Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

This over-the-top Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake has two layers of homemade red velvet cake with a crustless vanilla cheesecake center and a cream cheese whipped cream frosting. It's rich, decadent, and the perfect dessert to serve for Valentine's Day or for any occasion!

 

You know how restaurants serve those delectable multi-layer desserts that are part cake and part cheesecake and 100% delicious? Have you ever wondered how they do that? My recipe for Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake will show you exactly how to combine the two beautiful sweets into one incredible dessert.

If you love cheesecake cake as much as I do, I also have a pretty amazing Chocolate Guinness and Baileys Cheesecake Cake that's a must try!

Ingredients for Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

This particular cake is all about layers. You have red velvet cake layers, cheesecake layers, and layers of cream cheese whipped cream frosting. These layers add up to something your guests won't soon forget!

Get the measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Ingredients for the Cheesecake Layers

• Cream Cheese - full fat cream cheese is always recommended and it's best if it's at room temperature.
• Granulated Sugar - Also known as white sugar.
• All-Purpose Flour - No need to use up your cake flour for the cheesecake layer.
• Heavy Whipping Cream - This is found near the half-n-half at your grocery store.
• Vanilla Extract - Use your favorite kind of vanilla, mine is linked.
• Eggs - Use large eggs for this recipe.

Ingredients for the Red Velvet Cake Layers

• Vegetable Oil - Canola oil will also work.
• Buttermilk - gives the red velvet cake that traditional flavor, but it can be substituted with whole milk and vinegar in a pinch.
• Eggs - Use large eggs for this recipen
• Red Gel Food Coloring - I like using red red or super red gel food coloring. If you're afraid you'll taste the food color, no with a no taste red gel food coloring instead.
• White Vinegar - also called distilled.
• Vanilla Extract - again, use your favorite vanilla extract.
• Cake Flour - Cake flour is more fine than all-purpose flour and contains less protein, making less gluten when it's mixed.
• Granulated Sugar - Also known as white sugar.
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - I prefer Hershey's, but use your favorite cocoa powder.
• Baking Soda - The leavening agent in our red velvet cake recipe.
• Salt - table salt. Not coarse salt or freshly ground salt.

Ingredients for the Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

• Cream Cheese - always let it come up to room temperature so it can be easilyl blended into a recipe..
• Powdered Sugar - also called icing sugar or confectioners' sugar.
• Vanilla Extract - found in the spice section of your grocery store or online.
• Heavy Whipping Cream - Not to be confused with "whipped topping" found in a tub in the freezer section. You will find this with the milk.

How to Make Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

Don't forget to set your cream cheese out a few hours before you plan to make the cheesecake layer or the cream cheese frosting.

5 Pumpkin Desserts for Thanksgiving

Discover what favorite pumpkin desserts should be at your Thanksgiving table this year

Name Email

By subscribing, I consent to receiving emails.

How to Make the Cheesecake Layer

Start by preheating your oven and preparing the parchment paper to fit your pans. Grease your pan with nonstick baking spray, then parchment paper, and then non-stick baking spray again.

Beat your cream cheese in a large bowl until it loosens up and becomes smooth and creamy. Add the sugar and flour and mix well. Then add the heavy cream and vanilla extract. Finally, add one egg at a time and mix thoroughly before adding another egg.

Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared pan. Wrap the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil, then set it inside a slightly larger pan. Put that into an even larger pan with a layer of water in the bottom.

PRO TIP: If you would like to save on foil, you can leave it off and place the first pan in a slightly larger second pan and THEN in a pan that's slightly larger than the last and fill the outermost pan with 1 inch of hot water.

Bake your cheesecake until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly as set up Jell-o would. Remove it from the oven and let it cool to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator overnight to chill.

How to Make the Cake Layers

To make the cake, preheat your oven and line two round pans with parchment paper and non-stick spray again. Mix up the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, red food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Beat with a hand mixer on medium or whisk until well combined.

In a separate large bowl, add in the cake flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat or whisk until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in any remaining flour.

Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes then remove the cake from the pan and cool it completely.

How to Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

To make the cream cheese whipped cream frosting, start by beating the cream cheese to loosen it up. Then add the powdered sugar and beat until it is fully incorporated and smooth.

To keep the cream cheese from becoming lumpy, I added the heavy whipping cream in small amounts. Add in the heavy whipping cream in ½ cup portions beating each until fully incorporated and smooth. Once all of the heavy whipping cream is incorporated, beat on high until stiff peaks form.

How to Make Dried Cake Crumbs for Garnish

This cake features a beautiful garnish of cake crumbs. You'll be using the tops of the red velvet cakes which are extremely moist. They need to be baked in the oven to dry them out before they can be crumbled.

Preheat your oven to 325º and bake your cake pieces on a lined baking sheet for 20-25 minutes. When they are dry enough to crumble, crumble them up on the baking sheet and bake for five more minutes. Let the crumbs cool completely before using as garnish.

How to Assemble Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Level the two layers of cake with a cake leveler or serrated knife. Set the slices you cut off to the side to toast for a garnish.
2. Add a small amount of whipped cream frosting to the center of the cake plate and thinly spread out.
3. Next, add the cake to the center of the cake plate and gently press down.
4. Add 1 cup of whipped cream frosting to the top of the cake. Evenly spread it out with an angled spatula.
5. Add the cheesecake layer to the top. Trim the cheesecake with a sharp knife if it sticks out farther than the cake. Use a butter knife to smooth the sides of the cheesecake after it's trimmed. Remove the cheesecake pieces that were cut away and clean off the cake plate.
6. Add 1 cup of whipped cream frosting to the top of the cheesecake and spread it out evenly with the angled spatula.
7. Next, add the final layer of cake.
8. Add about 2 to 3 cups of whipped cream frosting to the top of the cake and begin spreading it out over the top and down the sides of the cake. Add more frosting to the sides as needed.
9. Clean off the cake plate and add sprinkles or dried cake crumbs to the side of the cake. I like to do this while sitting the cake plate in a large jelly roll pan so the jelly roll pan can catch the sprinkles as they fall or when I brush them away.
10. Add the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with the Wilton 1M tip. Pipe swirls on top of the cake and add additional sprinkles or crumbs to the swirls.

Tips for Best Results

Make sure you chill the cheesecake for at least eight hours. For best results make it the day before you plan to assemble this gorgeous red velvet cheesecake cake.

Get "no-taste" red food coloring to avoid the slightly bitter edge that comes from some red food coloring when using large amounts.

You'll notice the various steps for this layer-cake recipe call for a lot of parchment paper. Parchment paper is the baker's best friend. It will save you so much clean-up! You can usually find parchment paper on a roll at your local grocery store. However, if you want true convenience, you can purchase pre-cut parchment paper sheets sized perfectly for your round cake pans or the pan size you most commonly use.

Don't use more than 1 cup of whipped cream frosting between the layers. More frosting sounds nice in theory, but it makes the layers unstable and they will begin to slide all over.

Frequently Asked Questions

More Cake Recipes You'll Love

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cannoli Cake

Pecan Pie Cheesecake Bars

No-Bake Cheesecake In a Jar

Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake

Author: Miranda Couse

This Homemade Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake has layers of homemade red velvet cake with a crustless vanilla cheesecake center. It's rich, decadent, and the perfect dessert to serve for Valentine's Day.

4.75 from 12 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate this Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Chill Time 8 hours hrs

Total Time 10 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Servings 10 slices

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Cheesecake

• ▢ 24 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ▢ ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 4 large eggs

Cake

• ▢ ¾ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 cup buttermilk
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ ¾ tablespoon red gel food coloring
• ▢ 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 ¾ cups cake flour
• ▢ 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

• ▢ 16 ounces cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 4 cups heavy whipping cream

Instructions

Cheesecake

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Cut a parchment circle to fit in the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. Lightly spray the bottom of the pan with nonstick baking spray and lay the parchment circle on top of the spray. Generously grease the sides of the pan with nonstick baking spray.
• In a large bowl, add in the cream cheese. Beat with a hand mixer on medium until smooth and creamy.
• Add in the granulated sugar and flour. Continue to beat until incorporated
• Add in the heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract. Beat until worked into the cheesecake batter.
• Add in the eggs one at a time and beat just until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl before adding the next egg.
• Once all of the eggs are incorporated, pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared springform pan.
• Wrap the springform pan in two layers of heavy duty aluminum foil or save your foil and place the springform pan in a slightly larger pan.
• Place the foil wrapped springform pan or two pans (whichever method you’re using) in an even larger pan filled with 1 inch of hot water.
• Place the cheesecake into the preheated oven and bake for 55 minutes to 65 minutes or until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly as set up jell-o would. To test the cheesecake, gently jiggle the pan.
• Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature. Place into the oven and chill overnight or for at least 8 hours before assembling the cheesecake cake.

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick baking spray. Cut two 9-inch parchment paper circles and place in the bottom of each cake pan. Add about 1 tablespoon of flour to coat the sides of the greased pan and tap out any excess flour.
• Repeat with the second cake pan.
• In a medium mixing bowl, add the vegetable oil, buttermilk, eggs, red food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract. Beat with a hand mixer on medium or whisk until well combined.
• In a large bowl, add in the cake flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk to combine.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat or whisk until just combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in any remaining flour.
• Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans.
• Place in the preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean or with moist crumbs, it’s done. Wet batter means it needs to bake longer.
• Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 30 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Whipped Cream

• In a large mixing bowl, add in the cream cheese. Beat with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy.
• Add the powdered sugar and beat until the powdered sugar is incorporated and the cream cheese mixture is smooth.
• Add in ½ cup of heavy whipping cream and beat until the heavy cream is worked into the cream cheese. It doesn't need to be whipped.
• Add in another ½ cup of heavy whipping cream and beat until the heavy cream is worked into the frosting.
• Add in 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and continue to beat until incorporated.
• Repeat adding 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and beating until the remaining 2 cups of heavy cream are worked into the frosting. Turn on high and beat until stiff peaks form.

Assemble

• Level the two layers of cake with a cake leveler or knife. Set the slices you cut off to the side to toast for a garnish.
• Add a small amount of whipped cream frosting to the center of the cake plate and thinly spread out.
• Add the cake to the center of the cake plate and gently press down.
• Add 1 cup of whipped cream frosting to the top of the cake. Evenly spread it out with an angled spatula.
• Add the cheesecake layer to the top. Trim the cheesecake with a sharp knife if it sticks out farther than the cake. Use a butter knife to smooth the sides of the cheesecake after it's trimmed. Remove the cheesecake pieces that were cut away and clean off the cake plate.
• Add 1 cup of whipped cream frosting to the top of the cheesecake and spread it out evenly with the angled spatula.
• Add the final layer of cake.
• Add about 2 to 3 cups of whipped cream frosting to the top of the cake and begin spreading it out over the top and down the sides of the cake. Add more frosting to the sides as needed.
• Clean off the cake plate and add sprinkles or dried cake crumbs to the side of the cake. I like to do this while sitting the cake plate in a large jelly roll pan so the jelly roll pan can catch the sprinkles as they fall or when I brush them away.
• Add the remaining frosting to a piping bag fitted with the Wilton 1M tip. Pipe swirls on top of the cake and add additional sprinkles or crumbs to the swirls.

Dried Cake Crumbs

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Place the pieces of cake on a parchment lined rimmed baking sheet.
• Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until they are dried enough to crumble. The cake is very moist so it will stick together if you try to crumble before doing this step.
• Crumble the piece of cake up on the parchment lined baking sheet.
• Place back in the oven and bake for 5 more minutes until they are completely dried and feel similar to a crouton.
• Allow to cool completely before using as a garnish.

(Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. Please see a registered dietitian for special diet advice.)

Did You Make This Recipe?

Be sure to share with me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Youtube!

Rate this Recipe Pin Recipe Share Recipe