This is the red velvet cake I wanted when I started baking gluten-free: moist, tender, deeply red, lightly cocoa-forward, and sturdy enough to slice cleanly under a thick layer of cream cheese frosting.
It does not eat like a compromise, and that took some work. I developed it with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and kept testing until the crumb had the lift and softness I wanted.
Red velvet has been my favorite for as long as I can remember. My Aunt Ula Mae made the one I still measure every other red velvet against. This version is not her exact cake made gluten-free, but it comes from the same place: I wanted the flavor and texture I remembered, not a cake that was merely “good for gluten-free.”
Why This Recipe Matters to Me
Aunt Ula Mae’s red velvet is part of why I care so much about getting this one right. Recipes disappear when nobody writes them down, and this site has always been partly about keeping the food I want my kids to remember. I cannot recreate every detail of what she made, but I can keep the standard she set in my head: soft cake, balanced cocoa, tangy frosting, and a slice worth going back for.
The gluten-free version took more trial and error than I expected. The useful part of that testing was not the number of attempts. It was figuring out what actually changed the cake.
Why This Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake Works
- Butter gives flavor; oil protects the crumb. Using both gives the cake the richness I want from red velvet without letting a gluten-free crumb turn dry or fragile.
- The leavening is deliberate. The breakthrough in my testing came when I pushed the baking powder to roughly 1 teaspoon per cup of gluten-free flour. This recipe uses 1 tablespoon with 2 ⅔ cups of Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1, along with baking soda.
- Buttermilk and vinegar keep the flavor where red velvet should be. They bring the tang that separates red velvet from a plain cocoa cake.
- The batter is mixed only until the dry ingredients disappear. Once the flour goes in, more mixing is not better. A few tiny lumps are preferable to beating the batter until it is heavy.
- The crumb coat is worth the extra 15 minutes. Red velvet crumbs show up in white frosting immediately. A thin first coat traps them so the final layer stays clean.
The Ingredients That Matter Most
The recipe card has the full amounts. These are the ingredients where the specific choice or technique mattered during testing.
The Dry Mix
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour: this is the blend I developed and tested the recipe with. Gluten-free blends are not interchangeable enough for me to promise the same result with another one.
Baking powder: 1 tablespoon may look aggressive if you are used to wheat-flour cakes. In this formula, that extra lift is intentional and was the turning point in getting the texture right.
Cocoa powder: just enough for classic red velvet flavor without turning the cake into chocolate cake.
The Wet Mix
Butter and vegetable oil: the butter brings flavor while the oil keeps the finished cake moist.
Room-temperature eggs and buttermilk: they incorporate more smoothly into the creamed butter and sugar and help the batter come together evenly.
Liquid red food coloring: that is what I tested here. If you change the type of coloring, you are also changing the liquid balance, so I would not make that swap casually.
The Frosting
Philadelphia cream cheese: I use the full-fat brick-style cream cheese here. Keep it softened enough to beat smooth but still slightly firm.
Butter: room temperature, but not so soft that it is greasy. Soft cream cheese plus overly soft butter is how a frosting that should stand up turns loose.
Powdered sugar: add it gradually. Once the frosting is light, smooth, and spreadable, stop beating it to death.
How to Make Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake
The recipe card below has the complete instructions. These photos show the points where texture and timing matter most.
1. Prep the pans
Butter two 8- or 9-inch round pans, then dust with cocoa powder instead of flour. Tap out the excess and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Build the base
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time. The mixture can look slightly curdled after the second egg; keep going.
3. Add the remaining wet ingredients
Add the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and food coloring. Start the mixer low, then increase to medium once the liquid is incorporated. The mixture should be smooth and evenly red.
4. Add the dry ingredients
Add the sifted dry mixture in two additions on low speed. Stop as soon as the batter is combined. Do not keep mixing to chase every tiny lump.
5. Bake and cool
Divide the batter evenly and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn them onto racks and cool completely before frosting.
6. Frost, crumb coat, and finish
Use about 1 ½ cups of frosting between the layers. Cover the assembled cake with a thin crumb coat, chill for 15 minutes, then add the final layer of cream cheese frosting.
The Few Things I Would Not Skip
- Use the flour blend I tested. Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 is part of the formula here, not just a generic suggestion.
- Dust the pans with cocoa powder. Flour can leave a pale film on the outside of a red cake.
- Cool the layers completely. Warm cake plus cream cheese frosting is a fast route to sliding layers and soft frosting.
- Do the crumb coat. This is the step that makes the final white frosting look clean instead of streaked with red crumbs.
- Do not over-soften the frosting ingredients. The cream cheese and butter should beat smoothly but still have enough structure to hold on the cake.
Make-Ahead, Storage, and the Freezing Lesson
I learned this one the hard way. I baked layers ahead for Easter, froze them, thawed them, and the finished cake was noticeably drier than the fresh versions I had been testing. I baked it fresh again for Mother’s Day and the texture was back where it belonged.
So for this specific recipe, I do not recommend freezing the cake layers. If you want to work ahead, bake the layers up to one day in advance, cool them completely, wrap them well, and refrigerate. Frost the next day.
Once frosted, keep the cake covered in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese frosting. Leftovers are best within 3 to 4 days.
Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake FAQs
Possibly, but I developed this recipe with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Different blends use different starches, gums, and ratios, so I would not assume another blend will behave the same way.
Yes. The layers will be a little thinner and may finish sooner. Start checking them a few minutes before the full 25-minute mark.
Yes. Bake the layers the day before, cool completely, wrap well, and refrigerate. Based on my own testing with this formula, I would not freeze the layers.
Because that is where the texture finally clicked in my testing. With 2 ⅔ cups of the gluten-free flour blend, 1 tablespoon of baking powder gave me the lift and tenderness I was trying to get. It is specific to this tested formula, not a rule I would apply blindly to every gluten-free cake.
More Baking From The Foodie Eats
- Gluten-Free Key Lime Bars for a bright, tart dessert with a buttery gluten-free crust.
- Hummingbird Carrot Cake for another layer cake built around fruit, spice, and cream cheese frosting.
Ready to bake? The complete ingredient amounts and instructions are in the recipe card below.
📖 Recipe
Gluten-Free Red Velvet Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 ⅔ cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
- 2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder plus extra for dusting pans
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 2 ½ tablespoon red food coloring (liquid)
For the Cream Cheese Frosting
- 16 oz Philadelphia cream cheese room temp but still slightly firm
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temp but not too soft
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups powdered sugar sifted if clumpy
Instructions
Prepare the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter two 8-inch (or 9-inch) round cake pans, making sure to coat the sides and bottom. Then dust them with cocoa powder instead of flour; this helps the cake release easily and keeps the color deep red. Tap out any excess.
- Sift and mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, sift together the gluten-free flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to fully combine and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and creamy; about 3 minutes. It should be pale and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time. Crack in one egg, beat until incorporated, then repeat. The batter may look a little curdled after the second egg; don’t worry, that’s normal. Keep mixing until it smooths out again.
- Mix in remaining wet ingredients. Add the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and red food coloring. Start mixing on low to prevent splashes, then increase to medium speed. Beat until fully combined and smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in two additions. Mix just until combined. It’s okay if there are a few small lumps; over-mixing can lead to a dense cake.
- Divide and bake. Pour the batter evenly between your prepared cake pans. Smooth the tops with a spatula and place on the same oven rack if possible. Bake for 25–30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely. Let the cakes rest in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully turn them out onto wire racks. Cool completely, about 1-2 hours, before frosting
Make the Frosting
- In a clean mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together on medium speed for about 3 minutes. It should be smooth, fluffy, and pale in color.
- Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing on low at first to avoid clouds of sugar, then increasing speed to beat it in fully. After all the sugar is added, beat for another 1–2 minutes until light and creamy. If the frosting is too soft, you can add extra powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time.
Assemble the Cake
- Place one cake layer upside down on your cake stand or serving plate. This gives you a flat surface for stacking.
- Spread about 1 ½ cups of frosting evenly over the first layer.
- Add the second cake layer, also upside down, and gently press to level.
- Apply a thin crumb coat of frosting over the top and sides. Refrigerate for 15 minutes, then use the remaining frosting to cover the top and sides. For a smooth finish, use an offset spatula or bench scraper. For a more rustic look, go with swirls and swoops!
Video
Notes
You can easily make this with cake flour. Just omit the baking powder--no other changes needed.
Baking Tips
- Don’t overmix. Once the dry ingredients are in, mix just until you stop seeing streaks. A few lumps are totally fine.
- Cool completely before frosting. Even slightly warm cake will melt your frosting and create a slippery mess.
Gluten-Free Specific Notes
- Use the right flour. This recipe was tested with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour. Substituting another blend may change the texture.
- Extra baking powder matters in this recipe. The texture finally clicked in my testing when I used 1 tablespoon with this flour.
Storage & Make-Ahead Notes
- Skip the freezer. When I froze and thawed the layers, the cake came out noticeably drier than fresh.
- Short-term storage: Store covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. The flavors actually get better by day two.
- Make-ahead layers: You can bake the layers a day ahead and refrigerate (wrapped tightly) until ready to frost.
Recipe Variations
- Cupcakes: This recipe can also be used for cupcakes; makes about 24. Bake at 350°F for 18–20 minutes.
Vickie Crust
I’ve had a lot of gluten free desserts that weren’t very good but this cake is amazing! No one would know it was GF unless you told them. It was moist and flavorful. I would definitely order it again!