Inspired by Season 13 of the Great British Baking show, my allergy friendly red velvet layer cake has an amazing vegan cream cheese buttercream frosting and 6 layers of dairy free chocolate cake. Perfect for any occasion, this decadent cake is a real showstopper.
Start by preheating your oven to 350°F / 180°C and gathering all of your supplies and ingredients for the cake. Allow the butter, buttermilk, eggs to come to room temperature before you start the recipe. I advise making the frosting while the cake is baking as it works better with cold ingredients.
Thoroughly grease then line the bottoms of the baking pans with parchment paper. No need to line the sides.
To Make the Cakes:
Using a stand mixer, cream together 280g butter and 245g golden sugar until smooth (roughly 2-3 minutes). Add the 3 eggs one at a time. Don't worry that the mixture will look curdled at this stage.
In a small jug, make the red velvet paste. Add 6 tbsp hot water, 25g cocoa powder, 2 tsp vanilla bean paste and 2 tsp red food colouring. Stir until combined then add to the stand mixer bowl. Mix together. Again, it will look curdled but don't panic. It will come together once we add the flour.
In alternating thirds, add the buttermilk and flour into the stand mixer bowl, mixing well with each addition. The mixture will start to combine into a smooth cake batter.
In a small bowl, add the white vinegar to the baking soda. Stir and then add to the cake batter. It will fizz at this stage. Stir until fully combined.
Using an ice cream scoop, divide the cake batter evenly between the 3 6inch cake pans. Tap the pans on the counter a few times to level out the batter.
Bake for 30-35 minutes until well risen. A toothpick/skewer should come out clean when they are ready. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely. Note: take the butter for the frosting out of the fridge while the cakes are baking. This will allow it to come to room temperature in time.
To Make the Buttercream Frosting
Combine 225g butter and 60g cream cheese in a mixing bowl.
Add half of the icing sugar then stir to combine.
Add the remaining 250g icing sugar, 25ml water and 1 tsp vanilla bean paste and mix until smooth. Chill the frosting in the fridge until the cakes are fully cooled.
To Decorate the Cakes
Split and level each cake, retaining any crumbs for decoration. You should end up with 6 thin layers in total.
Use half of the buttercream frosting to fill and stack the cake layers.
Use most of the second half of the buttercream to ice the cake with an offset spatula. Clean off the spatula after each smoothing of the icing, to avoid pulling away too many crumbs.
Add the remaining icing to a piping bag which has been fitted with a 1M star tip. Pipe 8 swirls on top of the cake.
To finish the decoration, add the cake crumbs to the sides and top of the cake.
Video
Notes
To make vegan buttermilk, add 1 tbsp white vinegar to 270ml plant based milk. Stir and allow to curdle for 10 minutes before using. Learn more about buttermilk in this recipe post.
This cake serves 8 and should be stored covered in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can also individually wrap and freeze any remaining slices for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost fully before unwrapping.
Check out the full recipe post for my step by step decorating guide.
Nutritional information is based on 1 large slice per serving and nutrition information is calculated based on the ingredients in this recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.