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Blue Velvet Cake Recipe

Robyn Stone

Updated Feb 12, 2026

Blue Velvet Cake is perfect for a fun twist on the traditional red velvet cake with the same great taste.

Baby showers are so fun, aren’t they? You ooh and aah over the cutest baby clothes in pastel shades, ogle over the new-fangled baby gear and how much it has changed since your baby showers, and then play shower games that can get just a wee bit crazy when they involve guessing how many inches around the pregnant belly is. They also always have a mighty impressive spread of food.

Cake is always a favorite part of any shower, and I wanted it to have a surprise inside when you cut it.

Unexpected, vibrant, and perfect for a little boy.

Blue Velvet Cake has all of the great taste of the more traditional Red Velvet Cake , but with such a fun twist that everyone will remember it.

Ingredients

▢ ½ cup ( 92 g ) shortening
▢ 1 ½ cups ( 297 g ) sugar
▢ 2 large ( 100 g ) eggs
▢ 1 ounce ( 28 g ) royal blue gel paste food color
▢ 2 drops ( 0.2 g ) violet gel paste food color
▢ 2 tablespoons ( 10.5 g ) unsweetened cocoa powder
▢ 2 ¼ cups ( 270 g ) all-purpose flour
▢ 1 scant teaspoon ( 2.6 g ) kosher salt
▢ 1 teaspoon ( 4.7 g ) vanilla extract
▢ 1 cup ( 227 g ) buttermilk
▢ 1 teaspoon ( 6 g ) baking soda
▢ 1 tablespoon ( 15 g ) distilled white vinegar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour 3 8-inch round cake pans.
Cream Crisco and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Add eggs one at a time, completely incorporating after each addition.
In a small bowl, make a paste of food coloring and cocoa powder and add to mixture.
Stir together flour and salt in a separate medium bowl, set aside.
Pour buttermilk and vanilla into a measuring cup, set aside.
Alternately, add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into Crisco/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Scrape down sides of mixing bowl to ensure all ingredients are well incorporated.
Reduce speed of mixer and stir in baking soda, making sure incorporated into batter. Then, stir in the vinegar, taking care not to beat hard or over mix.
Distribute cake batter evenly into the three cake pans. Bake for 25 minutes or until cakes have gently pulled away from the edges of the cake pans and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.. You can follow my tips for how to tell when your cake is done .
Cool cake thoroughly before frosting.

Nutrition

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Notes: I used Americolor Soft Gel Paste in Royal Blue and Violet. You may also want to try a natural-based food coloring.