Super Tall Red Velvet Layer Cake

Four luxuriously velvety layers hidden under smooth dark chocolate ganache. This is red velvet cake heaven, my friend!

This cake makes me happy!

The color, the chocolate, the layers, the filling… EVERYTHING about this cake is on point!

It’s ginormous, by the way, if you can’t tell from the photos. But I’m not complaining! I’m just warning you. You might just gain 10lbs for just looking at it. Don’t you worry though. I ate that thing and I’m telling ya, IT’S WORTH IT! ?

It’s labor of love.

No, it’s not difficult. It’s just a lot. I don’t know if that makes sense!

I doubled my all time favorite red velvet cupcake recipe and baked in 2 heart-shaped cake pans, equivalent to 9-inch round cake pan. I get lots of amazing feedbacks on that recipe. My 9 year old reader from UK loved the cupcakes and made them all by herself for her school competition! Another reader raved how fluffy and light the cupcakes turned out! Yes, you love it, I love it, we all love it.

Once the cakes are baked, each one is sliced horizontally and generously filled with cream cheese frosting. Speaking of cream cheese frosting, a lot of people said that they get runny frosting. And to be honest, I’ve had that happen to me when I used generic brand cream cheese. (<- That’s what happens when you send your husband for grocery without specifying the details! It’s all about details!)

Here’s what happened… I was making 150 cupcakes for a friends’ wedding, and imagine me in the kitchen with a bowl (pretty big bowl too!) full of soupy frosting! I was about to cry, because I was running out of time, and I had no idea why it was happening. I quickly ran to the store and got my Philadelphia cream cheese. The frosting turned out perfect and so did the cupcakes. That was my first and last time having that problem.

• Lesson #1: Buy good quality cream cheese that you know and trust. For me, it’s Philadelphia Original cream cheese, not fat-free stuff!
• Lesson #2: Buy the brick cream cheese, NOT the one in a tub, which is whipped cream cheese spread.

Ganache Tip. For the smooth coverage, pour the ganache as soon as you make it and while it’s still nice and runny. Because as it cools, ganache gets thicker and harder to achieve that smooth and shiny coverage.

If smooth ganache frosting isn’t important to you, you can spread it as if you’d do with buttercream frosting. Either way, it’s still delicious!

By the way, it’s a challenge to cut a heart-shaped cake! After that first cut, I didn’t know which direction to cut. The struggle was real! ?

Sorry if you’ve gained a few pounds by reading this post. Now get in the kitchen and bake the monster! Let’s be fat kids together. ☺️

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Super Tall Red Velvet Layer Cake

Four luxuriously velvety layers hidden under smooth dark chocolate ganache. This is red velvet cake heaven, my friend!

Yield: 12-14 servings

Ingredients:

For cake:

• 3 cups (375gr) all-purpose flour
• 2 cups (400gr) sugar
• 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cup (360ml) buttermilk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon gel red food coloring
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

For cream cheese filling:

• 12oz (340gr) cream cheese, at room temperature
• ½ cup (115gr) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups (375gr) powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream, or milk
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For ganache:

• 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
• 1 ¼ cup (215gr) semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Spray two 9-inch round cake pans, or two 9-inch heart-shaped cake pans with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, red food coloring, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the flour mixture and mix until smooth, about a minute.
4. In a small dish, mix together baking soda and vinegar. While the soda/vinegar mixture is bubbling, add it to the batter and mix well.
5. Divide the batter equally between the 2 cake pans. Bake for about 30-35 minutes, or until the inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pan for 5 minutes, and then invert them onto a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the filling, beat butter and cream cheese on medium high speed until fluffy, about a minute. Add powdered sugar, heavy cream and vanilla extract. Beat on low speed for a minute. Then increase the speed to medium high and continue to beat until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
7. To assemble the cake, cut each cake layer horizontally. Spread about 1/5 of the filling between each layer and stack the layers on top of each other. Evenly spread the remaining 1/5 of the frosting on the sides of the cake. Refrigerate the cake to chill while prepare the ganache.
8. To make the ganache, in a small saucepan, bring heavy cream to a simmer. Do not boil. Pour hot cream over chocolate chips, and let it sit for good 2 minutes. Then mix well until smooth for couple minutes.
9. For the smooth coverage, pour the ganache over the cake while the ganache is still runny. The longer it cool, the thicker it gets.
10. Store the cake covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring it to room temperature, before serving.

For step-by-step photos and additional notes, read the post above.

All images and text ©Shinee D. for Sweet & Savory

All photographs and content on Sweet & Savory by Shinee is copyright protected, unless otherwise noted. Please do not use any of my photos without my authorization. If you would like to share my recipe, you may re-write the recipe in your own words, or simply link back to this post for the full directions. Thank you for your cooperation!