Red Velvet Buttercream should have a depth of flavor and a gorgeous red color. This recipe achieves that and is actually really easy! If you love American buttercream frosting as much as I do, be sure to try this recipe!
Red Velvet Cake Frosting
Or, Red Velvet Buttercream. Deep, rich, vibrant, and tasty red velvet frosting that reminds you of a red velvet cake. This recipe offers up the color you want, the flavor you love (chocolate!) and the ability to pipe and create beautiful designs with. It’s just plain fun!
I wanted to show off this red awesomeness with my Rose Cake technique because there is nothing quite as beautiful as a deep red rose. Right? Right.
How to Make Red Velvet Buttercream
The most popular question I get whenever I share something red velvet is, “How do you get it so red?” Well, it’s easy. Red food coloring. The more you add, the redder it will be. One reason I like this recipe is because there is SO much cocoa, you do not need a huge amount of food coloring.
Red food coloring will darken considerably the longer it sits! If you feel like your frosting is too ‘pinkish’, put it in an airtight container (PRO TIP: I like to store frosting right in plastic disposable pastry bags) and let it sit for a few hours or overnight. You will see the color deepen.
Yes, you can use all-natural food coloring like India Tree. I recommend using the entire bottle .75 ounce bottle for this size recipe. The color will be a bit more mauve, but still in the red family.
To achieve the rosette look I have a picture tutorial here and a video here. This cake specifically uses a CLOSED star tip. Using a closed star tip gets the very delicate ruffle edges that you can see above.
The red velvet buttercream recipe will be enough to cover a 2-layer cake.
To get a nice clean cut, make sure that your cake is very chilled. If you don’t care about looks and prefer a light and moist crumb, then room-temperature is a great way to go!
Adapted from Perfect Chocolate Buttercream.
I paired the frosting with a white cake simply because I love the look and idea of a delicate white cake with a rich bold red velvet.
I can imagine that this red velvet frosting would be absolutely stunning with a red velvet cake! Or even a chocolate cake! You really can’t go wrong.
As a matter of fact, everything about this is so, so right.
Red Velvet Buttercream
Ingredients
- 4 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup cocoa powder
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks or 170g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 one-ounce bottle Red food color
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- In a small bowl, sift together the confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, add butter and whisk for 2 minutes on high speed.
- Turn the mixer off and add in sugar/cocoa mixture.
- With the mixer on low speed, add in milk, red food coloring, and vinegar. (Carefully pour in food coloring into the center of the butter mixture)
- Whisk on low/medium low speed until smooth and glossy.
Video
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To see more Red Velvet creations click here!
Ah this frosting looks rich, sinful and delicious!!! Lovely. Welldone.
What tip did you use for these rosettes? I always use 1M and in your tutorial you say use a 1M; however the roses are different on this cake than on the other ones! I love these ones and would love to know how to make these ones!
IT is the 1M. I just applied more pressure while piiping. 🙂
But the 1M isn’t a closed tip. Now I’m confused!!! I think the 4D is closed maybe? You can get it in a set with the 1M and the big plain round one.
I have purchased 1M tips that are both open and closed. It seems that they are pretty inconsistent that way! If yours happens to be fully open, try just gently pressing in the edges so that they touch. (Recommended for your second 1M tip, it’s good to have at least 2!)
I love the ruffly edges on the roses.
Curious…what does adding the vinegar do to this recipe. Thanks
Sorry, my phone did not load the video at first, now that i watched it…got it thanks
Could shortening be used instead of the butter?
I would like to know this as well . . .
Fantastic recipe. I read you are using a closed star tip. May I ask you the tip number and the brand you used for this Rose technique? Thank you.
Hi, Rosa! I work with iambaker and am happy to help with questions. Ateco is the brand we prefer. Have a great day!
Thank you for answering. Are you using the 849 ateco tip for this effect?
Your recipe worked perfectly and the frosting is smooth, RED, and delicious. Absolutely beautiful!! I did add a teaspoon of vanilla and a 1/4 teaspoon of salt, just for additional flavor.
I enjoy your recipe
Adding 4-1/2 cups of powdered sugar and 1 cup of cocoa to only 12 tablespoons butter, produced a big thick glob in my mixing bowl. I went ahead and added the milk, which made it the consistency of frosting, but there were little clumps of cocoa throughout. What am I doing wrong?