No cake screams holidays to me more than red velvet! That rich red color makes me think of Christmas no matter what time of the year it is!

I've tried making the perfect red velvet cake for over a decade - always tweaking my recipe to make it better than the last. As always, I will continue trying to perfect it with every new cake I make, but to date, this is my best red velvet recipe! What makes my recipe different from other's is that I like to use a little more cocoa powder than most...it makes a world of a difference!

I'm super excited to share this one with you guys because who doesn't love red velvet cake?!

Ingredients

For the cake:

2.5 cups cake flour

2 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, room temperature

1.5 cups white granulated sugar

1.5 cups vegetable oil

1 oz red food coloring

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

For the frosting:

1.5 batches of my cream cheese frosting

https://www.karrahgermain.com/blog/cream-cheese-frosting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease two 8 inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, and set aside.

2. In a large bowl sift together dry ingredients: cake flour, cocoa powder and baking soda.

3. In a large mixing bowl combine eggs and sugar. Whisk until well combined.

4. Add your cake flour mixture and buttermilk to your sugar and egg mixture, alternating between the cake flour and buttermilk - always start and end with the dry cake flour mixture. Mix well after each add in until well combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl before giving one last good mix. Only mix until it is all combined - remember not to over mix.

5. Evenly distribute cake batter into cake pans. *I like to use an ice cream scooper to scoop the batter in. This helps to make sure each cake pan has the same amount of scoops.

6. Bake for 25 - 28 minutes or until a cake tester is inserted in the center of the cakes and comes out clean. Let cakes sit out in the pans for 10 minutes before flipping them out onto a cooling rack. Let cool completely before frosting.

7. Cut the domes of the cakes off using a serrated knife. In a small bowl, crumble one of the cake tops and set aside. *Rather than throwing out the other dome top, you can store it in a freezer bag to make cake pops or use as garnish on another treat!

8. To assemble the cake take a cake board the size of your cake or slightly larger. Place a dollop of cream cheese frosting on the cake board, this will act like a glue to keep your first layer of cake in place. Center your bottom layer of cake on the cake board and pipe a generous amount of cream cheese frosting all over the top. Take your second layer of cake and flip it upside down so the flattest side can be the top layer of the cake.

9. Spread a light amount of frosting around the entire cake - this is your crumb coat. It will catch any loose cake crumbs. Place in refrigerator to chill for at least 20 minutes.

10. Add your final layer of cream cheese frosting all over your cake. Make it as neat or as "organic" looking as you'd like - the design is totally up to you - make it your own! Use your cake crumbs that were set aside to add a pop of color to your white cream cheese frosting.

Enjoy!