Baking a Red Velvet Cake Decorating and Baking Tutorial

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Baking a Red Velvet
with Sheila Jones
Skill level: Easy
HD Lessons: 5
Decorating time: 2 hrs
Now Playing
04:44

1. Making the red velvet mix pt 1

Mixing the ingredients is key to any great cake and with the Red Velvet cake it’s no different.  Mrs Jones talks you through every step of the way with lots of helpful hints and tips along the way. 

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09:56

2. Making the red velvet mix pt 2

This is where we add the red to the Red Velvet.

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13:17

3. Making the red velvet mix pt 3

Nearly there, but a few more crucial steps to finish the mix.

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04:32

4. Baking the red velvet cake

Oven at the ready, but you can’t take anything for granted as Mrs Jones explains some key points to ensure you get that perfect bake every time.

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01:50

5. Extra tips

Here are a few extra little hints and tips to help your baking.

Award-winning baker Mrs Jones is here to teach us how to bake the perfect red velvet cake. As you may well be aware, red velvet cake is notoriously difficult to get right and with lots of different recipes out there, it’s difficult to know which one will work best. We can confidently tell you that you won’t find a better recipe than Mrs Jones’, but the only you’re going to know is to try it out!

Downloadable tools and ingredients list

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This recipe is for 2x 7″ Round cakes baked to a depth of 2″or just under. Baked in an Invicta cake tin 4″ deep. (NOTE: The opening and finish cake image shows as three layers. If you want three layers just add another half of the ingredients to the recipe).

Need a different cake size? Use our Cake Size Re-Calculator by selecting the Red Velvet recipe then the size you need.

225mls whole milk
20mls lemon juice
125g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
2 medium eggs
25g cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon Sugarflair Red Extra food colour
1 teaspoon Sugarflair Red Velvet food colour
320g plain flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

NOTES: Mrs Jones’ cakes are always four sponge layers minimum.
Cream cheese recipe is covered in the Comments section below!

Electric food mixer
Plastic spatula
2 x 7” rouElectric food mixer
Plastic spatula
2 x 7” round, deep cake tins
Baking parchment or greaseproof paper
Measuring scales
Measuring jug
Fork
Sieve
Small bowl
Spoon
Measuring spoon (teaspoon)
Oven gloves
Wire cooling tray
nd, deep cake tins
Baking parchment or greaseproof paper
Measuring scales
Measuring jug
Fork
Sieve
Small bowl
Spoon
Measuring spoon (teaspoon)
Oven gloves
Wire cooling tray

Sheila Jones

Sheila Jones

Taught by her Mum to bake, many of you will recognise Mrs Jones as our expert baker. She is also an accomplished cake decorator. As a former nurse and midwife, Sheila has turned her passion for creating delicious, elegant, bespoke cakes into a very successful business. Over the years, Sheila's baking skills have been consolidated by achieving a professional diploma of PME Masterclass Certificates in Sugarcraft, Sugar Flowers Royal Icing and Piping, and she has worked with the very best of cake decorators in the country. She is Chair of the Glasgow Branch for the British Sugarcraft Guild, a member of the Scottish Association of Master Bakers and a founding member of the Glasgow Baking Club. You will all recognise her as the baking expert on our online tutorials. It was one of her students who said that 'Mrs Jones' kitchen is where we bake, learn, laugh and indulge'.

Comments

      • David Brice

        Baking soda is a pure substance (bicarbonate of soda). In the UK, Baking powder is traditionally a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar (from tartaric acid). Baking soda is alkaline, so acid is used in baking powder to avoid a metallic taste when the chemical change during baking creates sodium carbonate.

        Reply
  1. Ov

    One part of the cocoa powder was mixed with the red colour the other to the flour. Was it divided into two halfs?

    Reply
    • David Brice

      This section of the recipe calls for half the cocoa powder, vanilla extract, food colour and a little of the milk mixture to be mixed together to make a thinnish paste.

      The rest of the cocoa powder is mixed into the flour. The rest of the milk mixture is added to cake batter, followed by the cocoa/flour dry mix. All this is gently folded together.

      Reply
  2. rgpargy

    Can you use buttermilk instead of whole milk and lemon juice? If so, Are the quantities the same?

    Reply
    • madeitwithlove

      Hi rgpargy

      The same quantity of buttermilk should work just the same. I make my own buttermilk by curdling milk with either lemon juice (as in Mrs Jones’ recipe) or with a little white wine vinegar. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Sonia Cheadle

    Hi

    I loved the tutorial for Mrs Jones’ Red Velvet Cake for the ingredients listed, what would be the Gas Mark and cooking time? I am assuming it would be Gas Mark 4 for about 25 to 30 minutes. Sorry have not been a member long, so may have missed where this was stated.

    Thank you Paul, enjoying every tutorial they are brilliant and am quite inspired and will be attempting to replicate the designs in your tutorials. You and your colleagues make them look so easy.

    Many thanks Sonia Cheadle

    Reply
  4. Sonia Cheadle

    HI

    Apologies, stupid me, watched tutorial again and this time noticed cooking would be Gas Mark 3 for 35 to 40 minutes, do not have a fan oven may take a couple of minutes more. Add in just in cake anyone would need conversion from Celsius to Gas Mark .

    I am Looking forward to trying Paul’s and Mrs Jones, other cake recipes.

    Regards Sonia Cheadle

    Reply
  5. Sameena Haider

    With red velvet can u use it to frost and use sugar paste for wedding cake.
    Is it stro g enoygh to hold weight

    Reply
  6. tricia15

    Hello i would like to make this in an 8″ square 4″ deep. Ive used the cake calculater and most of the ingredients are . something ie 3.2 eggs 33,1 lemon juice is it just a case of rounding everything down to the nearest whole. Also how long would this take to cook is there an easy calculation for upscaling cooking times for a cake
    Many thanks Tricia
    .

    Reply
    • David Brice

      In terms of the calculator it will give a scientific number to a decimal point and you can make judge whether you round up or down. In the example of eggs, if you have 3.2 eggs then I’d go for 3 large or extra large to make up the .2.
      Baking times and temperatures are a little more tricky. The bigger or deeper the cake the longer it will need so we tend to turn the over down slightly (5-10C) and bake longer (5-20mins) depending on the bake. It’s a case of checking it after the baking time to make sure that the cake is baked all the way through, but don’t have your oven open for any longer than is absolutely necessary or you run the risk of the cake sinking. Once you know your own bakes and oven it’s just a matter of repeating the process so keep a note of the time and temp.

      Reply
  7. tony9286

    Hi,
    I am wondering if you know a way it is possible to make this cake bright red like i have seen in some dessert bars,
    Thanks

    Reply
  8. Lmcg

    Hi, can you provide the link to the white chocolate cream cheese frosting Mrs Jones mentions at the end of video 5? I don’t see it on the page and I’ve searched around the site for it. Many thanks.

    Reply
  9. jojo1968jo

    The cake is cooked in 2 tins but is shown as 3 layers. Please could you advise how this was achieved? Was half of one cake not used? Thanks

    Reply
    • David Brice

      The image shows as three layers, but the recipe and filming just show two. Sheila had pre-made a cake before filming which had the three layers. Sorry for any confusion, but to get the ingredients for the third layer just add half again what’s listed. I’ve added a note to the ingredient list on the course to clarify.

      Reply
  10. greatescake

    Please could you add a link to the white cream cheese, chocolate recipe as is mentioned in the tutorial, I can’t find it anywhere and I’m about to go shopping for ingredients, thankyou x

    Reply
    • Mrs Jones

      Morning Srihitha. As I mention in the video, it is very tricky to avoid creating crumbs with this cake because no matter what you do, you notice them because the cake is red! I would work with the cake straight from the fridge – the more firm the cake the less crumbs. As David said, a thin layer of white chocolate ganache might help. Just make sure that you put the cake in and out the fridge as you work with it. This will help reduce those red crumbs! Good luck. Mrs Jones.

      Reply
  11. WendyJ

    Hi
    I’m looking for the link for the cream cheese ganache please.
    It is mentioned in the lesson but don’t see it listed.
    Thanks
    Wendy

    Reply
  12. Jh50

    Hi would this cake sponge be strong enough for tiered wedding cake iced and flowers on top

    Reply
    • David Brice

      It is a lighter sponge that some of the more dense mud cake styles we use. I would suggest using it in the lower tiers, supported by Paul’s 9 dowel method. This way the card / cake drum and dowels take the support strain.

      Reply
  13. Priscillia Gbadamosi

    Great information. Many thanks Mrs Jones and team. Most of my questions had been answered in the comment section.

    Trying this in next 2days for both mine and my son’s birthday. Fingers crossed for the best.

    Reply
  14. DianaFirst

    A great and tasty recipe, did it twice so far , going to try doing it as a pillow covered in ganache first so I think it will hold it’s shape! Thank you so much!

    Reply

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