Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake
This gluten free red velvet cake is moist, fluffy with the perfect hints of chocolate and vanilla and made totally from scratch! With a simple cream cheese frosting, this is a cake you’ll keep coming back to!
I am so excited for ya’ll to make this cake. Red velvet has always been one of my favorite kind of cakes. You have hints of both vanilla and chocolate, but it’s not a true rich chocolate cake since there is so little cocoa powder.
Just enough to make you taste the chocolate, but it is subtle and blends beautifully with the vanilla, tang from buttermilk, and richness from the butter. The color comes from red food coloring, but you can also use beet juice or powder, though that won’t yield quite the same rich red color. You can also leave it out completely, the taste won’t be affected!
Plus, this gluten free red velvet cake is easy to make, moist, fluffy and you would truly never know it’s gluten free! It is not vegan, but I do have vegan red velvet cupcakes you can make instead! If you love this recipe, try my orange cake, gluten free carrot cake or gluten free red velvet marble cake next!
How to make gluten free red velvet cake
Sift together all dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together. Be sure to spoon and level the flour, do not pack it in or scoop from the bag. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the room temperature butter, oil and sugar until well combined. Beat in all remaining wet ingredients except for the food coloring.
Combine the dry ingredients with the wet and whisk together until smooth. Add in the food coloring and whisk until well combined.
Note: You don’t have to add food coloring to red velvet cake. It obviously won’t be red without it, but the flavor will still be the same! You can try beet extract for a natural color as well.
Transfer to the prepared pans and bake in the center of the oven for 32-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes, then flip onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
To make the buttercream, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well combined. Beat in the vanilla and powdered sugar about 2 cups at a time until smooth and creamy. Wait until the cake has cooled completely before frosting.
Frost the top of one layer, then add the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. Enjoy and try my gluten free coconut cake or gluten free red velvet cupcakes next!
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Tips to make this perfectly
Use room temperature ingredients. This is so important! The butter, buttermilk and eggs all must be at room temperature before you begin baking. This is key for making sure the cake rises properly and the ingredients mix well together when making the batter.
Spoon and level the flour. I say this all the time and you’re probably sick of it but this is so important! If you scoop the flour from the bag or pack it into the measuring cup, you’ll end up with way more flour than you need which will result in a dry cake.
Watch the bake time. All ovens are different which is why I give a range for the bake time. It will also depend on whether you use 8 or 9 inch pans, 9 inch pans will cook a bit faster. Start on the low end of the time, check with a toothpick and add just 2 minutes at a time until the cake is done.
Can you make red velvet cake without food coloring?
Yes! The flavor will still be exactly the same, but the color will be a very light brown.
You can try using a beetroot extract or powder to add a slightly natural red color, though it will not compare to using regular red food coloring.
In order to achieve that rich red color, red food coloring is needed.
Make it in advance!
If you’re making the cake before decorating, you can allow the cakes to cool at room temperature, then wrap them in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge for 24 hours until ready to frost.
Once the cake has been frosted, keep it covered to prevent it from drying out. Once it has been frosted and sliced, keep it even more tightly covered to prevent the inside from drying out.
How to store
Once prepared (frosted and decorated), this cake will keep for about 3 days. You can store it in the fridge or at room temperature, but I suggest letting it come to room temperature before serving.
Try these gluten free cakes and cupcakes next!
- Funfetti Cake
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cake
- Lemon Cake
- Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes
- Banana Snack Cake
Lastly, if you want more recipes straight to your inbox, be sure to subscribe to my email list. If you make this recipe, be sure to tag me on instagram and leave a comment below!
Gluten Free Red Velvet Cake
by: claire cary
Ingredients
Wet:
- ½ cup butter, softened dairy or non-dairy
- ¼ cup oil
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups fine granulated white sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 teaspoons red gel food coloring
Dry:
- 3 cups gluten free all purpose baking flour I used Bob’s Red Mill 1:1
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Buttercream:
- 8 ounces plain cream cheese at room temperature dairy free or regular
- ½ cup butter at room temperature dairy free or regular
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- *please make sure your ingredients are at room temperature before baking!*
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease and then line two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans with parchment paper and set aside.
- I used 8 inch pans, if you use 9 inch, the layers will just be a bit thiner.
- In a large mixing bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the room temperature butter, oil and sugar until well combined.
- Beat in all remaining wet ingredients except for the food coloring.
- Beat in the dry ingredients with the wet and mix together until smooth. Add in the food coloring and beat until well combined.
- Transfer to the prepared cake pans and bake in the center of the oven for 32-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, let cool for about 10 minutes, then flip onto a cooling rack and let cool completely.
- To make the buttercream, beat together the butter and cream cheese until well combined.
- Beat in the powdered sugar about 2 cups at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the salt and vanilla. Wait until the cake has cooled completely before frosting.
- Frost the top of one layer, then add the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. Enjoy!
Notes
Comments
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I was looking for a gluten free 3 layer red velvet cake recipe and was so excited to try urs. Except ur pictures are deceiving. As ur pictures show a 3 layer cake. But ur recipe calls for 2 pans.
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All you have to do is scale the recipe (just slide the serving size to 24) and you will have the amounts needed for 3 layers. Sorry for any confusion.
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My husband requested a red velvet cake for his birthday (and I am GF). I am a terrible GF baker, but OMG this cake was beyond amazing. It was so moist and full of flavor, I would have never known it was GF! My husband was shocked too! The only small “sub” I did was I used coconut oil instead of a vegetable oil. Keeping this one on standby for the future!
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Amazing! Glad to know the coconut oil worked. So happy it was a hit!
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trying this reciepe.
i read erin’s comment about using coconut oil instead of veg oil, do you still use the same amount and what is the difference in the batter then?
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Yes same amount – measure the coconut oil when it is melted. The batter should be the same.
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So I thought so I follow the recipe but when I poured the milk mixture into the butter mixture it got kind of clumpy I tried to beat it more but the clumps were on top. When I put the flour in I didn’t want to over mix it and I thought it’s maybe like pancakes. I just took it out of the oven and I can tell for sure there are lumps in it and I’m not really sure what do about that
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This is most likely because the milk or eggs weren’t at room temperature so the butter hardened when they were added. Make sure everything is warm/at room temperature, and you whisk in the dry ingredients well to ensure no clumps.
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This was my first Gluten Free cake, and it was perfect.
Thank you-
Amazing! So glad your first attempt was a success!
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What kind of oil would you use?
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Regular vegetable oil!
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Could this be made in a Bundt pan instead?
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That should work! Keep an eye on the bake time though, it’ll take probably 10-20 minutes longer than it would in two regular pans.
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How long would you recommend to cook these for cupcakes?
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I would start with 12-15 minutes!
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Question; can I use the gluten free cake flour and coconut milk instead?
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I’m not sure what gluten free cake flour you’re referring to is, but you can use coconut milk from a carton, but not from a can.
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what do i do if the cake comes out watery and jiggly?
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It definitely wasn’t baked for long enough or your oven wasn’t actually at the right temperature. An internal thermometer can help get a more accurate temperature!
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Can this recipe be halved? I’d like to make them in 6” cake pans.
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The recipe as written will make three 6 inch layers! You will need to bake for about 10 minutes longer than the recipe calls for.
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Hi! Could I use brown sugar instead of white sugar? 😊
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I don’t recommend it for this recipe! The color/texture won’t be quite the same!
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I made this for a sample wedding cake. It turned out beautiful, but the taste was not perfect. I used red gel food coloring and clear vanilla extract. I am going to try doing it again but using red velvet extract and vanilla and possibly adding another Tbs cocoa powder. The cake was tender, moist and crumble. The texture was perfect! The taste was not. Don’t know what I did wrong. I followed the recipe perfectly. All ingredients were brand new.
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Can you explain a bit more about the taste? What about it did you not like?
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Can you use almond or coconut flour as the GF flour?
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No, you need to use a gluten free all purpose flour blend for this recipe!
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Best gluten free cake recipe I have ever tried! I’ve never been successful at scratch baking, but this one couldn’t have turned out more perfect!!!!! The entire family LOVED it! Thank you!
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Thank you! Such a sweet review, so happy everyone loved it!
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Absolutely! Can I make it a day ahead and just leave it in the fridge? Or should I just leave it out on the counter at room temperature (covered tightly of course).
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My suggestion is to make the day before, let them cool completely, wrap each layer in plastic wrap and then stick in the fridge until you’re ready to frost! They’ll be good as new.
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Can these cakes be frozen? I typically make cakes ahead of time and freeze them. Makes decorating a heck of a lot easier!
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I haven’t tried that but I think it would work fine! The texture might be slightly different upon defrosting, but I think it’ll work well!
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Wow what a delicious and gorgeous cake!! Easy recipe to follow and such a showstopper! My frosting skills need some work but this cake was a hit for my party!!
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