Red velvet cake with ermine frosting is the red velvet cake of the good old days. It’s not weighed down with heavy cream cheese but paired with the most delicate whipped ermine frosting. The combination is delicious!
I used to have a love-hate relationship with red velvet cake. I loved to eat it. But it hated me. I’ve failed at baking it so many times I’ve lost count.
This was the recipe that changed everything. Now I can successfully make red velvet cake and know it will be a hit every single time.
What went wrong
Let’s get real for a second – red velvet cake is not for the fainthearted.
One time my cake turned very brown – too little red food colour. So for my next try I added more food colouring.
That made the batter too runny that I’ve had to scoop the collapsed remnants out of the pan (and straight into the garbage bin).
Don’t even get me started on the cream cheese frosting.
First it won’t stiffen to the proper consistency – my cream cheese and butter were always too soft.
Or I thought it did, only to find it flowing like soup from within my layers like sweet, white, evil lava (now this is just wrong).
(I’m still not very good at cream cheese frosting so I usually make Swiss Meringue Buttercream instead.)
Keys for success
Happily, I’ve gotten over that dark period in my red velvet baking life and can now share two important tips so you can successfully bake red velvet cake too.
- Use gel food colour
. Stay away from the liquid ones – they are just not red enough so you’d tend to use more which affects the total liquid in your batter (and you’d get a strange aftertaste too). - Measure your ingredients using a kitchen scale if you can. Baking is a science after all. They’re pretty inexpensive and will improve your baking more than any other kitchen gadget (though I think it’s tied with an oven thermometer – also cheap!)
. Stay away from the liquid ones – they are just not red enough so you’d tend to use more which affects the total liquid in your batter (and you’d get a strange aftertaste too).
if you can. Baking is a science after all. They’re pretty inexpensive and will improve your baking more than any other kitchen gadget (though I think it’s tied with an 
– also cheap!)Red velvet cake with ermine frosting
Also, try pairing your cake with ermine frosting instead of cream cheese frosting. It’s less finicky than cream cheese frosting and lighter too.
What is it exactly? It’s one of those classic recipes that our grandmas hold near and dear. And it is actually the original icing paired with red velvet cake.
It’s essentially flour and milk whisked until the mixture resembles thick pudding. This pudding then becomes the base for your buttercream.
Ermine frosting or boiled milk frosting or roux frosting
It’s called so many names but it’s really the same thing. And what is it like?
Light with the consistency of whipped cream.
Not too sweet – just the kind that makes you want more.
And It works so well with red velvet cake. No wonder they were the OG lol.
Not your typical red velvet cake…better!
This is definitely not the red velvet cake we’re used to but I think I absolutely like this version better. It’s just so unique; hope you give it a try and like it too!
Red Velvet Cake with Ermine Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
Red Velvet Cake
- 2 ¼ cups cake flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 0.70 oz gel red food colour
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vinegar
Ermine Frosting
- 5 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Red Velvet Cake
- Pre-heat oven to 350F. Grease 2 9-inch baking pans then put greased parchment paper at the bottom for easy release.
- In a medium sized bowl, sift 2 ¼ cups cake flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream ½ cup butter and 1 ½ cups sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes).
- Add the eggs one at a time until combined.
- In a separate bowl, add your red food colour to 1 cup buttermilk and stir until combined.
- Switch to low speed and add a third of your flour mixture into the batter, then half of your buttermilk, then another third of the flour, the last of the buttermilk, then finally putting in the rest of the flour making sure each addition is fully combined before adding in the next. Scrape the bottom and sides of your bowl as needed.
- Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and stir until you see no more streaks of flour in the batter. Remove the bowl from stand mixer, if using.
- In a small bowl, mix 1 teaspoon baking soda with 1 teaspoon vinegar. Once the mixture foams and bubbles, quickly fold it into your cake batter.
- Pour the batter into your prepared baking pans and bake for 24-30 minutes or until the cakes start to pull away from the sides of the pans and when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Take out from oven and cool on a rack for about 15 minutes or until the pans are cool enough to handle. Then remove the cakes from pans, remove the parchment paper from the cakes and let cool completely on the racks before frosting.
Ermine Frosting
- In a medium sized sauce pan, combine 5 tablespoons flour and 1 cup milk and constantly stir over medium heat until very thick, like pudding (8-10 minutes).
- Remove from heat, place plastic wrap on top and cool to room temperature. Then transfer it to the fridge and chill for 1 hour.
- Using an electric mixer or a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream 1 cup sugar, 1 cup butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract on medium high speed until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes).
- Add the completely cool flour mixture and continue beating until you get the consistency of whipped cream (3-5 minutes).
- Fill, frost and decorate cake as desired.
Video
Notes
- While you can serve this cake immediately, it is at its best after at least a couple of hours in the fridge. Then let stand in room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.
- See post for more baking tips.
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only.
Happy baking!
Did you make red velvet cake with ermine frosting? How’d you like it? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
Looking for other celebration cakes? Try these:
- London Fog Cake with Earl Grey Buttercream
- Rainbow Cake
- Lemon Curd Layer Cake with Lemon Curd Filling and Lemon Buttercream
- Funfetti Cake
The rest of the cake recipes are here.
Carrie
I am going to try this icing using gluten-free all-purpose flour this weekend. Any advice for this substitution?
Jolina
Hi Carrie. Unfortunately, I don’t use gluten free flour.
Nick
This is the recipe my family has always used! In fact, when I see cream cheese frosting on a red velvet cake, I always think, “Why? That is not how my momma makes it!” I didn’t know the name of the frosting though. We always called it ice cream frosting.
Thanks for putting this wonderful recipe out there!
Jolina
You’re welcome! And ice cream frosting sounds amazing, I think I’ll call it that from now on 🙂
Meg
Agreed. Cream cheese is too heavy for a red velvet cake! NOTHING works like this frosting on red velvet!
Jan
I used this recipe tonight. I’ve made many red velvet cakes but none with the gel food coloring. The cake batter was basically chocolate. So I added some red food coloring. Ended up with a pink marble cake. Not what I was hoping for but it’s cute.
Ashley
Super yummy! I normally make cream cheese icing but I really liked the ermine frosting. My store was out of cake flour, but White Lily all-purpose was a close substitute since it’s softer than other brands. Will definitely make again!
Jolina
That’s great Ashley! Glad you liked it 🙂
Lynn
The best icing our family has used for over 70 years. It’s made with crisco, butter, cake flour, milk. I’ve had many different icings I’ve tasted. Nothing beats the icing we make!!
Laura
Can this frosting be made ahead of time and refrigerated?
Jolina
Hi Laura, I haven’t personally tried but a quick google search indicated that yes, ermine frosting can be made in advance up to a week. Store in an airtight container in the fridge and before using, allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes then whip to get back its original consistency. Lemme know how it goes!
Jen
Can I use less sugar in the frosting? Maybe 1/2 cup?
Valarie
I want to make this as cupcakes – any idea of temp and how long to bake? I made it as my first ever from scratch cake last year for my son’s 13th birthday and now he wants it again this year, but this year I want to make cupcakes to make it easier to handle….
Jolina
Hi Valarie, I haven’t tried these as cupcakes so I can’t say for sure. I think the temperature should be the same but you’ll need to watch the baking time.
D. Morgan
I have always used this icing on my red velvet cakes. Just how much red gel should you use? Is this a teaspoon or what? What is .70 ounce equal to?
Jolina
I use 60 ml or about 4 tbsp.
Marian
Hi, what’s the size of cake pan for 1 recipe? Thank you 🙂
Jolina
Hi Marian, I use (2) 9-inch round pans.
Anne Bassendorf
Hi Jolina. I used your recipe to bake a red velvet cake for my mum for her birthday and she absolutely loved it. Especially the icing which she says is how she remembers the cake. Thank you very much it made her day. And mine. Have a blessed day.
Jolina
Hi Anne! I’m so happy to hear that 🙂 Have a blessed day as well.
jim
just noticed you can toggle from “US customary” to “Metric” to get the weights of the ingredients. Thanks!
Jolina
Glad you found it 🙂
jim
in the article you point out a scale should be used to weigh ingredients. I like that. can you please update the recipe to list the ingredients by weight (not just volume measure)?
Kerri
My boyfriend loves red velvet so on his birthday I decided to bake him one. I don’t really bake from scratch a lot (mostly boxed mixes) so reading your experiences with red velvet convinced me I can do this. It was hard!!!!! And my cake did not look nearly as pretty. But it came together and he still loved it and we were surprised that we liked the icing too. It was different. Maybe next time I will pick an easier cake ha ha.
Jolina
Hello Kerri. You’re right, red velvet is one of the more technical cakes out there but glad yours came out ok. And that you guys liked it (that’s the most important thing!). Yay! I’m still learning too so hope you follow along 🙂
Kusum
Oh my gosh! I want that red velvet cake, like right now! it looks so soft and delicious, I could eat the whole thing
Brandi
Red velvet cake is truly my favorite cake! Omg yours looks too great to eat!
Erica D Ardali
How decadent is that? I love a good red velvet cake, it’s also my fiancee’s favorite so if I could just perfect it I’d have clout for life. 🙂
Brandi H
This looks fantastic! Red velvet cake is my favorite. I hope to get one for my upcoming birthday.
Jolina
Thanks! And I hope you do get your birthday cake wish 🙂