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A slice of blue velvet cake on a white plate with forks nearby
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5 from 7 votes

Blue Velvet Cake

This Blue Velvet Cake, a twist on the classic red velvet cake, is a tender, moist cocoa hinted blue colored cake paired with a tangy rich cream cheese frosting.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time2 hours
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 22 servings
Calories: 506kcal

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 2 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 1/4 cup strong coffee hot
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
  • food coloring to create blue look at notes below

For the Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting:

  • 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
  • 32 oz cream cheese somewhat softened but still a little stiff
  • 7 cups confectioner's sugar to stiffen more, go up another cup
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp plus ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Cake:

  • Preheat your oven to 325°F. Liberally prepare 3 9-inch round cake pans with the nonstick method of your choice. I used non stick spray and parchment paper for an easy release.
  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, add the flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix on low speed. Slowly add the oil and buttermilk.
  • Increase the speed to medium-low and add the eggs 1 at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Slowly add the coffee, vanilla extract, vinegar, and food coloring. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl and mix the batter until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
  • Evenly pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 20 to 27 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a layer comes out clean. Do not overbake.
  • Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then invert onto wire racks. Let cool to room temperature. Lightly cover the cakes with foil or plastic wrap so they do not dry out.

For the Cream Cheese Whipped Frosting:

  • Add butter and cream cheese to the bowl of your mixer and beat on high speed until it begins to thicken and fluff.
  • Next slow down mixer and carefully add in confectioner’s sugar. Once all sugar has incorporated, turn mixer back to high to continue whipping.
  • Add salt and vanilla extract and continue whipping until it is smooth.

To Assemble:

  • Once the layers are completely cooled, place 1 layer on a serving plate. Spread just the top with 1/3 of the frosting. Add the second layer and spread with another 1/3 of the frosting. Add the final layer, bottom-side up, and top with the remaining frosting. Only frost the sides if you wish. Serve at room temperature. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Notes

The cake layers can be quite tender, so feel free to refrigerate them (20 to 30 minutes should do it) to firm them up and make them easier to work with when frosting.
Food Coloring
Storing Leftover Blue Velvet Cake
  • Leftover cake should be stored in an airtight container within the refrigerator due to the cream cheese frosting.
  • Cake can also be frozen for up to 3 months! Thaw overnight in the refrigerator the day before you plan to enjoy.
How to get the Perfect Blue color
  • Unlike red velvet, unfortunately you can't just head to the grocery store and grab a bottle of blue food coloring. It won't result in the same saturation and vibrancy. To get the perfect color, you will need to do some mixing and use quality food coloring.
  • Some like to create a blue with a couple drops of black and red.
  • Here we actually used a mix of 2 tsp Sky blue and 1/8th tsp violet gel food coloring to get this coloring.
  • Feel free to play around and figure out what will best work for the color you want. The brown from the cocoa makes it much harder to achieve this.
  • Or if you (If you have a specific amount of each I recommend adding it here). Use a rubber spatula to continuously fold the cream cheese frosting on itself until the frosting color is consistent.

Nutrition

Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 411mg | Potassium: 104mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 58g | Vitamin A: 854IU | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg