The Ingredients
Red velvet cake gets its signature red color from food coloring, which adds to the cost of making it. Traditional recipes call for 1-2 tablespoons of red food coloring to achieve that bright red hue. Food coloring can be expensive, especially when using high quality, natural options like gel colors. This is one factor that drives up the price of red velvet cake versus other cake flavors.
Additionally, red velvet cake often uses higher quality cocoa powder and vanilla extract than a typical chocolate cake recipe. These more expensive ingredients enhance the flavor, but also add to the cost of each cake. Many bakeries and cake shops choose valrhona or other gourmet chocolate for their red velvet cake batter.
Another ingredient that can hike up the price is cream cheese frosting. An authentic red velvet cake is always topped with tangy cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese itself is more costly than buttercream or whipped cream. Plus, cream cheese frosting often includes butter for extra richness. The higher ingredient expenses get passed along in the price per slice.
Labor
Making red velvet cake from scratch is a labor of love. Simply preparing the bright red batter takes more time and care than mixing up a chocolate or vanilla cake batter. Bakers must whisk the wet and dry ingredients together gently to avoid overmixing. Overmixing can turn the cake red-brown and ruin that bright crimson color. The batter then needs to be split and baked in multiple layers.
Stacking and frosting the layers with cream cheese frosting is also a meticulous, time-consuming process. The final cake needs to be perfectly level and the frosting piped and smoothed into elegant swirls and peaks. All of this extra labor adds to the costs for a bakery to produce high quality red velvet cakes. They factor these labor expenses into their cake pricing.
Lower Demand
While red velvet cake has gained popularity over the last decade, it’s still considered a specialty cake flavor. It’s not requested nearly as often as chocolate, vanilla or even funfetti cake. This lower demand means bakeries don’t produce red velvet cakes in mass quantities like they do with standard flavors. The lower volume of red velvet cakes means the costs get distributed over fewer goods, resulting in a higher price per cake.
Perception of Quality
Red velvet cake is considered by many people to be a premium, upscale dessert. It’s often found on restaurant menus and bakery cases rather than grocery store shelves. This perception allows bakeries to charge higher prices for red velvet cake compared to more common flavors. Many consumers equate the vibrant red color with higher quality ingredients. They’re willing to pay those premium cake prices for special occasions.
Difficulty Sourcing Ingredients
Some of the ingredients in red velvet cake are more difficult for bakeries to source than typical cake ingredients. For example, many choose imported dutched cocoa powder because it produces a deeper red color. The dutched cocoa has been treated to neutralize its natural acidity. This treatment makes it more expensive than regular cocoa powder. Bakeries may pay higher costs to import this specialty ingredient, which gets passed along in the cake pricing.
Similarly, top bakeries look for high quality vanilla extract for red velvet cakes. Pure vanilla extract can be costly and some types, like Bourbon vanilla, are rare. Paying a premium for gourmet vanilla is another factor that increases the price of homemade red velvet cake.
Smaller Portion Sizes
Red velvet cake is very rich, which is why it’s often served in thinner layers and smaller slices than other cakes. A standard bakery may sell a huge 10 inch round chocolate cake. But their red velvet cake may come in 6 inch layers or miniature cupcake sizes. These smaller sizes mean less cake per serving. Since the bakery’s costs remain the same, the smaller the cake or portion, the higher the price per piece.
Decorator Cakes
Many red velvet cakes are ordered for special occasions like birthdays and weddings. This means they require custom decoration such as fondant, sculpted details, fresh flowers and more. All of these extra design elements require additional time, skill and labor for the bakery. That labor cost gets calculated into the total price of the cake. An elaborately decorated red velvet cake will be much more expensive than a simple layered round cake with frosting.
Organic and Natural Ingredients
Another reason why red velvet cakes sometimes carry a high price tag is when bakers choose high-end ingredients. Many artisan bakeries now use organic flour, cane sugar, coconut oil and natural food coloring to tap into the organic market. These alternative ingredients are significantly more expensive than conventional ones. A bakery using all organic ingredients to create a red velvet cake would need to charge more to cover their ingredient costs.
Shipping Costs
Online cake shops and bakeries that ship nationwide have become popular for special occasion cakes like red velvet. The costs of safely packing and overnight shipping a frozen cake directly impacts the final price tag. For small local bakeries, shipping costly refrigerated packages via FedEx or UPS across the country adds to their bottom line. This cost gets passed along directly to the customer.
Conclusion
While red velvet cake seems simple on the surface, it comes with many hidden costs for bakeries to produce. The labor, ingredients, perceptions of quality and more all contribute to its price being higher than that of other cake flavors. When you factor in the vibrant red color, luscious cream cheese frosting and textured layered cake, it becomes clear why red velvet cake comes with a premium price. Paying a little more for an authentic artisan red velvet cake is worth it for special occasions or to indulge in a delicious dessert.
| Factor | How it Impacts Price |
|---|---|
| Food Coloring | Adds to ingredient costs |
| High Quality Cocoa & Vanilla | More expensive ingredients |
| Cream Cheese Frosting | Costly addition to cake |
| Labor for Baking | Preparing red batter takes time and care |
| Lower Demand | Not mass produced like chocolate cake |
| Perceived as Premium Dessert | Can charge higher prices |
| Difficulty Sourcing Specialty Ingredients | Higher costs for imported or rare ingredients |
| Smaller Portion Sizes | Less cake per serving |
| Custom Decorating | Additional labor for decorations and designs |
| Organic Ingredients | Much higher ingredient costs |
| Shipping Charges | Overnight shipping for online orders |
Food Coloring Costs
Natural and artificial food coloring is more expensive compared to other cake ingredients. Using 1-2 tablespoons of liquid or gel food coloring per cake adds up. Producing vivid red velvet cake requires high quality food coloring.
Premium Chocolate and Vanilla
Many bakeries use Valrhona or Callebaut chocolate which cost more than cocoa powder alone. Similarly, real vanilla extract is used rather than artificial vanilla for better flavor.
Tangy Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese is a signature component of red velvet cake. Cheese and butter in the frosting impact costs more than basic buttercream does.
Careful Preparation of Red Batter
The red batter must be mixed gently to maintain the bright color. Separating into layers and baking each layer evenly takes more time and work.
Not Mass Produced
Chocolate and vanilla cakes are baked in large volumes daily. Red velvet is still considered a specialty flavor that’s made in lower quantities.
Viewed as an Upscale Cake
Its association with restaurants and weddings allows it to command a higher price point than grocery store cake.
Importing Specialty Ingredients
Some bakeries source higher quality imported cocoa powder for better color. Rare vanilla extract also costs more.
Petite Portion Trend
Red velvet works well in cupcakes and cake pops. These smaller portion sizes mean less cake per serving.
Custom Decorating and Design
Many red velvet cakes are decorated for special events, which requires more bakery labor and skills.
Organic Ingredients
Using organic flour, sugar and eggs boosts costs. Natural food coloring is also pricier.
Shipping and Logistics
Safely overnight shipping frozen cakes directly to consumers comes with high costs.