This Red Velvet Cake Doctored Cake Mix Recipe belongs in your recipe file of favorites! It is amazingly moist, delicious, and has just the right amount of chocolate flavor.
Add a little cream cheese frosting, and it is pure heaven! It’s no wonder that Red Velvet Cake has long been a beloved classic southern dessert!
We have a Scratch Red Velvet Cake recipe that we love, but we were determined to find a doctored cake mix version that we loved just as much. This is it!
When I brought this leftover doctored cake mix version of Red Velvet Cake home to my family, they absolutely loved it, and couldn’t believe that it wasn’t a scratch recipe. This cake disappeared in record time!
We have experimented with using actual Red Velvet Cake Mix in doctored mix recipes in the past and were never happy with the flavor. This is why we chose to use Yellow Cake Mix as the base, and simply add red coloring.
**A note about the color: this Red Velvet Cake is not a vibrant red…it is more of a “chocolate red”. The lighting in the photo above makes it look a bit more red. Red Velvet cakes come in all shades of red depending on how much cocoa the recipe calls for, and of course the amount of red coloring used.
We loved the chocolate flavor of this cake so much that we didn’t want to remove any of the cocoa. However, if you’d prefer a deeper red, you can remove some of the cocoa and add more coloring. It’s up to you! (But we love it just as it is!)
We loved the chocolate flavor of this cake so much that we didn’t want to remove any of the cocoa. However, if you’d prefer a deeper red, you can remove some of the cocoa and add more coloring. It’s up to you! (But we love it just as it is!)
Red Velvet Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting go hand in hand. You can find our favorite Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe here!: Pipeable Cream Cheese Frosting.
Red Velvet Cake- A Doctored Cake Mix Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box yellow cake mix, sifted (15.25 box mix) plus 6 Tablespoons (45g) flour ( I used Duncan Hines Classic Yellow Mix)
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 5 Tablespoons (24g) unsweetened cocoa powder ( I sift the cocoa , then measure or weight
- 1/2 cup (107g) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons (8g) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (121g) milk
- 1 cup (242g) sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons (24g) red food coloring ( if you want a brighter red color to your cake, add 3 Tablespoons)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Grease and flour 2 eight inch round pans
- In the bowl of your mixer, place the cake mix plus flour, sugar, sifted cocoa. Whisk to blend these ingredients together. Then add all the remaining ingredients. Begin mixing on low speed, increasing to medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Beat at medium speed for 1 more minute (longer if using a hand mixer.
- Pour into prepared pans and bake for 30 - 35 minutes (check at 30 minutes). The cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean or with a just a few crumbs attached. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes then turn out.
- Makes 6 1/4 cups batter
- Works well for cupcakes
- We frosted with our Pipeable Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
*You may like to try our fantastic Red Velvet Cake recipe from scratch as we mentioned above! Print this one out for later: Delicious Red Velvet Cake from Scratch
Don’t forget to check out our full collection of favorite cake and frosting recipes in our Recipes Section! Or, for free, fun, and simple cake decorating tutorials, don’t miss our Free Cake Tutorials Section!
Finally, if you’re interested in accessing our entire cake video tutorial library, we would love to have you as a member of My Cake School! You can find all of the joining details here: Join My Cake School!
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you Christmas Princess!
You’re welcome, Scott! ;0) Enjoy the recipe!!
Thank you ???
Mouth watering.
Melissa, I can’t thank you enough for this recipe. This cake was so moist and delicious. It’s now one of my favorites. It was simple to put together, too. I was making a small wedding cake and intentionally made extra for my family. My son in law is a firefighter (handsome, too) and is usually quite successful at avoiding sweets but he had a heck of a time resisting the cupcakes I made using this mix. In fact, He ate nearly a dozen throughout the course of 1 evening. He just couldn’t pass them up on the counter. I would up using 3 cake mixes but had only bought 2 bottles of red food coloring (before finding your recipe). I live out in the boonies so running up to the store wasn’t an option. I thought if I needed more I would use my Americolor Gel. Alas, I did “not” need more. Only two 1 oz bottles was the perfect color for me – a beautiful bright red velvet). Thanks so much and also for the very quick response when I emailed you regarding which mix to use – Classic Yellow or Butter Golden). Have a very Blessed and Merry Christmas!!
Hi Terry! Thank you so much for your feedback, I’m so happy that you and your family loved the recipe! The wedding cake that you posted is gorgeous! Merry Christmas! xo
Hello, for the 6 tablespoons of flour, is it just regular “all-purpose flour”, or should it be “cake flour”?
Hi Lisa, It is all-purpose flour.
Is this cake stackable? I need to make a 10″ bottom tier and 8″ top tier cake and covered with fondant.
Also……do bake this recipe in a 2″ high pan or 3″?
Do you level off the tablespoons of cocoa powder or use heaping tablespoons. I am looking forward to making this cupcakes for Valentine’s Day!
Hi Nadia, yes this cake is stackable (with your supports/dowels of choice) and should be stable enough to cover with fondant. We bake in 2″ pans.
@Toni: We do level off the tablespoons of cocoa powder. Enjoy the recipe!
Has anyone tried to double this recipe yet?
I made this red velvet recipe for this cake. I usually don’t like red velvet cake- this I liked. The extra cocoa in the recipe makes the difference. I did add more food coloring as was suggested. Thanks for the recipe-it’s a keeper!
Hi Janet, Your cake looks wonderful!! We are so happy you like the recipe!!
@Janet- Your cake looks fabulous! Love the colors & flowers. So happy that you enjoyed the cake recipe!
Has anyone tried to double this doctored box red Velvet Cake recipe using boxed cake mix?
What kind of food coloring are you using? Gel colors, AmeriColor, Betty Crocker? Thanks!
Hi Marci, We have not doubled the recipe but doctored cake mix recipes can be doubled with no problem.
Hi T, For the red velvet cake we used McCormick liquid red food color.
@Marci Dees – I did double the recipe to make the cake posted. It worked just fine. I do bake my cakes at 325 degrees instead of 350.
I tried this cake and think it is very good! Thank you for finding a doctored version. Also for the doubling info:)
Melissa,
Is there a way to use the yellow/white durable cake mix and make it a Red Velvet Durable cake mix for carving?
Can you use buttermilk instead of milk?
Hi Linda, It would be adding a little extra acidity since you already have sour cream in the recipe, but I think it would be fine.
thank you for this, i always wanted to know more about this topic.
Can you make this into a pink velvet by just using pink coloring instead of red?
Hi Lindsay, you can experiment using pink coloring but you may want to just go with a white cake recipe like our white almond sour cream cake, etc. since the cocoa in this recipe with give you more of a chocolatey pink color…which may not be what you are going for.
Hi! Did you use Classic Yellow or Butter Golden Duncan Hines Mix? Thank you.?
We used Duncan Hines Classic Yellow
Hi, do you have a doctored red velvet cake/cupcake recipe using a red velvet cake mix?
Thank you!
Hi Alexina, This is our preferred recipe but I think you could use a red velvet cake mix, just leave out the red food coloring.
Great. Thank you!
Can you use this recipe with DH red velvet cake mix?
What would you leave out or add?
Need to make 2- 10 squares and 1- 8 inch square cakes.
Hi Sue, We prefer using the Duncan Yellow Cake mix but you can use the DH Red Velvet, just leave out the red food coloring. Here is a link to the Wilton Chart for batter amounts, in case you need it link to wilton.com
Hi BeBe/Melissa could this recipe do without the sour cream? This ingredient is pretty costly where I’m from, so I’m wondering if I could eliminate it totally. Or is there some other substitute for it?
Hi Jessie, you could substitute yogurt, preferably greek yogurt if possible. If this is also too expensive, here is a link to other substitutions that might work for you, though I have not tried these. Let me know what works for you if you give it a try.
Ur sooo unique
Can Greek yogurt be subbed for the sour cream?
Hi Tammie, yes, that will be fine.
Hi there, is this recipe suitable for cuppies?
Hi Shirley, yes, it is. If baking standard size cupcakes, bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes
Thanks so much, BeBe.
Hello,
According to my sour cream container , 1 cup= 8 ounces is 227 grams. I’m just wondering because the sour cream in your recipe, 242grams= 1 cup. Which is correct?
Thanks,
Amy
Hi Amy, I can see why you have a question about that. I very often use the gram weight chart from Rose Levy Bernbaum, author of The Cake Bible. I did use 242 grams sour cream in the recipe but I think you would be fine using 227g. I may need to change that weight. Thanks so much for your post.
Would it alter the recipe too much to use a white cake mix?
Hi Kayley, you can use the white cake mix. The only change you need to make is you should use whole eggs instead of egg whites. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Could you add chocolate chips to the recipe?
Hi Alicai, yes, you can add chocolate chips to the cake batter. I would use mini chips because they do not sink to the bottom as the full size chips do.
I tried this recipe today using red velvet cake mix and it came out moist and delicious. Only problem was it was a dark red almost chocolate in colour. I also used self raising flour instead of cake flour. H
What do I change to give me a nice red colour? And is it okay to use self raising flour instead of cake flour?
Hi Debbie, In the paragraph under the first picture of the cake Melissa talks about how the lighting in taking the picture makes the cake look redder than it really is. To make yours more red you can leave out some of the cocoa (though we like this for the flavor it adds) you could also add more red coloring. The flour you add should not be self raising it should be all purpose flour. If you are in the UK, all purpose is the same as plain flour. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your quick reply. I’ll try it with the plain flour.
Do you have adjustments for a 3 layer cake? As opposed to two layer?
Hi Heather, I’m sorry but I have not tested increasing the ingredients to get a 3 layer cake. You can put the cake batter into 3 pans, each pan having 2 cups batter, reducing the baking time to 20-25 min. The layers will be thin but will look fine and you will have more filling. You could also bake in 2 eight inch pans, cut the 2 baked layers in half horizontally to have 4 layers.
Has everyone gotten the 6 1/2 cups of batter this is suppose to give you? I just made it and barely got 4 cups. I’m crossing my fingers that it’s enough for the 6″ cake I’m doing …
HELLO
I wanted to know if this cake can be made in 3 layers instead of two lawyers. If so what are the measurements for the recipe
HELLO
I wanted to know if this cake can be made in 3 layers instead of two layers. If so what are the measurements for the recipe
Hi Shire, The doctored Red Velvet cake recipe can be used as is and baked in three 8 inch pans. The layers will not be as high but that is not a problem. Once filled and frosted your cake will be 4 inches high. The plus of 3 layers is more filling for each slice. Bake at the same temperature as for 2 pans and for 25 to 30 minutes. Check for doneness at 25 minutes with a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake. The cake is done with the toothpick is clean or with just a few crumbs attached.
Curious what I can replace the milk and sour cream with? My son has dairy allergies. Coconut milk yogurt for sour cream an? And silk coconut milk ?
Hi Melissa and Bebe,
Do you have a recipe for cream cheese icing that could be stay out overnight on the cupcakes?
I’m trying to make a semi naked cake for a wedding and found that this cake has a lot of crumbs, any suggestions for more caramelization along the sides?
HIi Brianne, I am sorry your question was overlooked, always repost if you think this has happened. I am sorry you had this problem with your cake layers. The problem could be the cake pans used. We find that cake pans that are heavier such as Magic Line or Fat Daddio’s are thicker and heavier and the outside of cakes do not bake quite as quickly and are less crumbly than cakes baked in thinner pans. Also, make sure that the pan is well greased and floured. Another thing, make sure you are using large eggs so you won’t be decreasing the amount of moisture in the cake. Hope all goes well for your next cake.
Hi Melissa and Bebe,
I️ would like to give cake pops a try and was wondering if this recipe can be used for that?? If so, might you know how many I️t would make in one batch? I’d like to try I️t with the cream cheese frosting recipe on the site. Thank you in advance 🙂
Hi Jessica, Yes, the doctored Red Velvet and also the Red Velvet (scratch) can be used for cake pops. I would go with the doctored cake recipe just because it is quicker. You should get 48 cake pops, maybe a few more. As for our Cream Cheese frosting recipe, I would make one change in the recipe. Use only 1 stick of butter instead of two. This will make it less soft and that will be helpful in making cake pops. If the cream cheese frosting becomes too soft, just refrigerate for 10 to 15 minutes. Hope all goes well
Wow, thank you so much Bebe 😊 I️ love that you and Melissa respond so quickly. It’s so helpful. Just one more thing, would all doctored cake mixes work then? And if so, which buttercream would work best? Classic or fluffy?
Hi Jessica, Yes, you could use any doctored cake mix. We just used plain boxed cake mix (undoctored) because after mixing in frosting to form the balls and dipping in candy coating the taste is altered. Using either the Classic or Fluffy frosting recipe will be fine. Since the Classic recipe is all butter the cake balls would firm up faster when chilled, but either is fine. You will only be using a small amount of frosting so leftover frosting can be refrigerated for 1 to 2 weeks depending on date of ingredients used or frozen for later use. If frozen, thaw and let come to room temperature and re-mix as needed. Cake pops can be tricky and time consuming. Here is a link to a Craftsy post you might find helpful:
link to craftsy.com
Thank you Bebe, really appreciate I️t. Have a great day!
Has anyone made this into a Blue Velvet Cake? If so, what were the conversions. ALSO – if using gel coloring what is the substitution. Thank you.