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.
Red Velvet Pound Cake
It all starts with the perfect cream cheese pound cake for this recipe. Then, a little cocoa powder is added to give the moist cake a hint of chocolate flavor with some added red food coloring for the crimson color. And, of course, like any red velvet cake, I couldn’t forget about the thick cream cheese glaze to top it all off.
Just look at the velvety crumb!
Red Velvet Pound Cake Ingredients
Room Temperature Ingredients: I can’t stress enough that this cake needs to be made with room temperature ingredients. This will ensure easier mixing and helps achieve that perfect crumb.
Cake Flour: Cake flour brings a more fine crumb to cakes. It is lower in protein than all-purpose flour, which gives baked goods a delicate, tender crumb. You can easily make your own homemade cake flour if you don’t have any on hand.
Buttermilk: Use full-fat buttermilk in this recipe. In fact, I would recommend making your own homemade Buttermilk!
Red Food Coloring: Start with one teaspoon of red food coloring. You can always add more until you get the shade of red you are going for.
How to Make Red Velvet Pound Cake
To get started, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. When ready, use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment (a hand mixer would work as well) to mix the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Next, gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
Then, add the eggs, one at a time (mixing well after adding each egg), followed by the vanilla. Slowly add the cake flour and cocoa powder, continuing to mix until combined. At this point, remove the bowl from the stand mixer and pour in the buttermilk. Mix this in by hand and use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl. Finally, fold in the food coloring, one teaspoon at a time, until you reach your desired color.
When the batter is mixed, pour it into a greased bundt pan. Make sure the pan has about an inch and a half of room at the top after pouring. As far as baking temperature and time, that is something you will want to keep a close eye on. If you happen to have any hot spots in your oven you may want to turn the cake halfway through baking. The crust should be golden, not burnt. This means that 325°F is the highest you should go, but the length of baking might be longer.
When the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for a while before flipping it onto a plate. (There may be cracks in the cake, but that is okay, and actually quite common with pound cakes.) It is important to give it time to rest in the pan. This resting time will help the sides of the cake release a bit before it is inverted. It is up to you if you choose to level the cake after flipping it.
How to Make the Cream Cheese Glaze
As the red velvet pound cake is cooling, make the cream cheese glaze that will be drizzled over the cake. Many red velvet cakes are known for the frosting, and this cake is no exception. To make the glaze, simply mix the cream cheese with the sugar, milk, and vanilla. Drizzle it over the cooled cake and serve.
Looking for More Bundt Cake Recipes?
Chocolate Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients
- 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1¼ cups (2½ sticks or 284g) salted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (600g) granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375g) cake flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¼ cup (60g) buttermilk, room temperature
- 1-3 teaspoons red food coloring, or enough to reach the desired color
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- 2½ cups (312.5g) confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare a large bundt pan with butter and flour or by spraying with non-stick spray. (My 10-inch bundt pan is 3 inches deep. There should be at least 1 1/2 inches between the height of the batter and the top edge of the pan.)
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes.
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Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
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Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla.
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Slowly add the cake flour and cocoa powder. Mix until combined.
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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 ingredient incorporated.
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Fold in the food coloring, one teaspoon at a time, until the desired color is reached.
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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.)
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Allow cake to cool to room temperature before inverting on a plate and adding frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
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In a medium bowl combine the cream cheese, sugar, milk, and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
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Drizzle frosting over cooled pound cake. Cut and serve.