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Instant Pot Southern Red Velvet Cake

Instant Pot Southern Red Velvet Cake

The Instant Pot transforms Southern desserts with slow-cooked flavor and convenient set-it-and-forget-it ease. It’s perfect for dishes often requiring extensive preparation, like a moist, rich, and stunning Southern red velvet cake!
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Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Pressure Release Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Soul Food, Southern Food
Servings: 12
Calories: 445kcal
Author: Shaunda Necole

Equipment

  • Instant Pot electric pressure cooker
  • Instant Pot 7.7-inch round pan
  • Instant Pot baking sling
  • An electric stand mixer or a handheld electric mixer
  • Aluminum foil
  • Paper towel
  • Baker’s cooling rack
  • Cake scraper (optional for ease in frosting a layered cake)

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup sugar granulated
  • ⅓ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • ⅓ cup butter softened
  • ¼ cup mayonnaise
  • ¾ cup sour cream
  • 3 eggs
  • ⅓ cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ⅔ cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar white
  • 4 tablespoons food coloring red (liquid or gel)
  • ¾ cup water for the Instant Pot

For the frosting

  • 8 oz cream cheese softened or whipped cream cheese
  • ½ cup powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Instructions for Southern Black folks red velvet cake

  • Grease a cake pan and set it aside.
  • Starting with the wet ingredients, combine the buttermilk and vinegar in a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir, and set aside.
  • In a separate medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt, mixing well to blend, and set aside.
  • Mix the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer for 2-3 minutes until creamy.
  • Add the vegetable oil and mix again.
  • Add the eggs one by one, beating each one into the butter mixture.
  • Then add the mayonnaise and sour cream and mix again.
  • Add the red food coloring and mix gently to achieve a batter with an intense red color.
  • Next, pour in the vinegar and buttermilk mixture into the red batter.
  • Gradually pour in the dry ingredients flour mixture that was set aside.
  • Mix until all ingredients are absorbed into the batter, and the mixture is uniform.
  • Pour the batter into the greased pan and cover the pan with a paper towel and aluminum foil.
  • Open the Instant Pot lid and pour the water into the stainless steel inner pot.
  • Place the cake pan into the Instant Pot baking sling and use the handles to easily lower the sling with the cake into the inner pot.
  • Close the Instant Pot lid (make sure the valve is up – in the position for sealing) and pressure cook on high for 50 minutes.
  • When the cooking time is finished, allow a natural pressure release for at least 25 minutes.
  • To open the Instant Pot lid, move the valve to ‘venting’ and manually release any remaining pressure, if applicable.
  • Use the baking sling handles to remove the pan from the Instant Pot.
  • Test it to see if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean, your cake is ready! If it's not ready after the toothpick test, wrap the pan again with a paper towel and aluminum foil, cook for 10 more minutes, and then allow a natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
  • Set the cake pan on a baking rack to cool for at least 10 minutes. 
  • Then, carefully turn the cake out of the pan and onto the cooling rack.
  • Allow the Southern red velvet cake to cool to room temperature for at least 2 hours before frosting. 

Instructions for the cream cheese frosting

  • * See my pro tips for frosting a layered red velvet cake and creating a decorative crumb coating in the recipe article.
  • Add the cream cheese to a large mixing bowl.
  • Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium speed for 2 minutes.
  • Turn the mixer down to low and add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. 
  • Once the ingredients are combined, turn the mixer up to medium and beat for another 2 minutes.
  • Spread the cream cheese frosting onto the cooled red velvet cake.
  • Optionally, garnish with chopped pecans, crushed pecans, or red velvet cake crumbs.
  • Pro tip: Refrigerating a cake with cream cheese frosting for a few hours will give it a firm texture, making it easy to slice upon serving. Then, slice, serve, and enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 445kcal | Carbohydrates: 66g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 305mg | Potassium: 122mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 49g | Vitamin A: 449IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 75mg | Iron: 1mg
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