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slice of green velvet cake on a plate with the rest of the cake in the background

Green Velvet Cake

Green velvet cake is a fun and festive dessert perfect for Christmas, St. Patrick's Day, or any day!

Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 10
Author Kelsie

Ingredients

Cake layers

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder*
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon white vinegar
  • 1 cup buttermilk**
  • 1 tablespoon green food coloring

Frosting

  • Cream cheese frosting
  • 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 to 4 1/2 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream if necessary
  • green sprinkles for decorating if desired

Instructions

Cake layers

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray. Line the bottom of the pans with parchment, spray the parchment, and set pans aside.
  2. Stir together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Combine the sugar, oil, eggs, vanilla, and vinegar in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer set to medium until very smooth, about 2 minutes. Stop to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary.
  4. With mixer on low, gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until just incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
  5. Again with mixer on low, beat in the buttermilk, then the food coloring. Use a rubber spatula to mix the batter a few times, taking care to scrape up from the bottom and ensure the flour is totally mixed in.
  6. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  7. Set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the edge of each cake layer. Gently invert each cake layer onto wire racks to cool completely before frosting.
  8. (Once the cake layers are cool you can wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to a day before frosting.)

Frosting

  1. Beat the butter and cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl until smooth.
  2. Beat in the vanilla and salt. With mixer on low, gradually beat in 4 cups of powdered sugar.
  3. Once all the sugar is incorporated, turn mixer to medium and beat until the frosting is smooth. If frosting is too thick, beat in a little milk. If it’s too thin, beat in more powdered sugar.

Assembly

  1. Use a long serrated knife to trim the cake layers if they’ve domed. Place one cake layer on a cake stand or cardboard cake circle and spread a layer of frosting on top.
  2. Top with a second cake layer, more frosting, and then the third layer.
  3. Frost cake with the remaining frosting and decorate as desired. Serve.
  4. Uneaten cake can be stored, covered, in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer, tightly wrapped, for up to 2 months.

Recipe Notes

  • *You can omit the cocoa powder if desired; it helps deepen the green color of the cake
  • **You can substitute 1 cup of whole milk mixed with 2 teaspoons white vinegar or lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes before using.
  • I don't recommend baking this cake in three 9-inch cake pans because the layers will be very thin.