Red Velvet Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Filling

Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching so I thought today would be a good time to share a lovely red recipe. Red Velvet Pound Cake combines two Southern classics–red velvet cake and pound cake–into one sweetheart of a dessert!

I shared this recipe several years ago on my old blogsite, but I think it is definitely worth repeating. And I can’t remember exactly where this recipe originally came from, but I’m guessing Paula Deen…maybe.

Red Velvet Pound Cake

Cake ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened

3 cups sugar

5 large eggs

1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 cup whole buttermilk

1 (1-ounce) bottle red food coloring

*****

Cream cheese filling ingredients:

1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp. vanilla

*****

Glaze ingredients:

1 cup confectioner’s sugar

2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray a Bundt pan with a floured cooking spray (or grease the pan with shortening and dust with flour).

-To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-4 minutes, stopping to scrape the sides of the bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vinegar and vanilla.

-In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Beat just until combined after each addition. Stir in the food coloring. Set the batter aside for just a minute to mix the cream cheese filling.

-To make the cream cheese filling: In a small bowl, beat the softened cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, and beat until combined.

-Spoon half of the batter into the prepared Bundt pan. Top with the cream cheese filling. Spoon the remaining batter over the filling.

-Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, and then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely on a wire rack. With a bread knife, I shave off some of the rounded surface (where it rose while baking) to use as crumbs for the topping.

-For the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner’s sugar and cream until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake, and sprinkle with the cake crumbles. Can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

The last time I posted this recipe, I made a comment about “Red Velvet Season” lasting from Christmas to Valentine’s Day, but my friend and my mom both corrected me and pointed out that, in the South, Red Velvet is ALWAYS in season! Amen to that!

This makes the perfect Valentine dessert, or the perfect ANYTIME dessert!