Strikingly red and beyond delish, this Red Velvet Bundt Cake is a fun, super festive, moist cake with a hint of chocolatey flavor that’s topped with a bomb cream cheese icing. This cake will make you weak in the knees boos, and trust me, it’s got it all y’all! Eye-popping beauty – tender flavorful cake, creamy icing, in short, this red velvet bundt cake recipe is the whole package!
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They’re Lovin’ It! Here’s what They’re Sayin’:
“I made this delicious cake for Christmas 2023 and once again your recipe did not disappoint. All of the die hard Red Velvet cake lovers in my family said this was the best cake there. ”
—GLORIA K.
Y’all know I love me a pound cake all year round so I had to make one that looks absolutely gorgeous for special occasions. While it looks super fancy, this red velvet pound cake is easy to make, and even the most beginner baker should easily be able to bake this showcase cake! And y’all its sooo GOOD!
If you’re new to baking, be sure to check out all the tips before the recipe card, which will give you plenty of guidance to help you along the baking of this cake.
The Lowdown of This Red Velvet Bundt Cake Recipe
Cuisine Inspiration: Southern
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Can be made gluten-free with ingredient swaps
Key Flavor: Mild chocolate flavor in a tender, melt-in-your mouth pound cake topped with a tangy cream cheese glaze.
Skill Level: Easy y’all (No Sweat Fam!)
Holiday Showstopper
This red velvet pound cake is just perfect for serving for any special occasion you can dream up from Christmas to Valentine’s Day. Folks absolutely love this recipe so you know when you bake it up, it will be the ultimate crowd-pleaser.
Easy Peasy
I love this red velvet bundt cake recipe because it’s seriously so no fuss. From the straightforward steps and simple ingredients to the ease of just drizzling on the glaze at the end instead of staking and icing layers, this is a whole win!
Unique Flavor
Not quite chocolate but not quite vanilla. It’s got an identity all its own. And that tangy rich icing sets the whole thing off!
Ingredients to Make Red Velvet Bundt Cake
- Unsalted butter: This adds richness and creaminess. It’s gotta be room temp to mix well boos. I recommend setting the butter out for 30 minutes before prepping.
- Granulated sugar: White granulated sugar is used in this recipe to sweeten and tenderize the cake.
- Eggs: These are the binders in our cake structure. Room-temperature eggs are ideal for mixing.
- Cake flour: I love me some cake flour y’all. It’s the best flour to use for baking cakes that are soft and tender.
- Salt: This helps enhance flavor and balance out the sweetness.
- Baking soda: Baking soda combined with acidic sour cream helps your cake rise.
- Sour cream: It keeps the cake super moist and delish boos. Make sure it’s room-temp.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: This brings a slight chocolate flavor to the mix.
- Red food coloring: Use whatever red food coloring you prefer. Gel food coloring is more concentrated than liquid food coloring, so you’ll need to use less. Powder food coloring is even richer and more concentrated, so start with a little bit at a time until you’ve reached your desired red color.
- Pure vanilla extract: We add some in for that irresistible aromatic essence.
- Cream cheese: That undeniable richness and tang comes from this. Make sure you start with it at room temp.
- Powdered sugar: This blends perfectly into our cream cheese making the icing sweet and smooth.
- Milk: This thins out our icing until it’s the perfect drizzle consistency.
How to Make Red Velvet Bundt Cake
What to Serve with this Red Velvet Pound Cake
- Create a bundt or pound cake dessert table: This red velvet pound cake would pair perfectly with this peppermint chocolate pound cake and buttered rum eggnog pound cake for a Christmas holiday party.
- Enjoy with a hot beverage. Serve up this cake after dinner with your fave drink like French hot chocolate, white chocolate hot chocolate, or creamy eggnog.
- Holiday Supper dessert: This cake is perfect for holidays and special occasions following a special dinner with honey chicken, or roasted turkey legs.
Recipe Substitutions
- Unsalted Butter: This swap will work well but you might want to slightly reduce or omit the salt added to the batter. If you use unsalted, sprinkle in some salt.
- Cake Flour: If you don’t have any, you can easily make your own cake flour using flour and cornstarch.
- Milk: Any milk or milk substitute can be used here. This is also a good place to switch up your icing flavors with other delicious liquids.
- Sour Cream: You can use a plain greek yogurt here as a great swap.
Recipe Variations and Additions
- Chocolate Chips: Add chocolate chips to your red velvet bundt cake batter to increase that bomb chocolate flavor.
- Garnish It Up: Pretty this cake up by sprinkling some mini chocolate chips, chopped chocolate, or red velvet cake crumbs on top of your cream cheese icing.
- Skip the Cream Cheese Icing: Serve up your red velvet pound cake with a sprinkle of powdered sugar for a less sweet and more simple cake. It still hits y’all.
- Add Nuts: Add a bit of crunchy texture by sprinkling some chopped pecans, almonds, pistachios, or walnuts into the batter.
Expert Tips for Making the Best Red Velvet Bundt Cake
- Room Temperature Ingredients: Make sure your butter, cream cheese, eggs, and sour cream are all at room temperature before mixing. These items can be taken out of the fridge 30 minutes before preparing the recipe to give them time to warm up.
- Prep Your Bundt Pan: This will keep your cake from sticking. I suggest greasing it well and also dusting it with flour before pouring in the cake batter. Or use my cake goop y’all.
- Don’t Over-Mix the Batter: After adding the flour to the stand mixer, it’s important to mix using the lowest speed on your mixer and only until the ingredients are just mixed. Too much mixing may cause the gluten to overreactive and make the cake tough y’all.
- Cool Your Cake Before Glazing: If the cake is too warm, the glaze may simply melt right off the cake.
- Icing Consistency: You want it thinned just slightly so that it will pour over the cake and create the beautiful drips down the sides of the cake. If it’s too thin it may simply run off the cake.
How to Store this Red Velvet Pound Cake Recipe
Store leftovers in the fridge because of the cream cheese icing. It shouldn’t be left out at room temperature longer than a few hours. To keep it from drying out, store it in an airtight cake container.
When you want to serve slices up again, make sure you bring them to room temp for the best texture and tenderness.
How long will this red velvet bundt cake last in the fridge?
It should last for up to 6 days in the fridge.
Can I freeze?
For sure boos! You can freeze the whole bundt cake before icing it or individual slices of cake. I don’t recommend freezing the icing since it won’t keep the same consistency during the thawing process.
To freeze, allow your bundt cake to cool completely. Wrap the plain cake tightly in plastic wrap, then again in foil. Freeze for up to 6 months. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before icing and serving up.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are a few ways boos. You can use a non-stick baking spray with flour for a no-fuss option. Or you can make your own cake release which you can brush into a bundt pan before pouring in your batter. Make sure you get in all of the nooks and crannies of your bundt pan.
After 10-15 minutes out of the oven, place a cake platter upside down on top of your slightly cooled cake. Place one hand on the bottom of the plate and one hand on the bottom of the cake pan and turn over so the bottom of the plate is now on the surface of the table. Carefully remove the cake pan and it cool down completely.
Yep for sure boos. Once the cake is cooled, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then again in foil (if freezing) and store it in the freezer or refrigerator until ready to use. If you’re making it only a day ahead, it’s ok to store the cake at room temperature until you add the frosting.
This red velvet bundt cake with cream cheese Icing is the kind of cake that’ll have folks lining up for seconds before they even finish their first slice! With that subtle chocolatey goodness and moist texture, paired up with the cream cheese icing – it’s pure bliss. And honey, let me tell you, this cake isn’t just for any old day. Its fabulous red hue makes it the star of the holiday season, bringing cheer to every table!
More Red Velvet Dessert Recipes
- Red Velvet Cake Roll
- Red Velvet Ice Cream
- Red Velvet Lava Cake
- Red Velvet Cake with Blackberry Cream Cheese Frosting
- Red Velvet Trifles
- Red Velvet Cheesecake
Red Velvet Bundt Cake
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Equipment
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 1 ½ cup Unsalted Butter room temperature
- 3 cups Granulated Sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 2 ¾ cups Cake Flour sifted
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup Sour Cream room temperature
- 2 tablespoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1 tablespoon Red Food Coloring
- 1 tablespoon Hot Water
For The Icing
- 4 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar
- 2-4 tablespoons Milk
- 1 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
For The Cake
- Start by preheating your oven to 325 F then liberally spray a 12 cup bundt pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In your stand mixer bowl, add butter and sugar and mix for 3-4 minutes on high speed until very pale yellow and fluffy.
- Next add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides of your bowl as needed.
- Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt, baking soda and cocoa powder. Be careful not to overbeat.
- Add in sour cream and vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off the mixer.
- Whisk in red food coloring and hot water until completely well mixed.
- Pour cake batter into the prepared bundt pan, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Cool in a pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes then invert the cake on a serving plate for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to touch.
For The Icing
- Using a hand-held mixer, mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, half of the milk and vanilla extract until smooth. If you need more milk to make it more pourable then check. Once ready, pour over top of cooled cake and serve.
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My current red velvet cake recipe includes pineapple which is very good, but my sister waits until 2 weeks before Christmas to say she would prefer not have the pineapples. So, I have been on the hunt, and I am excited to try this recipe! Can it be made into a three layered cake?
Hi Jasmine, I have a 3 layer cake red velvet cake recipe you can use. https://grandbaby-cakes.com/red-velvet-cake-with-blackberry-cream-cheese-frosting/ This Bundt cake is dense, as it’s a pound cake so you might night want to use it for a traditional layer cake.
This cake turned out amazing! It was very moist and had a beautiful texture. I’m definitely making it for the holidays this year!
My goodness — this Red Velvet Bundt cake is delicious! I’ve made red velvet cakes and pound cakes for many years and used several different recipes searching for “that” recipe. I have now found “that” recipe for my pound cake . I used a regular one-piece pound cake pan. I saw you on the CBS Morning show and looked up your website. Congratulations on your successful business!
Oh Wow!! Thank you so much, that means so much to me!!
I wanted to ask if you think it could be frozen for a couple of days. I want to take it on vacation and hope to make it ahead.
Thanks!
Absolutely, you can freeze it! I hope you enjoy!
Delicious! Followed recipe as is and could not have asked for a more perfect Bundt cake. Thank you for sharing your recipes!
Thank you for this recipe! It turned out perfectly! My husband loves red velvet and this was the perfect birthday cake. I love how reliable your recipes are!
Such a perfect cake for any occasion! This recipe is so easy and gorgeous!
OOH I love red velvet cake! I’ve never tried making it myself, though. I’m excited to give this recipe a try!
I love the vibrant color in this moist red velvet bundt cake!
Oh this is just so pretty! Putting anything in a bundt tin makes it adorable, and so much easier to slice!