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.
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.