Copycat Red Velvet Cheesecake

When it comes to fun festive desserts, red velvet ranks pretty high on my list. There's just something that feels so special about a beautiful red, cocoa-laced cake. I've been known to top them off with these really cute homemade chocolate hearts that look fancy but are beyond easy to make.
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Kate babbles about all things food on her own blog, Food Babbles, and about feeding her girls the best way. Here on Food Fanatic, she wows us with her commitment to homemade, fresh baking, week after week.

When it comes to fun festive desserts, red velvet ranks pretty high on my list. There's just something that feels so special about a beautiful red, cocoa-laced cake. My girls love when I make them red velvet cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese icing. I've been known to top them off with these really cute homemade chocolate hearts that look fancy but are beyond easy to make. Shh ... that will be our little secret.

So imagine their glee when recently we had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory and what graced the menu but a red velvet cake. This was not your average, run of the mill red velvet cake though. Oh no! Are you familiar with this amazing cake? If not, you are in for a very special treat.

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The incredible original has two moist layers of red velvet cake that sandwich a layer of cheesecake and another layer of cheesecake rests on top. Crazy, I know! What's not to love about a cheesecake INSIDE a cake? You can hardly contain yourself, right? Me either! After the girls and I shared a piece of that red velvet cheesecake insanity I knew I had to give this a try at home.

The resulting cake is a pretty tasty and darn close match to the cheesecake factory red velvet cheesecake cake. Smooth, creamy vanilla bean cheesecake gets very friendly with light, tender layers of chocolate cake and as is customary, this beautiful cake's finishing touch is fluffy cream cheese frosting.

I chose to make only one layer of cheesecake for my version because I thought that was the perfect ratio of cake to cheesecake for us but to keep things authentic, simply double the cheesecake in my recipe and place the second layer on top then frost away.

Make this cake extra special with the addition of chocolate curls, a dusting of cocoa powder or even red velvet crumbs for a splash of color outside that clues the diner in on the decadent treat they're about to devour.

This cake has a few steps but each one is well worth it. This cake is sure to impress dinner guests or just a couple of little girls who love red velvet cupcakes. And red velvet cookies.. oh, and don't forget the red velvet cheesecake brownies too!

Ingredients

For Cheesecake Layer:
  • 16 ounces cream cheese, (2 8 oz packages)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla bean, with seeds scraped or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For Cake Layers:
  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, not dutch process
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 3 tablespoons red food coloring
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons white vinegar
For Frosting:
  • 16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature, (2 8 oz packages)
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 vanilla bean, with seeds scraped or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For Garnish (optional):
  • chocolate curls
  • chocolate shavings
  • a dusting of cocoa powder
  • red velvet cake crumbs

Directions

Prepare Cheesecake:
  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Wrap a 9-inch springform pan tightly with aluminum foil and place into a deep roasting pan. Place a parchment circle in the bottom of the pan and set aside.
  2. Bring a kettle of water to a boil as you prepare cheesecake batter.
  3. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and beat until incorporated. Add eggs, one at a time and beat after each addition. Add sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla bean seeds/paste. Beat until smooth.
  4. Scrape batter into prepared springform pan. Place on rack in middle of oven. Pour boiling water from kettle into roasting pan so that water comes halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
  5. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until completely set. Remove from oven. Remove springform pan from roasting pan and discard foil. Cool on wire rack until completely cool then transfer to freezer. Freeze until completely solid, at least 4 hours or overnight.
Prepare Cake:
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two (9-inch) cake pans. Line the bottoms with a parchment circle. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla extract and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat with a hand mixer on medium speed until evenly combined. Divide evenly between two cake pans.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
Prepare Frosting:
  1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter together on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla seeds/paste. Beat again just until smooth and creamy again.
Assemble Cake:
  1. Place one red velvet layer on a cake plate. Remove cheesecake from freezer, remove sides of springform pan and invert cheesecake layer on top of red velvet layer. Remove parchment circle. Top with second red velvet layer. Trim sides of cakes to make even all around.
  2. Apply a thin very layer of frosting over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate cake for 30 minutes. Then frost cake with remaining frosting. Garnish, if desired.

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