Naturally Red Velvet Bundt Cake Recipe

What makes a red velvet cake so red? For most red velvet cakes these days, the cake's vibrant red color comes from food coloring, but in this naturally red velvet bundt cake from recipe developer and chef Deniz Vergara, it comes from pureed beets. "My favorite thing about making this recipe is the surprised look that people get when they hear beets are in the cake," Vergara says.

Red velvet cakes first began to appear in the early 1900s, and a chemical reaction between the cocoa and the acidic ingredients in the cake would give the cake a red hue. However, when cocoa became scarce during World War II, many bakers turned to beet juice to give their red velvet cakes the all-important red hue. This bundt cake is perfect for all occasions, and you can also make the cake ahead of time and store it easily in the refrigerator or wrapped in plastic wrap in the freezer.

To make this naturally red velvet bundt cake, you'll need buttermilk, distilled white vinegar, and the juice of one lemon. You'll also need two room temperature eggs, all-purpose flour, Dutch processed cocoa powder, baking powder, sea salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, butter, and sugar.

And, of course, you'll need a beet puree, which you can get by steaming two medium beets then pureeing them with 1-2 tablespoons of water. The beets give the cake a deep red color without the use of any artificial food coloring. "Believe it or not, you can't taste the beets in this cake," Vergara says. "The earthy sweet beet puree gives this cake a red hue as well as a rich and fudgy texture."

To make the cake's cream cheese icing, you'll need cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and lemon juice.

First, preheat your oven to 350 F. If you haven't already, steam the beets for about 5 minutes, then peel and dice them. Finally, puree them with 1-2 tablespoons of water to form a puree that is slightly thicker than applesauce.

Grease a bundt pan generously with butter and set it aside. Combine ¾ cup of beet puree, buttermilk, vinegar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and eggs together in a medium-sized bowl and whisk them together until smooth. Finally, sift the dry ingredients: salt, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda, together in another bowl, and set it aside.

Beat the butter until it is soft in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the sugar into the bowl slowly, and beat the butter and sugar together until creamy, or about 3 minutes. Alternate adding half of the beet mixture with the flour mixture, starting with the beet mixture. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each time you add the wet ingredients.

Pour the batter into the greased bundt pan. Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the thickest part of the cake comes out clean.

To make your cream cheese icing, beat the cream cheese until it's smooth using an electric mixer. Add the butter and beat it with the cream cheese until they are fully combined. Next, add the sugar and lemon juice. Continue to beat the ingredients together until they are smooth.

Once you've removed the cake from the oven, let it cool, and iced it, your naturally red velvet bundt cake is ready to serve! "You can serve this cake for any occasion," Vergara says. "I recently made this cake for my [niece's] birthday because she loves red velvet!" If you too have a family member who loves red velvet cake, this recipe is sure to be a winner.