Red Velvet Cake with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling

Cakes
Written By Elliot Styche

Red Velvet is one of those cakes that always makes a statement on the table. Tall, dramatic, and with that signature soft crumb, it’s perfect for Christmas, birthdays, or any celebration where you want to impress. While many recipes rely heavily on food colouring, this version leans on the natural reaction of cocoa, acid, and buttermilk to give the cake its subtle red hue. The result? A rich and velvety sponge that pairs beautifully with a tangy white chocolate cream cheese filling.

This recipe is written for 4 × 9-inch layers — a true showstopper. Don’t be put off by the size, though; the method is straightforward, and I’ll walk you through it step by step.

Ingredients

For the Red Velvet Cake (makes 3 layers)

  • 800g caster sugar

  • 400g unsalted butter, softened

  • 8 large eggs, room temperature

  • 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp vanilla bean paste (8 tsp total)

  • 320g neutral oil (canola, sunflower, or grapeseed)

  • 60g cocoa powder, sifted

  • 520g plain flour

  • 80g cornflour (→ 600g total flour)

  • 1½ tsp baking powder

  • 2 tsp baking soda

  • 2 tsp fine salt

  • 4 tsp white vinegar

  • 560g kefir or buttermilk, room temperature

  • Red gel food colouring (½–1 tsp, optional)

For the White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling

  • 250g full-fat block cream cheese (cold, not whipped spread)

  • 200g white chocolate (good quality, ~30% cocoa butter)

  • 150g unsalted butter, softened but cool

  • 200–250g icing sugar, sifted (start with 200g, adjust to taste)

  • 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or extract)

  • Pinch fine salt

Method

Cake Layers

  1. Prepare tins – Grease and line 3 × 9-inch round tins.

  2. Cream butter + sugar – Beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.

  3. Add eggs + vanilla – Mix in eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla.

  4. Stream in oil – Slowly pour in oil while mixing on medium until emulsified.

  5. Dry mix – Sift cocoa, plain flour, cornflour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

  6. Wet mix – Stir vinegar into kefir/buttermilk (add food colouring here if using).

  7. Combine – Alternate dry and wet additions into the batter, starting and finishing with dry. Mix until just smooth.

  8. Divide – Spread evenly between tins. Smooth tops.

  9. Bake – Bake at 170°C (fan 160°C) for 32–38 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

  10. Cool – Rest cakes in tins 10 minutes, then turn out onto racks. Chill before stacking.

Filling

  1. Melt chocolate – Gently melt white chocolate, either over a bain-marie or in short microwave bursts. Cool slightly.

  2. Whip butter + sugar – Beat butter and icing sugar until pale and fluffy.

  3. Add cream cheese – Loosen cream cheese with a spatula, then beat into butter mix on low.

  4. Stream in chocolate – Slowly add melted chocolate while mixing. Blend until smooth.

  5. Chill – Refrigerate for 20–30 minutes until slightly thickened.

Elliot’s Tips

  • Bake the cakes a day ahead and chill them — this makes stacking and frosting much easier.

  • For extra moisture, brush each layer with a simple syrup flavoured with vanilla or citrus.

  • Always use block-style cream cheese; spreadable versions won’t hold structure.

  • If you’d like a lighter finish, try swapping the filling for mascarpone + whipped cream.

  • This recipe yields a very tall cake what I love but you might want to half the recipe and use two 7 inch tins instead.

Elliot Styche
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