A perfectly moist cake with a cream cheese filling, this Red Velvet Cake Roll is a delicious addition to your dessert menu.

Now I wouldn’t say that this is a Valentines dessert just because it is red velvet. This is a cake that is great any time of the year.
This Red Velvet Cake Roll is such a fun dessert to make, I absolutely love cake in any way, shape or form. This roll version is just unique and fun.
With the tanginess of the red velvet and creaminess of the cream cheese frosting, you have a match made in heaven.
This Red Velvet Cake Roll is the perfect cake recipe to make for any gathering, holiday, birthday or just because.
The roll design is really fun as well, you get cake and frosting in every single bite and it isn’t as hard as you’d imagine either.
If you are a lover of red velvet, then this Cake Roll is exactly what you need to add to your must make menu.
Some of my other favorite cake recipes that we have on our site include: Chocolate Chip Pound Cake, Vanilla Cake and Donut Cake.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Red velvet and cream cheese are a match made in heaven.
- This cake serves a larger crowd.
- You get cake and frosting in each and every bite.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST):
All-purpose flour
Unsweetened cocoa powder
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Eggs
Granulated sugar
Vegetable oil
Buttermilk
Distilled white vinegar
Vanilla extract
Red food coloring
Cream cheese
Salted butter
Powdered sugar
HOW TO MAKE A RED VELVET CAKE ROLL, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line the bottom of a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Spray the bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar together for 4-5 minutes. It will expand in size and be pale yellow.
- Add the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and red food coloring and mix on low until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread to make an even layer.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes until the top springs back when you push on it. Do not overbake.
- While the cake bakes prepare a large tea towel on a counter and sprinkle ยฝ cup of powdered sugar on top evenly.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edges and tip the pan gently onto the tea towel.
- Roll the cake up with the tea towel slowly and gently from short end to short end. Let the cake cool completely rolled up. You can put it in the refrigerator for about an hour to speed the process up.
- Remove from the refrigerator if you placed it there while you make the frosting.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand-held mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix again until well combined.
- Gently unroll the cake and spread the frosting on top of the cake, letting ยฝ inch of the border be free from frosting.
- Reroll the cake without the towel this time. Make sure to do this tightly so when you slice it there are no air gaps between the frosting and cake.
- Refrigerate the cake (covered) for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
- Remove from the refrigerator and dust with more powdered sugar (about 1 tablespoon) and slice into 1-inch pieces.
WHAT DOES RED VELVET CAKE TASTE LIKE?
The cake itself has a hint of chocolate from the cocoa and a tartness from the vinegar and buttermilk.
This tastes good on it’s own but is really balanced out by the sweet frosting that you add to it.
HOW DO I GET THE PERFECT ROLL?
Make sure your towel is ready with powdered sugar before the cake comes out so itโs ready.
Make sure to gently invert your cake onto the towel or you will end up with a cloud of powdered sugar everywhere.
If you roll the cake when itโs not fresh out of the oven it will crack. If you over bake this cake the cake is more likely to crack when you roll it.
CAN I USE ANOTHER FROSTING?
If you are not a huge fan of cream cheese you can deviate from it and use a frosting that you prefer better.
Chocolate Buttercream, Vanilla Buttercream, Ermine, Classic White frosting all will work well with this Red Velvet Cake Roll.
CAN I USE CAKE FLOUR?
Yes, if you like to use cake flour in your recipes you can substitute it for a lighter version of the cake.
We don’t substitute it too often but have in the past.
HOW TO STORE:
This cake can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 3 days.
You can also freeze this cake fully assembled. Wrap cake in plastic wrap and place in a freeze bag or container if possible. This will keep frozen for up to 1 month.
To defrost, remove to the refrigerator until thawed. Then cut and serve.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- If you use unsalted butter in the frosting, add a pinch of salt.
- You can use cake flour for an even lighter cake texture.
- Other frostings can be used, see some ideas above.
- You can leave the food coloring out altogether if you donโt care for this cake to be red.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Make sure that you roll this cake fresh out of the oven so it doesn’t crack.
- If you do not want to dust with more powdered sugar, you do not have to.
- You can glaze this with a ganache if you’d like.
When it comes to a delicious and fun cake you cannot go wrong when making this Red Velvet Cake Roll.
If you like this recipe you might also like:
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Red Velvet Cake Roll
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- ยพ teaspoon baking powder
- ยฝ teaspoon baking soda
- ยฝ teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- ยพ cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 Tablespoons buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons red food coloring
Frosting:
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 8 Tablespoons salted butter softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ยฝ teaspoon vanilla extract
Dusting:
- ยฝ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line the bottom of a 10×15-inch jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Spray the bottom and sides with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the eggs and sugar together for 4-5 minutes. It will expand in size and be pale yellow.
- Add the oil, buttermilk, vinegar, vanilla, and red food coloring and mix on low until combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread to make an even layer.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes until the top springs back when you push on it. Do not overbake.
- While the cake bakes prepare a large tea towel on a counter and sprinkle ยฝ cup of powdered sugar on top evenly.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, run a knife around the edges and tip the pan gently onto the tea towel.
- Roll the cake up with the tea towel slowly and gently from short end to short end. Let the cake cool completely rolled up. You can put it in the refrigerator for about an hour to speed the process up.
- Remove from the refrigerator if you placed it there while you make the frosting.
- In a large mixing bowl, using a hand-held mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until light and creamy.
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract and mix again until well combined.
- Gently unroll the cake and spread the frosting on top of the cake, letting ยฝ inch of the border be free from frosting.
- Reroll the cake without the towel this time. Make sure to do this tightly so when you slice it there are no air gaps between the frosting and cake.
- Refrigerate the cake (covered) for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.
- Remove from the refrigerator and dust with more powdered sugar (about 1 tablespoon) and slice into 1-inch pieces.
Notes
- If you use unsalted butter in the frosting, add a pinch of salt.
- You can use cake flour for an even lighter cake texture.
- Other frostings can be used, see some ideas above.
- You can leave the food coloring out altogether if you donโt care for this cake to be red.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Make sure that you roll this cake fresh out of the oven so it doesn’t crack.
- If you do not want to dust with more powdered sugar, you do not have to.
- You can glaze this with a ganache if you’d like.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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