Velvet Cake
This is a moist and dense cake perfect for any occasion, you can use the traditional cream cheese frosting or substitute vanilla buttercream. You can color this cake if you choose although I recommend using a natural color such as blueberry juice or beet powder.
This is a moist and dense cake perfect for any occasion, you can use the traditional cream cheese frosting or substitute vanilla buttercream. You can color this cake if you choose although I recommend using a natural color such as blueberry juice or beet powder.
- Carbohydrate 95.9768299425555 g
- Cholesterol 306.950000004162 mg
- Fat 148.325551415743 g
- Fiber 4.97981701247329 g
- Protein 18.4736949413383 g
- Saturated Fat 46.5559947733637 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (472g)
- Sodium 1152.76669779532 mg
- Sugar 90.9970129300822 g
- Trans Fat 6.29714501420406 g
- Calories 1774 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 12 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar and vanilla.
- Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and smooth.
- Divide the cake batter among the pans, filling about 2/3 full. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
- Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. Invert on a wire rack and cool completely.
- Frost.
Unlike a traditional butter cake that relies on the physical creaming of solid fat to trap air pockets, a velvet cake utilizes liquid vegetable oil to coat flour proteins thoroughly, which physically inhibits gluten formation and yields an exceptionally tender crumb that stays moist days longer than its butter-based counterparts. Managing a batter volume this large requires deliberate preparation before the dry ingredients ever meet the wet components.
- Prepare twelve 9-inch round pans by applying a thin layer of vegetable oil and dusting the interior with flour to guarantee clean release after baking.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a vessel separate from the oil, buttermilk, eggs, vinegar, and vanilla to distribute the leavening agents evenly before hydration begins.
- Combine the wet and dry mixtures only until smooth to prevent over-developing the gluten network, which would otherwise result in a dense, rubbery texture.
- Bake the evenly spaced layers at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the exact center emerges entirely clean without wet crumbs clinging to it.
Run a thin knife around the perimeter of each pan immediately upon removal from the oven to release the steam seal before inversion onto wire cooling racks. Letting the layers cool completely prevents the fat in any subsequent cream cheese frosting or vanilla buttercream from melting upon application.
