If you're a fan red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting then you'll love this recipe. It takes the cream cheese frosting to the next level by adding an entire layer of cheesecake. No need to frost between each cake layer, the cheesecake will hold it all together.
This recipe can easily be made over the course of multiple days. You can make the cheesecake one day, then freeze it until you're ready to make the rest of the cake.
After the layers have been assembled, spread cream cheese frosting over the entire cake. It's always easiest to do a crumb coat. This prevents the red crumbs from showing in the final layer. To do this, apply a thin coat of frosting to the entire cake and then refrigerating for 20 minutes. Apply another thin coat and then decorate as desired. I like adding a little color to my cakes so I added raspberries on top to emphasize that red color.
Recipe
Makes: 1 8-inch cake Time: 2 hours + 6 hours of freezing
Ingredients
Cheesecake:
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Red Velvet Cake:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil1 cup buttermilk
1 espresso shot
Red get food coloring
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons white vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Directions
Cheesecake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place a large roasting pan on the lower third rack of the oven. Place a kettle of water on the stove to boil.
Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper. Wrap a double layer of foil around the bottom and up the sides of the pan (you want to seal it so the water from the water bath doesn't seep into the pan).
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to mix the cream cheese- blend until it is nice and smooth and creamy. Mix in sugar and salt and blend for 2 minutes, scraping down sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs, one at a time, blending after each addition. Finally, mix in sour cream, whipping cream and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Set the pan into the roasting pan in the pre-heated oven. Carefully pour the hot water from your kettle into the roasting pan (it will fill the pan surrounding the cheesecake). Pour enough water so that there is about an inch of water coming up the foil along the sides of the cheesecake pan.
Bake the cheesecake for 45 minutes. It should be set to the touch and not jiggly. Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan and let it cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. When it has cooled, place the pan into the freezer and let the cheesecake freeze completely. This can be done in several hours or overnight.
Red Velvet Cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour two 9-inch round metal baking pans (or spray with nonstick baking spray with flour).
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar to the flour mixture. Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat for 1 minute, until blended. Scrape sides and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans, dividing equally.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pans, then invert cakes onto a rack to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat powdered sugar, cream cheese, butter and vanilla until it is smooth and creamy (do not over beat).
Assemble and Frost:
Place one cake layer into the center of a cake plate or platter. Remove the cheesecake from the freezer. Take it out of the pan and peel off the parchment. If the cheesecake layer is slightly larger than the cake, move it to a cutting board and gently shave off some of the exterior of the cheesecake to get it to the same size as your cake layers. Place the cheesecake layer on top of the first cake layer. Place the 2nd cake layer on top of the cheesecake.
Apply a crumb coat layer to the cake- use a long, thin spatula to cover the cake completely with a thin and even layer of frosting. Be sure to wipe off your spatula each time you are about to dip it back into the bowl to get more frosting (this way you won't be transferring any red crumbs into the bowl of frosting). Don't worry at this point about the crumbs being visible in the frosting on the cake. When your cake has a thin layer of frosting all over it, place it into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to "set" the frosting.
Once the first layer of frosting is set, apply the 2nd layer. Start by adding a large scoop of frosting onto the top of the cake. Use a long, thin spatula to spread the frosting evenly across the top and then spread it down the sides of the cake too. Because you applied a crumb-coat layer, you shouldn't have any red crumbs floating around in the final frosting layer. Decorate, as desired.
Recipe modified from Recipe Girl's Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake
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