Best Cake Recipe- Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting

For my daughter’s birthday she could not decide if she wanted a Red Velvet Cake or a Cheese Cake So after a little googling I found the best Cake recipe to fit the bill. YOu will have died and gone to heaven on this. Having a cheesecake layer, might feel time-consuming but in the end you have the perfectly layered cake that looks like it came straight from a bakery.

red velvet

You can make the filling cheesecake recipe up to a day or two in advance since you need to store it in the freezer anyway. I ended up making everything two days before and assembling it the night before my daughter’s birthday.

Red velvet cake

I have never made such an extravagant cake but it was worth it. I did use the 1/3 less fat cream cheese but if you are going to make this recipe you might as well go all in! I have never actually made a cheesecake in a water bath before either, so this was a total learning experience for me.

red velvet cake

There is no doubt this is a red velvet cake, using 2 bottles of red food coloring. I may just use 1 next time but look at the color.

red velvet cake

After freezing the cheesecake batter the magic begins. You can trim off the cheesecake to allow it to fit just right into the layers of cake. The advantage of a frozen cake.

red velvet cake 

Next is the important part that I usually skip when frosting cake is preparing the crumb layer and putting the cake back into the fridge. This proved to be a step I will never forget to do, unless I am in a hurry which is usually the case!

red velvet cheesecake 

Let this cake sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to get hard so you have no worries. Also be sure and always rub your spatula in-between placing it in the bowl or you will always have red flecks.

red velvet 

Was not sure how to decorate this cake as it was just so perfectly white. I was pretty proud of myself. Since it was for a birthday I went ahead and colored some white frosting I had in the fridge.

IMG_4362

COULD YOU EAT JUST ONE SLICE of this Red Velvet Cake?

Red Velvet cheesecake

Red Velvet cheesecake

Red Velvet Cake with Cheesecake Filling

Yield: 12
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

An amazing moist red velvet cake with a cheesecake filling and cream cheese frosting that makes you think you died and gone to heaven.

Ingredients

CHEESECAKE

  • Two, 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature (used 1/3 less fat)
  • 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/3 cup sour cream, used low fat
  • 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

RED VELVET CAKE

  • 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
  • 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, not Dutch process
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk, used low fat
  • 1/4 cup two 1-ounce bottles red food coloring (would reduce next time)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons white vinegar

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted lightly to remove any lumps
  • Two, 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature (I used 1/3 less fat)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Prepare the cheesecake layer:

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a large roasting pan on the lower third rack of the oven. Place a kettle of water on the stove to boil.
  2. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Wrap a double layer of foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan (you want to seal it so the water from the water bath doesn't seep into the pan).
  3. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese- blend until it is nice and smooth and creamy. Mix in sugar and salt and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Finally, mix in sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
  4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Set the pan into the roasting pan in the pre-heated oven. Carefully pour the hot water from your kettle into the roasting pan (it will fill the pan surrounding the cheesecake). Pour enough water so that there is about an inch of water coming up the foil along the sides of the cheesecake pan.
  5. Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. It should be set to the touch and not jiggly. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. When it has cooled, place the pan into the freezer and let the cheesecake freeze completely. This can be done in several hours- or overnight.

2. Prepare the cake layers:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round metal baking pans (or spray with nonstick baking spray with flour).
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar to the flour mixture. Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat for 1 minute, until blended. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
  3. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans, dividing equally. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans, then invert cakes onto a rack to cool completely.

3. Prepare the frosting:

  1. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not overbeat).

Assemble the cake

  1. Place one cake layer into the center of a cake plate or platter. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, take off the sides of the pan, and slide a knife under the parchment to remove the cheesecake from the pan. Peel off the parchment. Measure your cheesecake layer against the cake layers. If the cheesecake layer turns out to be a slightly larger round than your cake, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake to get it to the same size as your cake layers.
  2. Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer. Place the 2nd cake layer on top of the cheesecake.
  3. . Frost the cake: Apply a crumb coat layer to the cake- use a long, thin spatula to cover the cake completely with a thin and even layer of frosting. Be sure to wipe off your spatula each time you are about to dip it back into the bowl to get more frosting (this way you won't be transferring any red crumbs into the bowl of frosting). Don't worry at this point about the crumbs being visible in the frosting on the cake.
  4. When your cake has a thin layer of frosting all over it, place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to "set" the frosting. Once the first layer of frosting is set, apply the 2nd layer. Start by adding a large scoop of frosting onto the top of the cake. Use a long, thin spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top and then spread it down the sides of the cake too. (Use something you can spin around.

Notes

I like to place some parchment paper around cake while frosting to keep cake clean

Adapted from Recipe Girl

Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 751Total Fat 41gSaturated Fat 23gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 14gCholesterol 171mgSodium 656mgCarbohydrates 87gFiber 1gSugar 64gProtein 11g

All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on stayingclosetohome.com should only be used as a general guideline.

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16 Comments

  1. Ana,
    I sent you an email but yes everything needs to be wrapped separately and I kept the cheesecake in the cheesecake pan but covered. Good luck and cant wait to see how it comes out.

  2. Hi! Since you made this two days in advance could you tell me how you stored all the layers, specifically the cheesecake layer – did you keep it in the pan uncovered in the freezer the two days? Thanks!

  3. This looks delicious! I can’t wait to make this.

  4. Not sire why u would need all that dye and next time I may omit it

  5. Talk about double decadence in a dessert recipe, well worth it.

  6. YUMM! This cake looks Awesome! I love it!!!!!!!

  7. Ohhhhh…WOW! I make a red velvet cake every Christmas but I never thought to put cheesecake in the middle!!! I have bookmarked this page!!! Thank you for sharing!

  8. thanks your red velvet cake wasn’t very shabby either

  9. thanks dericka I put a lot of effort in this one and it paid off!!

  10. Yum, that looks so good!! Great post!

  11. This cake looks awesome. It’s well put together and I bet it was yummy!

  12. I LOVE Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake! If it wouldn’t make me sick I’d eat a whole one in a day!

  13. Looks incredibly delicious. Way too much work for me though!

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