This vegan red velvet cake is rich, moist, vibrantly red and topped with a delicious tangy lemon buttercream frosting.
Red velvet cake is not just cake dyed red. It’s a lot more than that.
It’s a mix of subtle flavors: vanilla, chocolate, buttermilk. All these flavors are represented gorgeously, and subtly.
It’s like you can’t quite put your finger on it, is that vanilla I’m tasting? Oh wait no, it’s chocolate.
Paired with a tangy lemon buttercream frosting this is a cake to remember!
Perfectly moist, dreamy and decadent, not to mention absolutely gorgeous with that glorious red color.
This cake is ideal for birthdays or other special occasions and it definitely stands out from the crowd.
It’s also really versatile and can be adapted for different size cake pans.
And if you love red velvet then also check out our vegan red velvet cupcakes and vegan red velvet cookies. You’ll also love our vegan blue velvet cake and vegan blue velvet cupcakes.
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make This Cake:
Ingredient Notes
- Red gel food color – our favorite brand is Americolor Super Red. Gels are much more concentrated than liquid food colors, so you can use much less and still get a very rich vibrant color.
- White vinegar – distilled white vinegar does two things in this cake recipe. It reacts with the baking soda and the acid in the vegan buttermilk and causes the cake to rise. It also helps to strengthen the color.
- Canola oil – can be switched for vegetable oil if you prefer.
- Vegan buttermilk – we make a homemade vegan buttermilk by mixing lemon juice and soy milk. You can also make vegan buttermilk with almond milk but I prefer soy milk as it creates a thicker, richer buttermilk.
How To Make Vegan Red Velvet Cake
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and red gel food color and mix it into a batter. Don’t overmix.
- Divide the batter between three 6-inch round cake pans (sprayed with non-stick spray and lined with circles of parchment paper along the bottom) and smooth down.
- Bake at 350°F for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- If your cakes have domes, then use a sharp knife to level them.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, frost and decorate.
The Frosting
We used our vegan lemon buttercream frosting recipe to frost this cake. The tangy lemon is a perfect complement to the flavor of red velvet.
A more common pairing for red velvet is a cream cheese frosting and our vegan cream cheese frosting also works great.
About That Color!
A note about the color. I used red food dye.
Initially we made this cake with a liquid red food color but have since switched to a red gel color (Americolor is our favorite brand) and it works wonderfully and is confirmed to be cruelty free.
From my research it seems that most red food dye is vegan these days. The non-vegan ingredients – cochineal or carmine – are not usually seen anymore.
I did try using beet juice to dye previous versions of this cake, and…. I did not manage to make that work – to put it nicely.
It was the worst I have ever made and the whole thing went straight into trash, to put it more bluntly.
First off – it tasted like beets! Yum. Or rather, not yum at all!
All that and the red color did not hold.
The chemical reactions that take place while baking stripped that red color right out of it and it was a not terribly appealing shade of reddish brown. But way more brown than red.
I’ve heard of beets being used successfully but it might be out of my purview, so red food dye it is!
Red food dye enabled this cake to come out beautifully, with the color holding absolutely perfectly.
Baker’s Tips
- Weigh your flour or spoon and level. If you have a food scale then I highly recommend weighing out the flour for perfect accuracy. If you don’t have a food scale, then spoon and level the flour. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level off the top with the back of a knife. Don’t pack it into the cup and don’t scoop the flour.
- Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing the batter can result in a dense cake. Mix it with a spoon or a hand whisk (don’t use a stand mixer) and mix it until just mixed.
- Don’t let the batter sit for too long before baking. As soon as your batter is mixed, divide it between your cake pans and then bake right away. Don’t let it stand too long or it can affect the rise.
- Level the cakes. If the cakes have domed on top then it’s best to level them with a sharp knife. If I’m making a two layer cake I seldom do it, but for a three layer cake it helps to level them. Serious Eats have a great tutorial on how to level cakes with a knife.
Recipe FAQ
The flavor of vegan red velvet cake is a gorgeous blend of vanilla and chocolate, with a hint of tanginess from the vegan buttermilk.
For a gluten-free red velvet cake try a gluten free all purpose baking blend to replace the regular flour, in the same quantity. We like Bob’s Red Mill brand.
This recipe makes a perfect 12 cupcakes! Bake for 20 minutes. Or just check out our vegan red velvet cupcakes.
Storing and Freezing
Keep it covered at room temperature where it will stay fresh for a few days (3-4) or keep it covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to a week.
It is also freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
More Vegan Cake Recipes
- Vegan White Cake
- Vegan Banana Cake
- Vegan Carrot Cake
- Vegan Vanilla Cake
- Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Vegan Lemon Cake
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
For the Red Velvet Cake:
- 2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
- 1 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder Unsweetened
- 1 cup White Granulated Sugar (200g)
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 cup Vegan Buttermilk (240ml) 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice + Soy Milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line
- ½ cup Canola Oil (120ml) or Vegetable Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Distilled White Vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Red Gel Food Color
For the Frosting:
- 4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
- ½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
- 2 teaspoons Lemon Extract
- 2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray three 6-inch cake pans (*see notes for different pan sizes) with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with circles of parchment paper.
- Sift all purpose flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda and salt. Mix together.
- Prepare the vegan buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to a measuring jug and then adding soy milk up to the 1 cup (240ml) line. Let it curdle into buttermilk.
- Add the vegan buttermilk, oil, vinegar, vanilla extract and red gel food color and mix it into a batter. Don't overmix.
- Divide the batter between the three prepared cake pans.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes and then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
- While the cakes are cooling, add the powdered sugar, vegan butter, lemon extract and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to the bowl of your stand mixer and starting at slow speed gradually increase speed until the frosting is thick and smooth. If needed add more lemon juice (see notes*).
- If your cakes have domes, then use a sharp knife to level them.
- When the cakes are completely cooled, frost and decorate.
Notes
- Measure the flour correctly using the spoon and level method – spoon the flour into a measuring cup and then level off the top with a knife – don’t scoop it and don’t pack the flour into the cup. Alternatively weigh it on a food scale.
- Vegan buttermilk can also be made with almond milk. Other non-dairy milks may not curdle as well as soy or almond milk but could still be used.
- Red gel food color. We used Americolor brand and highly recommend it.
- Level the cakes. If the cakes have domed on top then it’s best to level them with a sharp knife. If I’m making a two layer cake I seldom do it, but for a three layer cake it helps to level them.
- Frosting – the amount of lemon juice you need for your frosting will depend on the brand of vegan butter you use. Stick style vegan butter has a much lower water content than a soft tub style vegan butter. Only use as much lemon juice as you need to get a thick but spreadable frosting.
- Baking pan sizes. This cake can adapt as follows:
- Three 6-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes
- Two 7-inch round cake pans – bake for 25 minutes
- Two 8-inch round cake pans – bake for 20 minutes
- One 9-inch round cake pan – bake for 30 minutes
- One 9×9 square cake pan – bake for 25 minutes
- Cupcakes – This recipe makes a perfect 12 cupcakes. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Gluten-Free – if you’d like to make this cake gluten-free then I recommend using a gluten free all purpose baking blend to replace the regular flour.
- Storing and freezing – store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The frosted or unfrosted cake is freezer friendly for up to 3 months.
- This recipe has been updated with new photos and lots of extra tips, but the recipe itself is the same.
Lauren says
How would I adjust this recipe for 2 6inch round cake pans? Also, what size tbsp do you use as I know here in australia ours are 20ml. Thanks 🙂
Alison Andrews says
Hi Lauren, I think it would be fine with no adjustments, the layers will just be thicker and it will be a taller cake, which will actually be great! I use American measures so a tablespoon is 15ml, tsp is 5ml. 🙂
Courtney says
This cake is incredible!! I made it for my boyfriends family of hunters (we are obviously non-vegans, just extremely healthy), and they like it, so that was all the approval I needed!
I used organic ingredients and doubled the recipe for two 9″ pans and it was perfect. The batter was VERY thick before I baked it, I’m not sure if I did something wrong or if is supposed to be that way, and I had to cook it a little longer than the recipe says but it ended up turning out wonderfully! Perfect texture and taste. I used coconut oil for this, and for an icing recipe (because I had no vegan butter). I used beet juice to try and colour the cake, but it turned out brown, probably because I also used cane sugar in place of white? Doesn’t matter though, it was delicious!! When it was cut up I quickly grabbed the first piece to make sure it was okay and I was SO impressed! Thank you for posting this recipe!!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Courtney, so glad everyone liked the cake! I talked about that in the post, I had previously tried a version with beet juice and it also came out brown, which is why regular food dye is my only actual recommendation to get a red cake. 🙂
Melissa Smith says
I used the cake part of this as the base of a vegan red, white, and blue ice cream cake. I froze the cake layers separately and then spread white vanilla cashew ice cream between the layers, and frosted with a coco whipped frosting tinted blue and froze it all again. It was a huge hit, thanks!
Alison Andrews says
Sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing and the awesome rating. 🙂
Vinita says
Hi Alison. Tried your recipe. The cake is fabulous!! Thank you for sharing. I would apprecaite your advice on how to scale this recipe up for a 9in 2 layer cake.
Alison Andrews says
I would double this recipe for 9″. Just be super careful with your calculations and it should be perfect.
Shreya says
The cake looks amazing! I want to try it for my 3 year old’s birthday. This might be silly question but can the icing be piped in different colours & designs?
Thanks in advance
Alison Andrews says
Hi Shreya, yes it can! You might want to take a look at my vegan funfetti cake. I am not any kind of cake decorator, but did pipe some different colors around the edges of that cake. You could do something similar with this frosting too.
Shreya says
Ooh perfect, just what I needed! Thank you!
Gayatri says
Can this cake be covered in fondant? As the frosting looks a bit runny.
Alison Andrews says
Hi there! I have never used fondant so don’t have any fondant experience but I don’t see why not! 🙂
Megan says
I’m really interested in making this for my friends birthday but i would love to do black icing, do you know any black vegan food dyes?
Alison Andrews says
Hi Megan, I contacted McCormick’s who confirmed that their food colors are vegan and they do have a black food color available on amazon so I would try that!
lalitha says
Hey Alison,
tried this recipe yesterday for my dear mil’s bday. It came out so good ( i shd say finger licking good). Everyone absolutely loved it. This recipe is a keeper.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful to hear it was a success and everyone loved it! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Sarah says
I baked it in a cake mould a little bit longer than indicated even though Once the cake was in the oven and I was cleaning all the dishes I realised that I totally forgot the oil. So I made an oil free cake (and I also omitted the red food coloring). It was a bit chewy but It didn’t seem to bother my colleagues who eat it all.
Alison Andrews says
Oh hahaha, I can imagine it was quite chewy without the oil but I’m glad it was still enjoyed by your colleagues! Thanks for posting! 🙂
Hope says
I made this cake for my sons bday and this recipe won us over! I 1 1/2 the recipe since my pans are 8in and I also used almond milk with white vinegar for the buttermilk. This cake was more moist than the vegan cake I bought from an upscale bakery for my husbands bday. Thanks for this wonderful recipe, and I can’t wait to try your other ones. Also, I purchased a cookbook that has about 20 cupcake recipes, and they’re so complicated with hard to find ingredients, and yours was so easy and turned out great! Thanks again!
Alison Andrews says
That’s so awesome Hope! So happy to hear! Thanks so much for posting! 🙂
Krishna says
Hi alison,
Would you mind describing how you upped the recipe to fit this cake for 8 inch pans? I would appreciate it! Thank you!
Alison Andrews says
Hi Krishna, increasing the recipe by 1/2 would make it perfect for 8 inch. Just get out the calculator and be very precise with your measurements and it should go perfectly. 🙂
Judith says
I am planning on making this cake for my hubby’s bday tomorrow. I only have extra virgin olive oil at the house, wouldn’t that give it a strong olive oil taste? I read in the comments that someone replaced the oil with apple sauce. Maybe that’s a good alternative? Or even vegan butter?
Thank you!!
Alison Andrews says
Extra virgin is the one I use, I like using a high quality oil so that’s what I use! I have never noticed a taste from it at all. And no one who has eaten my cakes has ever had anything but the highest praise. Using something like applesauce or vegan butter may work, but it’s riskier to do that as a straight swap when you haven’t tested it out first to see how it will work out.
Judith says
I tried it with apple sauce (1/3 cup) and it turned out great! Yes, it was slightly less flat than in your picture but that’s totally fine. No big difference.
Cake was super yummy and so was the frosting. I put the leftovers into the fridge overnight and I think it might even taste better today. Thanks for a fantastic recipe!!
Alison Andrews says
Awesome! Thanks so much for letting us know! So glad it worked out great! 🙂
Victoria says
Hi Alison! I came across your recipe and was wondering whether you could suggest an alternative to the all purpose flour and white sugar.
I was thinking of using either spelt or gluten free flour but was wondering whether that would change the consistency much?
Furthermore would you recommend cane sugar or coconut sugar? Have u had any experience?
Thanks so much in advance.
Alison Andrews says
Hi Victoria, I haven’t tried making this cake gluten-free so not exactly sure, but I did do a gluten-free chocolate cake where I discussed the changes that often need to happen in adapting a cake, so there is likely helpful info there. As far as the sugar is concerned, any granulated sugar, such as coconut would be totally fine in this and interchangeable. All the best!
Penelope says
Hi, thanks for this; I just made it for valentine’s day in a heart shaped pan. It’s in the oven and looks fabulous!!! I used almond milk instead of soy. Also, I didn’t have quite enough icing sugar so I added vegan vanilla protein powder – ha ha (I love experimentation!). I just poured all the batter into my one heart pan and so am cooking it a little longer.
Alison Andrews says
Wonderful! Hope it comes out fabulously! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Joseph says
Cake looks amazing ….Just a note, that not ALL Maraschino Cherries are vegan!
Alison Andrews says
Yes, you can definitely omit this from the cake if you don’t find a vegan option.
Laura says
Today I made the cake for my boyfriends birthday and he loved it! It didn’t turn out as red as yours but that was probably because I used whole grain spelt flour and some beetroot juice as colorant. The substitute for all purpose flour worked perfectly, it was definitely moist enough. Also replaced the oil for apple sauce, that worked out great. And as for the taste, I have no idea what it is supposed to taste like because I have never had red velvet cake but I also loved it.
Alison Andrews says
Thanks Laura, great to hear about your adjustments and that it came out well!
Loredana says
Hi! Can I use oat flour or whole meal? I don’t have regular flour.
Alison Andrews says
I really don’t think so, sorry!