Tall Three-Layer Red Velvet Cake with Old-Fashioned Ermine Frosting

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A true bakery-height red velvet: three deep-crimson oil-and-buttermilk layers with a plush, almost suede crumb and a whisper of natural cocoa, stacked with the frosting the cake was originally built on — ermine, a cooked milk-and-flour base whipped with butter until it tastes like cold vanilla ice cream and pipes like silk. It is less sweet and far more grown-up than canned-style cream cheese frosting, and it lets the tangy cake actually taste like something. Toasted cake crumbs around the base do the finishing work for you.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour (360 g), spooned and leveled
• 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar (400 g)
• 1 1/4 cups neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons red liquid food coloring, or 2 teaspoons red gel color
• 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar (250 g)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (65 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter (3 sticks, 340 g), softened to cool room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon softened butter, for the pans
• 1 tablespoon cake flour, for the pans
• Reserved cake trimmings, for crumbs

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the center. Butter three 8-inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment circles, then butter the parchment and dust the sides lightly with cake flour, tapping out the excess.
2. Whisk the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and 1 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl for a full 30 seconds so the soda is evenly distributed. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the sugar and oil together until it looks like wet sand, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking hard after each, until the mixture is pale, smooth, and slightly thickened, 1 to 2 minutes total.
4. In a measuring cup, stir together the buttermilk, vanilla, and red food coloring until uniformly crimson.
5. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in three additions, alternating with the red buttermilk in two additions, folding with a spatula and stopping while a few streaks remain. Add the vinegar and fold just until the batter is smooth and evenly colored — no more than 10 more strokes. The batter will be loose and pourable; overmixing is what makes red velvet tough.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the pans (about 600 g or a scant 2 1/2 cups each — use a scale if you have one). Rap each pan once on the counter to release big bubbles.
7. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pans front to back at 18 minutes, until the tops spring back when pressed lightly and a toothpick in the center comes out with a moist crumb or two. Internal temperature should read 205°F to 208°F.
8. Cool in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes, then run a thin knife around the edges, invert onto the rack, peel off the parchment, and cool completely, at least 1 hour. For the cleanest stacking, wrap the cooled layers and chill 30 minutes before frosting.
9. Make the frosting base: whisk the sugar, all-purpose flour, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together in a medium saucepan. Whisk in the milk a splash at a time to make a smooth slurry, then whisk in the rest.
10. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly and scraping the corners of the pan, 6 to 9 minutes, until the mixture bubbles and thickens to the texture of thick pudding — it should mound on the whisk. Cook 1 minute more to kill any raw flour taste.
11. Scrape the pudding into a wide bowl or into the bowl of a stand mixer, press plastic wrap directly onto the surface, and cool to room temperature (about 70°F), 45 to 60 minutes. To speed it up, spread it in a shallow dish and refrigerate 25 minutes, stirring once — but do not let it get cold, or the butter will seize.
12. Beat the softened butter with the paddle attachment on medium-high for 3 to 4 minutes until very pale and fluffy. With the mixer on medium, add the cooled pudding base 2 tablespoons at a time, waiting until each addition disappears. Add the vanilla, then beat on medium-high for 3 to 5 minutes until the frosting is glossy, thick, and holds a soft peak. If it looks soupy or curdled, chill the bowl 15 minutes and re-whip; it always comes back.
13. Level the cake layers with a serrated knife and reserve the trimmings. Set one layer cut-side up on a serving plate, anchored with a dab of frosting. Spread a generous 3/4 cup frosting to the edges, top with the next layer, repeat, then set the final layer cut-side down.
14. Spread a thin crumb coat over the top and sides and refrigerate 20 minutes. Finish with the remaining frosting, smoothing the sides with a bench scraper or offset spatula and swirling the top.
15. Crumble the reserved trimmings with your fingers into fine crumbs (dry them on a sheet pan at 300°F for 8 minutes for extra crunch, then cool). Press the crumbs around the bottom inch of the cake. Chill 30 minutes to set, then let the cake stand at room temperature 30 to 45 minutes before slicing with a hot, dry knife.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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