Black Velvet Cake with American Buttercream
Our signature Black Velvet Cake recipe layered with classic American buttercream. The cake is colored and flavored using only our organic Black Velvet Cacao powder. No artificial colors or flavors. Top 8 allergen free. Absolutely delicious.
This recipe below includes a simple American buttercream, but feel free to fill, frost, or glaze the cake with whatever your heart desires!
Black Velvet Cake Ingredients:
- 1 cup Black Velvet Cacao
- 1 cup boiling water or hot coffee
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 and 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup oil
- 1 cup buttermilk*
Buttercream Ingredients:
- 2 cups (4 sticks/ 1 lb) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 cups (2 lb) powdered sugar, sifted
- large pinch of salt
- extracts and flavorings as desired
- 1-3 tablespoons heavy cream as needed
To make the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 9-inch round pans and set aside.
- Pour the boiling water (or hot coffee) into the Black Velvet Cacao and whisk until smooth. Set aside to cool.
- Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Whisk together the eggs and oil. Wisk in the cacao mixture from step 2. Add the buttermilk and mix until well combined.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the dry well. Gently mix until combined. The batter will be thin.
- Pour the batter into the pans. Bake for about 25 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.
*You can make your own buttermilk by stirring a tablespoon or two of vinegar or lemon juice into a cup of milk. Let it sit for a few minutes… Voila! Buttermilk substitute!
To make the Buttercream:
- Combine the butter, sugar, and flavorings in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Start mixing on low speed until the sugar is incorporated with the butter. Increase the mixing speed to high and beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Adjust the consistency with heavy cream as needed.
To make a buttercream that is more stable and pliable for decorating, you can substitute a part of the butter for shortening. We recommend using 1 and 1/2 cups butter, and 1/2 cup shortening.