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This homemade red velvet bundt cake is incredibly moist, easy to make, and has a soft, velvety crumb. It’s topped with a smooth cream cheese glaze that adds just the right amount of tang and sweetness.
Perfect for Valentine’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, or anytime you want a dessert that looks impressive but is surprisingly simple to make, this red velvet bundt cake delivers classic flavor without relying on cake mix.
Why This Red Velvet Bundt Cake Is Special
Red velvet bundt cakes hold a special place in my heart. When I first moved to the U.S., one of my earliest dessert memories was tasting a red velvet bundt cake with thick cream cheese frosting at a family celebration. That balance of sweet, tangy, and velvety texture stuck with me, and this recipe is my homemade version of that same classic flavor.
Why You’ll Love This Red Velvet Bundt Cake
- Perfect for holidays, Valentine’s Day, birthdays, and gatherings
- Moist, tender crumb thanks to oil, buttermilk, and sour cream
- Balanced chocolate-vanilla flavor with classic red velvet tang
- Easy to make with a stand mixer, hand mixer, or by hand
What is red velvet and what does it taste like?
Red velvet cake is a southern creation that mixes vanilla flavors and that chocolate flavor we all love together to make something extra special. It is slightly tangy thanks to the buttermilk, vinegar, and sour cream and is topped with a cream cheese glaze or icing.
Ingredients for this homemade red velvet bundt cake
Here are the ingredients you will need to make this red velvet bundt cake. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed ingredient measurements.
- Flour- AP flour works great for this recipe.
- Corn starch– The corn starch will make the crumb extra tender.
- Cocoa powder– Red velvet is a mix of cocoa and vanilla, so this recipe uses a small amount of both.
- Granulated sugar– The granulated sugar will lightly sweeten our cake and make it extra moist.
- Baking soda– The baking soda will give a little height to the cake.
- Salt– Always add a little salt to your sweet treat to balance out the sweetness of the cakes.
- Oil– The oil will add extra moisture to the cake. Make sure to use canola oil or vegetable oil for this cake.
- Butter– The butter will add moisture and an extra depth of flavor to this recipe.
- Egg– The eggs are the binding agent of this recipe.
- Buttermilk, vinegar, and sour cream – The trifecta for tanginess and moistness in this cake.
- Vanilla– Use a good vanilla extract for both the cake and the frosting in this recipe.
- Red food coloring– I use Wilton gel food coloring but I also heard that the Americolor super red gel foodcoloring is also really food for this. I feel like going with the gel gives you a brighter color as opposed to using liquid food color.
- Cream cheese– Use full fat cream cheese for this frosting, just make sure that it is softened.
- Powdered sugar– The powdered sugar is used for the cream cheese glaze to sweeten it.
- Milk– The milk acts as the diluting agent to make this frosting extra smooth and drizzleable!
How to make homemade moist red velvet bundt cake?
This is how you can make red velvet bundt cake. Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full detailed instructions!
- Preheat the oven to 350F, grease, and flour a 10-cup bundt pan and set aside.
- Mix the flour, corn starch, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt to combine.
- Whisk the oil, melted butter, buttermilk, vinegar, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, and red gel food coloring until fully combined.
- Sift the dry ingredients in the wet mixture and whisk just until combined. Make sure to not over mix the batter.
- Pour the red velvet cake batter into the prepared bundt cake pan, spread the batter evenly, and bake in the preheated oven.
- Let the bundt cake cool down fully before frosting. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack.
If you love red velvet, you’ll also love these Easy Hershey’s Red Velvet Blossoms Cookies, CRUMBL Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies, red velvet cake mix cookies, as well as Cheesecake swirled red velvet brownies.
Make the cream cheese glaze
- Whisk the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.
- Add in the milk in two parts and mix until smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze on the cooled down bundt cake, let it set for a few minutes, then serve.
Recipe Tip
- Properly prepare your bundt pan. Make sure to grease your bundt pan thoroughly, paying special attention to all the crevices. You can use a combination of butter and flour, or a non-stick baking spray with flour for an easy release.
- Room temperature ingredients. For the best texture, make sure that your butter, eggs, and buttermilk are at room temperature before you start mixing. I like to pull them out of the refrigerator a 30 minutes or so before I start baking to make it easier on myself.
- Don’t over mix the batter. When you mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, mix just until they’re incorporated. Over mixing the batter can lead to a dense, tough cake. Use a spatula to gently fold the ingredients together and ensure a light and fluffy texture.
- Sift the dry ingredients. Sifting the flour and cocoa powder is a step that could be skipped but if you are dealing with clumpy cocoa or flour you definitely need to include this step in this recipe. This will help you avoid any lumps and keep your cake extra light and tender.
- Use gel food coloring. For that vibrant red color without altering the flavor, gel food coloring is your best friend as opposed to the liquid version. Gel food coloring is actually more concentrated, meaning you won’t have to use as much of it so it won’t dilute the batter’s consistency.
- Let the cake cool before frosting. Even though it is super temping to glaze your cake as soon as it comes out of the oven but you want to make sure to allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes then transfer it to a wire rack to cool to room temperature before doing any of that. If the cake is too warm when you glaze it, it will cause the icing to melt and slide off.
Frequently asked questions – FAQ
Yes. This cake can be baked 1–2 days ahead and stored tightly wrapped in the refrigerator. Glaze just before serving for the best texture and appearance.
You can store this cake sliced or unsliced in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just make sure to let the cake get back to room temperature before enjoying it.
I do this all the time because we often can’t finish a whole bundt cake alone here. Wrap the slices or the whole cake tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before enjoying it.
Yes! If you’re like me and think red velvet cake is even better with chocolate chips, I’m here to tell you that you can make it happen!
Once your batter is ready, gently fold it about 1/2-1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and continue with the recipe as directed.
If you’re not feeling cream cheese icing, you can opt-in for regular pipe-able cream cheese frosting or chocolate ganache.
I think the contrast between the chocolate ganache and the red velvet cake is absolutely delicious too!
Melt 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or even white chocolate chips with 3 tablespoon heavy cream in the microwave mixing in between every 30-second increment. When the frosting is smooth enough, drizzle over the cake and let it set for a bit before serving.
Moist red velvet bundt cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 & 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil at room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter melted, salted or unsalted
- 1 cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 2 tsp vinegar at room temperature
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream or greek yogurt , at room temperature
- 2 tsp red gel food coloring at room temperature
Cream cheese glaze
- 3 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk at room temperature
Instructions
Make the bundt cake
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease and flour your 10 cup bundt pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the flour, corn starch, cocoa powder, granulated sugar, baking soda, and salt to combine. Set aside.
- In a different bowl, whisk the oil, melted butter, buttermilk, vinegar, eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, and red gel food coloring until fully combined.
- Sift in the dry ingredients in the wet mixture and whisk just until combined. Make sure to not overmix the batter.
- Pour the red velvet cake batter into the prepared bundt cake pan, spread the batter evenly, and bake on the middle rack in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the bundt cake cool down for 10 minutes before inverting it on a cooling rack to cool down fully.
Make the cream cheese glaze
- In a stand mixer bowl, whisk the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.
- Add the milk in two parts to the cream cheese frosting, mixing in between each time. You want the icing to have a drizzle consistency. If you like your icing a little more liquidy add 1 more tablespoon of milk.
- Drizzle the cream cheese icing over the cooled down red velvet bundt cake, Let it set for a few minutes and serve.
Notes
How to store this cake?
You can store this cake sliced or unsliced in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just make sure to let the cake get back to room temperature before enjoying it.Can I freeze red velvet bundt cake?
I do this all the time because we often can’t finish a whole bundt cake alone here. What you can do if you needNutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank you for the wonderful recipes, I will be trying some for the holidays
I love to hear this! 🙂
Can I substitute cake flour, or all purpose flour? And if so, how much cake flour should I use?
All-purpose flour with cornstarch is basically a homemade version of cake flour. You can sub it but I don’t think it would change the texture much. To swap it, use 2 and 1/2 cups of cake flour and leave out the cornstarch in the recipe.
I love this cake, so moist and delicious. I’m thinking of trying to make it into cupcakes for a friends going away party… have you ever done this?! Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙂
I’ve personally never tried that before. sounds like a great idea though!
I made this red velvet cake for our Valentines day dessert & it was perfect! Delicious & so moist. The recipe was super easy to follow. I will add this recipe to my collection! Try it, you won’t regret it.
Thank you so much for trying it Marcella!
Best Bundt cake I have ever had! Best recipe ever!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed it!
Chahinez