Slice of Red Velvet Cake served on a red plate

Delicious and vegan! I scaled it up to 28 servings (not without drama) and it won everyone over. I’ll definitely make it again, mostly to nail the red — which didn’t really pop here (luckily without affecting the flavour).

Quick info

  • Servings: 10
  • Prep: 4.5 hours (20 min for the base, 10 min for the filling, lots of cooling and decorating time)
  • Baking: 45 minutes
  • Tools: 2 bowls, electric whisk, 24 cm (9.4 in) springform tin, spatula for spreading the filling, ruler and toothpicks
  • Heads-up: you can decorate it Christmas-style or however you like!
Red Velvet Cake frosted and decorated with red berries and rosemary

Ingredients

Base:

  • 250g (8.8 oz) plain flour
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
  • 200g (7.1 oz) brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 250g (8.8 oz) plain soy yoghurt
  • 120ml (4.1 fl oz) soy milk
  • 120ml (4.1 fl oz) sunflower oil
  • 3 teaspoons red gel food colouring
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

Filling:

  • 250g (8.8 oz) vegan cream cheese
  • 200ml (6.8 fl oz) soy cream (or other plant cream)
  • 120g (4.2 oz) icing sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

To decorate:

  • Strawberries
  • Whipped soy cream (or other plant cream)

Method

1. Make the cake batter

  • In a large bowl, mix all the dry ingredients except the baking soda: plain flour, cocoa, brown sugar, vanilla extract.
  • In another bowl, mix the wet ingredients: soy yoghurt, soy milk, sunflower oil, red food colouring, lemon juice.
  • Pour the wet into the dry a little at a time, whisking until smooth.
  • In a small bowl, combine the baking soda with the apple cider vinegar: it will foam up.
  • Pour the foam straight into the batter and stir briefly (don’t overmix).

2. Bake the cake

  • Pour the batter into a greased and floured 24 cm (9.4 in) springform tin.
  • Bake at 180°C (356°F) for 40–45 minutes, with the tin on the middle rack.
  • Toothpick test: it should come out dry.
  • Take it out and let it cool completely (at least 2 hours).
  • Tip: if the cake won’t release, soak a tea towel in boiling water and rest the tin on it — the butter melts and the cake comes free!

3. Make the filling

  • In a bowl, beat the vegan cream cheese with the icing sugar (add half first and taste) and the vanilla extract.
  • Separately, whip the cream with electric beaters.
  • Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture, working from the bottom up.

4. Assemble the Red Velvet

  • Release the cake from the tin.
  • Trim off the darker crust: keep the scraps aside (you can crumble them for decorating).
  • Slice the cake into 3 discs: hold the ruler next to the cake, stick toothpicks in to mark the cutting line and use them as a guide.
  • Place the first disc on the serving plate and spread on about 1/5 of the filling (a layer about 1 cm / 0.4 in thick).
  • Top with the second disc, fill the same way, then add the third.
  • Use a spatula to cover the sides and top with the remaining filling.
  • (Optional) Spread a thin layer of cream all over, smooth it out and chill for 5 min to set a crumb coat, then cover completely.
  • Decorate the sides with red crumbs from the scraps, and the top with whipped cream and strawberries.
Red Velvet Cake with Christmas-style decoration

5. Rest

Let the cake rest in the fridge for 1 hour before serving.