Red Velvet Pound Cake is a delicate, yet dense, cake that has a slight, but not too sweet chocolate flavor with a cream cheese frosting as the icing on the cake, literally! Try my Red Velvet Cake for a more traditional red velvet cake.

Fork Taking Bite of Red Velvet Pound Cake
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Red Velvet Pound Cake

The rich and dense texture of this Red Velvet Pound Cake starts with a cream cheese pound cake base with a hint of cocoa for a subtle chocolate flavor, and a touch of red food coloring for that classic crimson color. Topped with a thick cream cheese frosting, this cake recipe is sure to satisfy your cravings!

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Whole Unfrosted Red Velvet Pound Cake on Cake Platter

Ingredients & Substitutions

Cake Flour:ย Cake flour brings a fine crumb to cakes. It is lower in protein than all-purpose flour, which gives baked goods a delicate, tender crumb.

ButtermilkUse full-fat buttermilk in this recipe. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can make your own!

Red Food Coloring:ย Start with one teaspoon of red food coloring. You can always add more until you get the shade of red you are going for.

Room Temperature Ingredients: I canโ€™t stress enough that this recipe needs to be made with room temperature ingredients (butter, cream cheese, buttermilk, milk). This will ensure easier mixing and helps achieve that perfect crumb.

Red Velvet Cake Batter in Pan

Tips for a Perfectly Baked Cake

  • The outside of the cake should appear firm and done, but should not be burnt.
  • Use a long skewer or toothpick around the 1 hour mark to check for doneness. If you find a few crumbs on your skewer or toothpick, that isย GOOD, your pound cake is done baking. Wet batter on the skewer means it needs to bake longer.
  • If you notice that the top is browning too quickly, you can cover it with a foil tent.
Pouring Glaze over Red Velvet Pound Cake

How to Store & Freeze Pound Cake

  • To keep pound cake fresh, store without the frosting at room temperature for 2-3 days.
  • If adding the frosting right away, it will need to be stored in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese. Stored in the refrigerator, this pound cake will last up to 5 days, covered.
  • To freeze the pound cake, I recommend freezing it without the frosting. Wrap the cake tightly in a couple of layers of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. You can freeze this cake for up to 3 months. (Don’t forget to label and date it!) Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before adding the frosting and serving.
Picking up a Piece of Red Velvet Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

More Pound Cake Recipes

4.54 from 15 votes

Red Velvet Pound Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 40 minutes
Red Velvet Pound Cake is a delicate, yet dense, cake that has a slight, but not too sweet chocolate flavor with a cream cheese frosting as the icing on the cake, literally!

Ingredients

Cake

  • 1 block (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 1 ยผ cups (2 ยฝ sticks / 284 g) salted butter, room temperature
  • 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 cups (375 g) cake flour
  • ยผ cup (29.5 g) cocoa powder
  • ยผ cup (60 g) buttermilk, room temperature
  • 1-3 teaspoons red food coloring, or enough to reach the desired color

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • ยฝ block (4 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2 ยฝ cups (312.5 g) confectioners' sugar
  • 2 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cake

  • Preheat oven to 325ยฐF. Spray a 10-inch bundt pan with non-stick spray.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes.
  • Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla.
  • Slowly add the cake flour and cocoa powder. Mix until combined.
  • Remove bowl from stand mixer and pour in the buttermilk. Mix by hand until just incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to get every last bit of ingredientย incorporated.
  • Fold in the food coloring, one teaspoon at a time, until the desired color is reached.
  • Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check for doneness at 1 hour. (The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter.)
  • Allow cake to cool to room temperature before inverting on a plate and adding frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • In a medium bowl using a hand mixer on medium speed, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
  • Drizzle the frosting over the cooled pound cake. Slice and serve.

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Meet Amanda Rettke

Amanda Rettke is the creator of I Am Baker, and the bestselling author of Surprise Inside Cakes: Amazing Cakes for Every Occasion โ€“ With a Little Something Extra Inside.Over the course of her 15+ year blogging adventure, she has been featured in and collaborated with the Food Network, New York Times, LA Times, Country Living Magazine, People Magazine, Epicurious, Brides, Romantic Homes, life:beautiful, Publishers Weekly, The Daily Mail, Star Tribune, The Globe and Mail, DailyCandy, YumSugar, The Knot, The Kitchn, and Parade, to name a few.

Reader Comments

  1. I love your recipes, you had a recipe one time of peanut brittle I would to have it, can you post it again please. ๐ŸŒท๐Ÿ’๐ŸŒธโค๏ธ

  2. I use beet juice instead of red food coloring. You can’t taste the beet juice and it gives a beautiful red with a blue tint to the batter.

  3. Whatโ€™s the difference between this being a pound cake and the regular red velvet cake recipes? Arenโ€™t pound cakes usually cooked in a loaf pan? Please educate the wannabe baker.

  4. Iโ€™ve been baking for 50 years , not a novice here . This cake as a fail for me . Very dense , didnโ€™t rise much , more like a door stopper .

    1. Oh dear! So sorry. Sounds like it baked too long. When baked correctly this cake has a dense crumb, but it will melt in your mouth. ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Lovely tang from the cream cheese in the cake batter.
    I used cocoa to dust the Bundt pan instead of flour.
    I was afraid the cake had burned, but it was perfect! So moist.
    The glaze is terrific!

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