Grandma’s Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake Recipe is a moist fluffy cake, with a beautiful vibrant red hue, covered in a delicious ermine frosting. Each velvety bite of this iconic cake will melt in your mouth.

Slice of red velvet cake on a plate with the whole cake sitting behind it.

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This recipe has been handed down in my family for many generations and is a staple that is still served during family get-togethers.

What is Red Velvet Cake?

The term “velvet” dates back to the Victorian Era and refers to cakes with a soft, fine-crumb texture. A common ingredient used in these velvet cakes was cocoa. These cakes were considered luxury cakes because of the soft, smooth texture the cocoa created when mixed with flour. According to the Sunflour Baking Company, “The ingredient of cocoa would help break down the coarse flour. As a result, the flour was softer and the cake was velvety.”

Close up of a bite of cake on a fork with the slice of cake on a plate and the whole cake behind it.

It is believed that the first red velvet cakes were made with a natural cocoa powder, unlike the processed cocoa used today. When this natural type of cocoa was mixed with acidic ingredients in the recipe, it created a chemical reaction causing the beautiful red color—hence the name “Red Velvet.”

This luxury cake is typically frosted with ermine frosting or cream cheese frosting. My Grandma’s Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake Recipe has always been frosted with ermine icing, which is a light and fluffy buttercream made with a cooked milk and flour mixture. It is less sweet than a typical buttercream or cream cheese icing.

I have always preferred ermine frosting over cream cheese frosting because of the buttery flavor it gives the velvety cake.

Where Did Red Velvet Cake Originate?

It is believed the Red Velvet Cake originated during the Victorian Era. However, many give credit to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York for the creation of the modern-day version of this decadent dessert.

According to Cheryl’s Cookies, the famous hotel claims to have begun serving the cake in the 1920s, but some culinary journals speculate it didn’t appear on their menu until the 1930s. There is also speculation that variations of the Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake Recipe began circulating in Midwestern newspapers during the 1920s.

Slice of cake on a plate with the whole cake sitting behind.

Cheryl’s Cookies also explains that Johan Adams and his wife, owners of Adam’s Extract, visited the Waldorf Astoria in the 1940s and tasted the Red Velvet Cake. “That experience inspired the couple to develop their own red velvet cake as a marketing tactic for the Adams Extract brand.”

Adam’s Extract is credited today with bringing the Red Velvet Cake to kitchens across America after inventing the red food coloring.

Why You Will Love This Recipe

This iconic dessert uses a lot of basic pantry staples but does take a bit of time to put together. However, the combination of the soft, velvety texture of the cake with the creamy frosting makes this cake worth the extra effort.

Although this Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake Recipe calls for a small amount of cocoa powder, this is not a typical chocolate cake. There is barely a hint of cocoa, but this small amount is needed to help create the deep reddish color of the cake.

Whole cake sitting on a cake plate on a counter.

Red Velvet Cake has become a holiday tradition for many when celebrating Valentine’s Day or Christmas. It is also the perfect dessert to serve any time of year for a special occasion, as a birthday cake, or for a family get-together.

Equipment Needed to Make This Moist Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients Needed For the Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake Recipe

Ingredients for the old fashioned red velvet cake recipe sitting on a counter with a label by each ingredient.

1 cup spry (Crisco)
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup red liquid food coloring
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
½ tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. baking soda

Method for Cake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans.

Cream spry and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer until fluffy.

Add eggs and beat for one minute.

Mix cocoa, salt, and red color in a small bowl.

Add the cocoa mixture to the spry mixture and beat until thoroughly combined.

Mix vanilla and buttermilk and add to the spry mixture, alternating with the flour, beginning and ending with flour. Beat thoroughly after each addition.

Mix vinegar and soda in a bowl and fold into the above mixture.

Divide the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 28 to 30 minutes. Do not overcook.

Cool on racks.

Cut each layer into two layers. Frost cake and serve.

Cake batter in two pans before they are cooked.

The two cakes after they are sliced in half.

Ingredients Needed For Ermine Frosting Recipe

2 cups butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups milk
½ cup flour

Ingredients for ermine frosting sitting on a counter with each ingredient labeled.

Method for Icing Recipe

Cook milk and flour in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until a thick paste forms. Let stand until cool, then put in the refrigerator until cold.

Beat the butter, sugar, and vanilla until fluffy.

Add cold milk mixture to butter mixture.

Beat the frosting on medium speed until fluffy.

Four photos of the steps to make the frosting.

Add a dollop of frosting to the cake plate before adding your first layer.

Frost the cake with an offset spatula.

Store the cake in the refrigerator for up to five days. Cover with plastic wrap to keep the cake from drying out.

Frosting on the slices of cake with part of the red cake showing without frosting on it.

Tips for How to Frost the Cake

Pro Tip: Tuck four strips of parchment paper under the edges of the cake before you begin frosting it. Once finished, pull the pieces of parchment paper away from the cake. Any extra frosting sticks to the paper and not your cake plate!

Pro Tip: When frosting the cake, brush off as many crumbs as possible, or you will get a lot of red crumbs in your frosting. I tend to think the red crumbs give it character because, inevitably, you will have some red crumbs.

Substitutions and Modifications for the Best Red Velvet Cake Recipe

You can make your own buttermilk substitute by adding one tablespoon of white distilled vinegar or one tablespoon of lemon juice to one cup of milk.
Sub the red food coloring with beet juice.
Use palm shortening for the cake and plant-based butter for the ermine frosting.
Use muffin pans to make red velvet cupcakes and bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Enjoy My Grandma’s Old Fashioned Red Velvet Cake Recipe

This delicious dessert is the perfect red velvet cake recipe. It has a soft, velvety texture with buttery ermine frosting. It is a delicious addition to any get-together or celebration. If you love Red Velvet Cake, I would love for you to try more of my Grandma’s Recipes!

xoxo,
Molly