Seeing red? Not anymore. This no-dye red velvet cake recipe is made without food coloring for a moist, sweet Southern layer cake that lets cocoa’s natural ruddiness shine through.
This recipe was originally published in 2021, and updated September 2024.
Take it from a professional pastry chef: Yes, you can leave the food coloring out of red velvet cake.
Admission: I do not like chocolate. Never have. I held this secret shame with me throughout pastry school, when I would smile through the pain of tasting our chocolate truffles or dark chocolate mousse assignments. I became an expert in hiding my “just a sliver” slice on the plate at a birthday party. Chocolate just tastes very bitter to me. But I have two exceptions: 1) Reese’s Cups, and 2) this cake.
This No-Dye Red Velvet Layer Cake Recipe is one of my favorites: moist, full of sweet cocoa flavor and made without Day-Glo red food coloring, so the cake’s natural warm reddish-brown hue can shine.
You can make a beautiful red velvet cake without food coloring (or beets, the most common natural substitute for food dye). Read on to learn why.
This makes a wonderful birthday cake or holiday dessert, especially around Christmas. (You may also like this fudgy Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie recipe as a holiday option).
Skip the dye, up the beauty.
I know many people like their red velvet cake to be bright red. I get that; it looks fun and you know exactly what cake it is from half a mile away. That said, cutting into a real red velvet cake has always made me feel like I was committing cake murder. Think Ouiser in Steel Magnolias.
Most red velvet cake recipes use an entire bottle of food coloring. This feels less terrible if you use a natural food coloring, but standard red food dye contains ingredients like propylene glycol, FD&C reds 40 and 3, and propylparaben. Yikes. I picture these chemicals coloring my entire digestive track for days. Possibly weeks.
And for what?
The best part about red velvet cake is the velvet part, not the color. In other words, the moist cake made from buttermilk, sugar, flour, cocoa, vanilla, and eggs.
Making red velvet cake without food coloring lets the cocoa be the star. Plus, the reaction of the alkaline cocoa and baking soda with the acidic buttermilk and vinegar gives the finished cake a beautiful reddish-brown color all its own.
No-Dye Velvet Layer Cake: Recipe Notes
- This red velvet cake recipe is adapted from one of my favorite custom cake bakers, Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes in New York City. Elisa has some great online cake sculpting and decorating classes, and a wonderful book if you are interested in fancy cake decorating.
- Be sure to sift your cocoa. Always. Cocoa clumps in a cake batter otherwise. These clumps are virtually impossible to get out without straining the entire batter or whipping the batter on high, which is bad because it will activate gluten and make the cake tough.
- Cake flour vs. all-purpose flour. This recipe uses cake flour. Cake flour has less gluten than all-purpose flour. This makes a more tender, lighter cake. No cake flour? No problem. You can easily substitute by removing two tablespoons of all-purpose flour per cup, and replacing it with two tablespoons of cornstarch.
- How to tell when your cake is done. Baking times are always approximate. Your cake is done when it springs back when lightly touched on top, and a cake tester comes out clean.
Jump To:
Red Velvet Layer Cake: Next Steps
Now that you’ve baked your cake, here are some more useful cake tips and recipes, for your reference:
- Here is my post on how to frost and decorate a layer cake, and what tools every home baker should have to make it beautiful
- Here is my recipe for classic vanilla buttercream frosting, enough to full and coat the cake, or enough for all of the cupcakes.
- You can also decorate a sprinkle cake!
- If you are feeling a bit more ambitious, here’s the recipe for my Swiss meringue buttercream. Swiss meringue buttercream is made with egg whites and hot sugar for a fluffy, silky buttercream that’s less cloying than frosting can taste.
Did you make this No Dye Red Velvet Cake? You’ll also enjoy these other fabulous layer cakes:
- Buttermilk Birthday Funfetti Cake
- How to Decorate a Cake With Sprinkles
- The Commissary Carrot Cake
- Spiced Apple Rye Layer Cake
Velvet Layer Cake Without Food Coloring
Ingredients
- 2 2/3 cups cake flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted (I like Hershey's)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 cups neutral vegetable oil, like canola
- 1 2/3 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- scant 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1/4 cup cold water (or food coloring, if you must)
- Buttercream frosting, to decorate (recipe follows)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease two 9" cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper, or line muffin tins.
- Sift together the cocoa powder, flour, and salt and set aside.PRO TIP: You must sift the dry ingredients, especially the cocoa powder. Cocoa powder, if left unsifted, will clump in the batter.
- In the bowl of a large mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil and sugar on medium until fully mixed and lightened slightly in color. Lower the mixer to low and add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Add each egg when the previous one is almost fully mixed in. Scrape the bowl and beat on medium until everything is fully emulsified and smooth.
- With the mixer on low, alternately add the flour/cocoa mixture and the buttermilk in two additions each: flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk. Scrape the bowl and mix again on low until everything is emulsified.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the baking soda and white vinegar. It will sizzle like a mini-volcano science experiment. Add this to the cake batter with the 1/4 cup water (or food coloring, if using) and mix on medium speed for about 10 seconds to fully combine. Scrape the bowl.
- Divide the cake batter evenly between the cake pans or muffin tins and bake on the center rack until done, about 25 to 35 minutes for 9" cake layers, and about 18 to 20 minutes for cupcakes.
- Let cool in the cake pans until you can handle them without an oven mitt, but are still warm. Turn out onto cooling racks, removing the parchment from the bottom of the cakes, and cool fully before eating or decorating. PRO TIP: The best way to remove cakes from a cake pan is to run a small offset spatula around the edges first, with the front of the spatula facing outward so it does not accidentally cut into the cake. I like this Ateco one, and find it indispensable.
- To layer and decorate you cakes, use this recipe for classic vanilla buttercream frosting, or whip up a Swiss meringue buttercream.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
92 comments
Meredith
Could you use a gluten free all purpose flour (like Bob’s 1 to 1) in place of cake flour?
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Meredith! Yes, you certainly can. My preferred brand of GF flour is Cup4Cup, even thought it’s a little more expensive. I’ve found the most comparable results compared to regular all-purpose flour. Happy baking!
Sabrina
Does it matter if you use whole or low fat buttermilk?
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Sabrina! Sorry for the delayed response! You can use either whole or low-fat buttermilk.
Elena Wysocki
A very moist cake that is not overly sweet. I made this for my son’s birthday but wanted something without chemicals. I had seen others used beet juice, which seemed like a bit of a pain, so I was glad to make this easy recipe.
Francisco
What an awesome recipe! I HATE that all red velvet recipes just add food coloring to get that unreal red color (which, for me, is just ugly). I’m definitely saving this recipe for later. Thank you!
Lisa Ruland
I feel the same way–I think about all that food dye going into my system and think, “no thanks!” I hope you enjoy; it is one of my favorite cake recipes by far.
Cam
Can this be made with coconut sugar?
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Cam. Yes, you can use coconut sugar, though the flavor will be slightly less sweet and a little earthier, and the color will be darker than if you use white sugar. But I think it would be good! I’d love to hear the result if you try it.
Ford
Can I add chocolate chips to this without changing anything else?
Unpeeled
Yes! That would be fine. For cake baking, I recommend mini chocolate chips over regular size. They will mix into the cake much better.
Frances W
This is a wonderful cake recipe. It does not look bright, blood red like you see come cakes look, but I prefer this more natural color. The cake itself tastes delicious. We loved the cocoa flavor. Which brand of cocoa powder do you recommend? Thank you.
Jenny P.
I have made this several times, and always comes out just right. I make it with vanilla buttercream, and garnish with some cake crumbs, which has been the tradition in my southern family.
Terrie Tanner
I made this cake recipe for my son for his birthday. I followed the directions to a tee, but it came out rather dense. The chocolate flavor is fantastic, I just don’t understand why it came out the way it did. Any suggestions to correct this if I make this again?
Unpeeled
Hi, Terrie. So sorry to hear about the result! That can be so frustrating. Density is usually due to one of two things: 1) the amount of air that was (or was not) beaten into the batter while creaming the butter, sugar, and eggs, and 2) the leavening agent. Check your baking soda. It might be that it is not fresh enough. Barring that, you may need to beat the eggs, oil, and sugar a little more, until you get a nice, light ribbon. Hope this helps.
Tracey
Can this be a bunt cake? If so what is the temp and how long to bake it?
Unpeeled
Hi! Yes, you can make this as a bundt. Bake it at the same temperature (I’d rest the bundt on a sheet pan instead of placing it directly on the oven rack). The time will increase. I am not sure about the exact baking time, but test it starting at 40 minutes; it will probably take 45-55 minutes total, or until the tester comes out clean and the top feels springy. Don’t fill the bundt pan beyond 3/4 full, since it will rise. Happy baking!