla and mix for a few seconds to combine.
- Gradually add in the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing thoroughly in between additions, always starting on low speed, and increasing to medium speed after it is incorporated.
- Depending on the humidity level where you are, the icing might take anywhere from 5-6 cups of powdered sugar. You'll want to have a thick, yet soft consistency that is easy to spread but will hold it's shape once spread on the cake.
- If your icing becomes too dry and hard to spread, just add some milk, a teaspoon or two at a time, to loosen it up.
- Assemble your cake and decorate as desired.
To make the Cake Crumbs
- Crumble the bits of cake that you removed from the tops to even them out and crumble them, using your finger, until you have crumbs that resemble sand.
- Evenly spread them out on a baking sheet and bake in a low oven (300°F) for about 20 minutes, mixing them and spreading them out using a spatula a few times throughout the cooking time.
- Let cool completely and use them to decorate the sides and even the top of your cake.
Notes
🧡 Pro Tip: If you want to make this cake a couple of days ahead of time, simply brush each layer with simple syrup before frosting them as this will ensure your cake stays moist.
To make simple syrup, take equal parts water and sugar ( I used 1 cup of each) and add them to a small sauce pan; over medium-high heat, bring the mixture almost to a boil, stirring occasionally, allowing for the sugar to dissolve completely. Remove from heat and let cool completely before using.
Store assembled cake in the fridge for up to 2 days before serving. Let the cake sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.