Red Velvet Sheet Cake

Serve a dessert with a pop of beautiful red color. This red velvet sheet cake is made from scratch and has melt in your mouth cream cheese frosting. Great for holiday parties!

Have you tried our red velvet layer cake yet? It has an amazing color…and is one of the easiest homemade cakes to make!

homemade red velvet cake with frosting on a plate with a frok

Red Velvet Sheet Cake Recipe

Homemade Red Velvet Cake

So how do you make red velvet cake? It starts like any other cake. Mix up the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately. Here are some special hints as you make this cake:

  • This recipe calls for shortening which gives it a great texture. You can use butter, but it will change the texture.
  • 1 ounces of red food coloring? Yes. If you want a beautiful red color, that’s how much it takes.
  • Add buttermilk. You can make your own buttermilk at home with milk and vinegar, or buy some at the store. It keeps in your fridge for awhile so you can easily keep it on hand.
  • Vinegar in cake? Yes! You won’t taste the vinegar. It will react with the baking soda and make the cake fluffy. Don’t skip it! Mix this in last, after you’ve mixed in everything else.

How long does a sheet cake bake?

This red velvet sheet cake should be completely cooked in about 15 minutes. Because it is a shallow cake pan, it won’t take as long to bake through. If you use a different size or depth of pan, the baking time may vary.

Cream Cheese Frosting

This is our classic cream cheese frosting recipe. It’s made with room temperature cream cheese whipped with softened butter. Mix in some powdered sugar and a touch of vanilla. Add heavy cream one tablespoon at a time until you get a nice, spreadable consistency.

People rave about this cream cheese frosting!

red velvet sheet cake with frosting spreading on it

What is the size of a sheet cake?

Sheet cakes can be different sizes. This red velvet sheet cake batter is enough to fill an 11×17″ sheet cake. Use the size pan that your recipe calls for for the best results.

How many does sheet cake serve?

We cut our sheet cake in 15 pieces, but if there are other desserts around, you could easily cut those pieces in half again for a total of 30 pieces of cake.

red velvet cake with frosting and sprinkles on a spatula

Other Red Velvet Recipes

TOOLS TO MAKE LEMON CAKE

how to make red velvet cake
how to make red velvet cake

Red Velvet Sheet Cake

4.84 from 6 votes
Serve a dessert with a pop of beautiful red color. This red velvet sheet cake is made from scratch and has melt in your mouth cream cheese frosting. Great for holiday parties!
Servings 15
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes

Ingredients
 

For the Frosting:

For the Cake:

Instructions
 

For the Frosting:

  • In a medium bowl, use a hand mixer to cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth.
  • Add the vanilla extract and powdered sugar. Mix well.
  • Add in the cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until you’ve reached the desired consistency.

For the Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  • Cream together the shortening and sugar.
  • Add eggs and mix well.
  • Add the vanilla extract, cocoa and red color and mix again.
  • Add the buttermilk, salt and flour. Mix well.
  • Lastly, add the vinegar and baking soda and mix until the batter is smooth.
  • Spray an 11x17x1” sheet cake pan with cooking spray.
  • Spread the batter evenly in the pan.
  • Bake the cakes for 15 minutes or until the center of the cake bounces back when you touch it.
  • Allow the cakes to cool completely and then frost.

Video

Notes

The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces and using all of the frosting, with 1 serving being 1 slice of frosted cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. Also, if you use less frosting, the serving will be less calories.

Nutrition

Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 441mg | Potassium: 66mg | Sugar: 44g | Vitamin A: 515IU | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Author Julie Clark
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Calories 446
Keyword christmas cake, red velvet cake, sheet cake recipe

red velvet cake title image

About Julie Clark

We are Julie, Maddie, and Kinslee – a mother and daughter team sharing with you the best cakes to satisfy any need or sweet craving that you may have. Welcome to our family’s kitchen!

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Is this recipe for two sheet cakes?? Both of the size of 11 x 17?? Plz let me know ASAP thank you!!!