Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake

5 from 3 votes

Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake

This Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake knocks is light, fluffy and flavourful, made with carefully a chosen triumvirate of gluten-free flours. Lavishly topped with a whipped vanilla enriched cream cheese buttercream.

Prep Time1 15

Cook Time40

Total Time1 55

Course: Cake

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 729kcal

Author: Georgina Hartley

Ingredients

150 g unsalted butter room temperature
375 g caster sugar
4 eggs, medium medium size, 60g each
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
40 g cocoa powder
170 g rice flour
130 g oat flour
75 g tapioca flour tapioca starch
1 ½ teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
300 ml buttermilk
1 tablespoon vinegar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon red food colouring

Cream Cheese Buttercream:

500 g unsalted butter room temperature
600 g icing sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
360 g cream cheese

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C / 160°C fan assisted /gas mark 4 / 350°F and line and grease 2 x 8 inch (20cm) round cake tins (4cm depth).
Beat the butter and caster sugar together in either a stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric beater for about 2 minutes until well mixed, scraping down the sides of the bowl every so often.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well. Follow with the vanilla extract.
Sift together the cocoa powder, gluten-free flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl and set aside for a moment.
Mix together the buttermilk and vinegar in a jug.
Add the flour mixture and buttermilk into the rest of the cake batter alternately. Mixing well after each addition. Add the flour in 3 additions and the buttermilk in 2 additions, starting and ending with the flour.
Stir in the food colouring and mix until the colour is as desired.
Allow the cake batter to rest for 20-30 minutes before giving a final stir and pour into the prepared cake tins.
Bake for 40 minutes or until an inserted cocktail stick comes out clean.
Remove from the oven then rest the sponges for 5 minutes in the tins to allow them to retract from the sides of the tin.
Carefully remove the sponges from the tins to finish cooling on a wire rack.
Using a very sharp knife, cut a very small wafer thin slice of the sponge away (not up to the edges of the cake to avoid it being noticed) and whizz up to cake crumbs in the food processor for decoration.

Cream Cheese Buttercream

Cream the butter until soft then add the icing sugar and mix for about 5-6 minutes, in either a stand mixer or with an electric beater, until very light and fluffy and pale in colour. Scrape the sides of the bowl down every so often.
Add the salt and vanilla and mix again to combine.
Beat in the cream cheese until the buttercream is smooth.

Cake Assembly

Place the first cake layer on a serving plate or cake stand.
Spread ⅓ of the buttercream evenly over the top of the first layer.
Place the second cake layer on top of the buttercream first layer.
For a really professional finish you can apply a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake to seal in crumbs (crumb coat). Chill for 15-30 minutes. For home baking I don't always bother with this.
Spread a thicker layer of frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
Decorate the buttercream as you choose.
Sprinkle the red velvet crumbs over the buttercream. Serve immediately or chill until ready to serve.

Video

Notes

Ingredients

Eggs. The eggs used in this recipe are medium size, 60g with shell and 50g without shell. If you can't get hold of medium eggs I suggest you weigh the amount.
Flours. You can use either white or brown rice flour. You can substitute the rice flour or the oat flour for sorghum flour or millet flour. You can substitute the tapioca flour for potato starch. I do not recommend using a plain gluten-free flour or cup-for-cup flour for this recipe. However you can swap all 3 flours for my Homemade Gluten-Free Flour Blend.
Buttermilk. You can make your own by whisking 300ml whole milk with 1 ½ tablespoons vinegar. Let stand for 10 minutes before using. To this you can then add the 1 tablespoon of white vinegar that the recipe requires.
Red food colouring. How much red food colouring you use is completely dependent on the brand. I recommend using either a good quality paste or a gel as you will need only a minimal amount and it will not affect the moisture content of the cake.
I've a full post on this Cream Cheese Buttercream if you want further tricks and tips.

Tip #1. Add your food colouring right at the end of making the cake batter for the best visual cue. Start with 1 teaspoon and add more as you see fit. I used 1 tablespoon in this recipe.

Tip #2. If you are in the UK then make sure your cream cheese is fridge cold before using and mix until just incorporated into the buttercream for better stability.

I have included even more in depth tips and troubleshooting in the full post above.

How to store

You can store the undecorated cake in a cool dark place in an airtight container up to 2 days before decorating and serving. Once decorated with buttercream the cake can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 1-2 days. However, the cake will start to dry out very quickly in the fridge.

How to freeze

For best results freeze the cake prior to decorating with buttercream. Wrap the whole sheet cake in plastic wrap and aluminium foil to avoid spoilage and store in the freezer for up to 2 months. Allow to defrost fully at room temperature before unwrapping and decorating with buttercream.

Ingredient measurements

Please note that the US customary measurements for the ingredients provided are based on a conversion calculator. This recipe was tested with metric measurements and I recommend using a digital scale to weigh ingredients for the most accurate results.

Nutrition Information

Please note that the nutrition information provided below is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use. Please seek a professional nutritionist’s advice for further clarification.

The nutrition serving is for 1 slice of cake, assuming the whole cake is cut into 16 servings.

Nutrition