I have a request for a red velvet cake. I've tried 2 different recipes and they are not coming out right. I have no idea what i'm doing wrong but both times the cake looks raw and very heavy... even though the tester is coming out clean. The first recipe i blamed it on not having buttermilk so substituting it with Milk and Cream of tartar. Then lastnight i blamed it on my oven since it was my second time trying out my convection bake. (The first time using the oven on Convection the cake came out just fine.) I am going to try one more recipe that i found here posted by Brandy7909. the comments that people posted are all positive. Any advice anyone can give on making a GREAT Red velvet cake would be much appreciated!!!

If you have a White Cake recipe that works great for you, use that, substitute 4 tsp of the flour with natural cocoa powder (not the Dutch processed kind) and add 1 jar of Wilton's "No-Taste" Red icing color.
the original Red Velvet Cakes were a basic White Cake with red food color added. They tended to be light and have that velvetty crumb, but they didn't always taste so good because of the huge amount of color needed to get the right red.

The icing gel adds plenty of color without the overtaste, and the little bit of cocoa powder doesn't add much taste, just helps the color be a little richer. Some people use beet powder, or beet juice to help the color, too.

Here's a recipe to try:

Red Velvet Cake 1920
Ingredients
  3 tsp. Cocoa and 1 oz red food coloring (one jar Wiltons No-Taste Red icing color) make a paste and set aside.
  Grease and flour and line with parchment paper three 6 round pans or two 8or9 round pans
  Cream together till fluffy 1 ½ cups of Granulated Sugar & ½ cup of Crisco.
  Add 2 Eggs (one at a time) & beat well after each.
  Add 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract & Red Paste & mix well.
  Add 2 cups of Sifted Cake Flour & 1 cup of Buttermilk & mix well.
  Add 1 tsp. Baking Soda dissolved in 1 Tbs. of Vinegar while it is still foaming & mix well.
  Bake at 350° for 35 - 40 Min.
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Original choice of frosting for the Red Velvet Cake:
Cooked Flour Icing
On very LOW heat (& stirring CONSTANTLY), cook
¼ cup of Flour
½ cup of Milk until it looks like a pastecool it completely.

Cream together
½ cup of Crisco,
½ cup of Butter,
1 cup of granulated sugar. BEAT & BEAT & BEAT!!!

Add cooled paste (I usually put it in the freezer to cool it quicker) to creamed mixture with 1 teaspoon of Vanilla. Mix in well.

Here is a Cream Cheese Frosting if you really need that:
Ingredients:
  8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
  6 Tbsp. butter, softened
  3 cups powdered sugar
  dash salt
  2-4 Tbsp. light cream
  1 tsp. vanilla
Preparation:
In large bowl, combine cream cheese and butter and beat until light and fluffy. Alternately add powdered sugar and light cream, beating until desired spreading consistency. Beat in salt and vanilla; use to frost cake.
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This one is my absolute favorite!:

Southern Comfort Red Velvet Cake
Makes 12 to 16 servings or 24 cupcakes

For the cake:
3 cups cake flour
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup Southern Comfort
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 (1-ounce) jar Wilton's "no-taste" red food coloring
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs

For the frosting:
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 to 8 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup Southern Comfort
Chopped toasted pecans, for garnish (optional)

To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch round cake pans with butter, or spray them with nonstick spray. Dust them with flour and tap out the excess.
Whisk together the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, Southern Comfort, vanilla, vinegar, and food coloring.
In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk mixture in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a wire rack, and then remove them from the pans and cool completely.

To make the frosting: Beat the butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Add 6 cups of the confectioners sugar, the milk, and the Southern Comfort. Beat on low speed until creamy. Gradually add the remaining confectioners sugar, a little at a time, until the frosting has reached the desired consistency.
Place one cake layer on a plate and spread it with about one-third of the frosting. Top with the remaining cake layer and spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Sprinkle the cake with chopped pecans, if using.

--if you dont want the alcohol in your cake or frosting, bring to a boil the quantity of Southern Comfort, reduce the heat and simmer 10 min. Add water if necessary to bring back to the correct liquid amount.
OR make a Southern Comfort Simple Syrup to brush onto the layers for moistness and flavor. 1 c water, 1 c Southern Comfort and 3 c sugar. Dissolve the sugar in the water over heat, then add the alcohol and simmer for 20 min or until slightly thickened.

The cake pictured is the Southern Comfort Recipe, with Peach preserves in the buttercream filling. Southern Comfort is a peachy liqueur.

I've made Martha Stewart's recipe several times and it's worked every time for me.

wow.. this is great! thank you sao much for the recipes. i cant wait to try them!

Google "Cake Man Raven's Red Velvet Cake"... It's the easiest cake in the world to make and is delicious! Best RVC ever!

I looked at Cake Mans recipe and its similar to one I use except I use only 1/2 cup of butter and increase the cocoa to 2 tbls. I could never understand why people use oil for cake recipes... The version I use is never greasy to the touch and is light and airy.

I'm more of box mix kind of girl!

I use the Duncan Hines Red velvet. I add some dry chocolate pudding to the dry, and use buttermilk instead of water. Comes out great!