• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Celebration Generation
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Life
  • Shop
  • Gluten-Free
  • Low Carb
  • Camping
  • Spandex
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • About Us
  • Recipes
  • Life
  • Shop
  • Contact Us
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Media
  • Gluten-Free
  • Low Carb
  • Camping
  • Spandex
  • Join us on Social Media - Food

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • Join us on Social Media - Costuming, Etc

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Recipes » Cakes & Cupcakes

    Green Velvet Cake

    Published: Feb 22, 2023

    Note: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.

    Sharing is caring!

    • Reddit
    • Email
    • Tweet
    • Share
    • Tumblr
    Jump to Recipe -

    Green velvet cake may not be as traditional as the OG red velvet cake, but it's way more fun when it comes to St Patrick's Day desserts!

    A green velvet cake cut  open to show two layers of dark green cake, with light green frosting in between and all around.

    Classic red velvet may be ... well, classic, but it’s not the only way to do a “velvet” cake.

    With a a few different colors of food coloring, you can make a velvet cake for pretty much any occasion!

    Traditional red velvet cake is great for Valentine’s Day or Christmas, but have you considered Black Velvet Cupcakes - or Gluten-Free Black Velvet Cupcakes for Halloween?

    I’ve even made a midnight blue velvet cake for a “An American Tale” themed wedding cake, back when I was still doing such things.

    With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, what could be better than a green cake?

    So, here I am with my green velvet cake recipe - A fun, festive treat for St. Patrick's Day, to celebrate your favourite green-themed sports team or school.

    This is a super easy recipe for a 2 layer cake, and doesn’t need anything unusual to make it.

    The best part of this sweet treat?

    This cake batter works up in one mixing bowl, with no creaming needed!

    When it comes to decorating, you can frost and go - letting the cake color take center stage - or have some fun with the St. Patrick's Day theme, and add some green sprinkles!

    if you’re feeling fancy, you could even consider using a 4 leaf clover shaped pan!

    So much fun! Let’s get to it!

    A slice of green velvet cake with light green frosting on a white plate.

    Ingredients

    This recipe uses some pretty simple ingredients that should be available in most grocery stores. A few notes for you:

    Cake Flour

    I like to use Cake Flour when making cakes and cupcakes, as I find it gives a softer, finer texture.

    That said, you can use all purpose flour instead - cake flour can be expensive, and if you’re not baking a lot of cakes, it can feel like a bit of a waste.

    Cocoa Powder

    You want to use Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, as you find it in the baking aisle.

    This is NOT the same thing as cocoa mix, as found in the coffee/tea aisle!

    Dairy Ingredients

    This recipe calls for both buttermilk and butter.

    If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use regular milk and just add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to it.

    If you need to make a dairy free green velvet cake, you can use any of the alternative milks - we tend to use unsweetened almond milk.

    Just be sure to add that 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar so you can get the acidity you need for that classic “velvet” cake flavour!

    If going dairy free, you can swap out the butter for melted margarine, or your favourite neutral flavoured cooking oil - vegetable oil, canola oil, etc.

    Icing

    I’ve done this recipe up as the cake only, so can use your favourite frosting recipe for it.

    Cream cheese frosting is most traditional when making red velvet cake - I’ve yet to post my cream cheese icing recipe yet, though! Whoops.

    If you’re doing a cream cheese icing, I just recommend using a full-fat cream cheese, for the best flavour and texture.

    The other two options I tend to use with this cake are:

    American Buttercream - this is the most common type of icing, using powdered sugar.

    Swiss Meringue Buttercream - my personal favourite icing. It’s a bit more expensive and labour intensive to make, but SO worth it. It’s creamy and rich, while still feeling kind of light.

    Either way you go, I recommend making a double batch for this size of cake.

    Green Food Coloring

    You’ll need some green food colouring, to get that great green color. Food coloring comes in 3 main formats:

    Liquid food coloring: Generally found in the baking aisle at the grocery store.

    Paste food coloring: Usually Wilton brand, you can find this style in craft supply stores and cake decorating supply shops.

    Gel food coloring: Comes in a few brands, also found in the larger craft supply chains (sometimes), and in cake decorating shops.

    I always use gel colors, as they give the most intense colour, without adding a ton of liquid. This is especially important when dealing with baked goods.

    Specifically, I recommend Americolor (what I used when I was in the USA), or ChefMaster (Which is the option more readily available here!).

    Green gel food coloring comes in a several different shades - I usually use a Leaf Green or an emerald type green.

    I find anything too yellow will end up making a gross olive green color when combined with the cocoa, rather than a rich forest green.

    Everything Else

    Rounding out the recipe, you will need:

    Granulated sugar
    3.4 oz Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix
    Large eggs
    Pure vanilla extract
    Baking powder
    Salt
    Green sprinkles, etc - optional

    ... I just don’t have anything to add, about any of these ingredients!

    Equipment

    You’ll really only need a few basic pieces of equipment, beyond the standard “bowls and measuring implements”.

    Cake Pans

    I use 2 8" Round Cake Pans for this recipe, but feel free to use a couple of 9" round cake pans, if that’s what you have on hand.

    They’ll cook a little faster, that’s all.

    Muffin Tins

    Alternately, you can do this recipe up as green velvet cupcakes - it’ll make between 18-24 cupcakes, depending on how full you do your cupcakes.

    You’ll want to bake them at 350F for around 22 minutes - just start checking for doneness around the 20 minute mark.

    Mixer

    Unless you’re really looking for a workout, I don’t recommend beating this batter by hand.

    I like to use either an electric hand mixer - as shown - or my stand mixer.

    A slice of green velvet cake on a plate in front of the rest of the cake.

    How to Make Green Velvet Cake

    The full recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post, here is a pictorial walk through.

    Bake the Cakes

    Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Liberally grease two 8″ round cake pans with vegetable shortening, and/or spray with baking spray.

    Personally, I like to coat the bottom and edges of the pan with shortening, then a thin layer of flour. Some may prefer to spray the pan with nonstick spray, then line with parchment paper.

    A 5 part image showing 2 round cake pans being greased with shortening and dusted with flour.

    Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl - if using an electric mixer / hand mixer - or the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

    Add in eggs and butter to the dry ingredients, beating on low speed until smooth.

    A 5 part image showing the dry ingredients being mixed, the eggs, green food colouring and melted butter added, and mixed to a thick green batter.

    Carefully add the melted butter and vanilla, and a generous amount of green food colouring to the flour mixture, mixing on the medium mixer speed until smooth.

    Add buttermilk to the cake batter, mix until well incorporated and smooth, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl as you go.

    Pour batter evenly between the prepared cake pans.

    A 5 part image showing the milk being added and whipped to a bright green batter, then poured into 2 round cake pans.

    Bake until golden and knife or toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean and cake springs back – about 45-60 minutes.

    A 2 part image showing a clean butter knife being held over 2 green cakes, and then the 2 cakes cooling in their pans.

    Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before turning cakes out onto baking rack to cool fully.

    For best results, allow to cool to room temperature, then wrap cake layers tightly with plastic wrap.

    Allow cake to sit overnight.

    To Assemble Cake

    Prepare your frosting of choice, tint green with a few drops food coloring.

    A 2 part image showing a little green food coloring being added to a mixer bowl of white icing, and beaten to a light green colour.

    Remove plastic wrap from cake layers. Carefully slice the domed top off each round, leveling the surface of the cake.

    A 2 part image showing a long knife being used to slice the tops off the two cakes, levelling them.

    Place one round of cake on cake plate, spread with buttercream. Top with the remaining layer of cake.

    Frost sides and top of the cake with remaining buttercream.

    A 5 part image showing the two cakes being sandwiched with frosting, then spread with a thin layer of green frosting all over.

    If you’d like, spoon any remaining frosting into a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, and pipe rosettes on top of the cake, as pictured.

    Garnish with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

    Note: I recommend frosting the cake with a thin layer of frosting - you can use a bench scraper if you like, I just use an offset spatula - and then chilling it well before spreading with a final, thicker layer of frosting.

    This is called a “crumb coat”, and basically glues crumbs to the cake. This allows for a cleaner, more hassle free frosting spread!

    A 5 part image showing the cake being spread with a thicker layer of green frosting, green dragee candies pressed against the bottom edge, and swirls piped on top of the cake.

    Leftover Green Velvet Cake

    Leftover cake can be wrapped with plastic wrap or kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week or so.

    Be sure to always let servings of the cake come up to room temperature before serving - cold cake is dry cake!

    A round, pale green frosted cake with bright green round dragees on it.

    More St Patrick's Day Recipes

    Looking for more fun, tasty recipes to serve on St Paddy's Day? Here are a few fun Irish - and Irish-inspired - recipes to try:

    Irish Stew Meatballs
    Keto Irish Cream
    Irish Pizza
    Shepherd's Pie
    Keto Shepherd's Pie
    Homemade Corned Beef
    Irish Nachos
    Hearty Beef Stew
    Keto Beef Stew
    Rainbow Bagels
    Rainbow Charcuterie Board
    Rocky Road to Dublin Brownies
    St Patrick's Day Charcuterie Board

    A close up photo of a green velvet St Patrick's Day cake.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you post it to Bluesky, be sure to tag us - @CelebrationGen. We're also on Pinterest, so you can save all your favourite recipes to a board!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense. Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Finally, if you love this recipe, please consider leaving a star rating and/or a comment below, and maybe even sharing this post on social media!

    A slice of green velvet cake with light green frosting on a white plate.

    A slice of green velvet cake with light green frosting on a white plate.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save Recipe Saved!
    5 from 2 votes

    Green Velvet Cake

    Green velvet cake may not be as traditional as the OG red velvet cake, but it's way more fun when it comes to St Patrick's Day desserts!
    Prep Time30 minutes mins
    Cook Time1 hour hr
    Cooling time3 hours hrs
    Total Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Servings: 12 Large slices
    Calories: 555kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    • 1 8" round cake pans

    Ingredients

    Green Velvet Cake

    • 3 cups Cake flour
    • ⅓ cup Cocoa powder
    • 2 ¼ cups Granulated sugar
    • 2 tablespoon Baking powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoon Salt
    • 3 ½ oz Instant vanilla pudding mix
    • 6 Eggs
    • 1 ½ cups Butter melted
    • 2 tablespoon Pure vanilla extract
    • 1 ½ cup Buttermilk or 1 ½ cups milk and 1 tablespoon lemon juice or white vinegar.
    • Green food colouring Gel works best

    Assembly

    • 2 batches Swiss Meringue buttercream
    • or
    • 2 batches American buttercream
    • Green food colouring
    • Green sprinkles etc

    Instructions

    Green Velvet Cake Rounds

    • Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Liberally grease two 8″round cake pans with vegetable shortening, and/or spray with baking spray.
      I like to grease the pans with shortening, then dust with flour.
    • Combine flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pudding mix in a large mixing bowl. Add in eggs and butter, beating until smooth.
    • Carefully add melted butter and vanilla, and a generous amount of green food colouring to the flour mixture, mixing on medium speed until smooth.
    • Add buttermilk to batter, mix until well incorporated and smooth.
    • Divide batter among prepared cake pans, bake until golden and knife inserted into center of batter comes out clean and cake springs back – about 45-60 minutes.
    • Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before turning cakes out onto baking rack to cool fully. Ideally, allow to cool to room temperature, wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
    • Allow cake to sit for a few hours - ideally overnight

    To Assemble Cake:

    • Prepare your frosting, tint green with food colouring.
    • Remove plastic wrap from cake layers. Carefully slice the domed top off each round, leveling the surface of the cake.
    • Place one round of cake on cake plate, spread with buttercream. Top with the remaining layer of cake.
    • Frost sides and top of cake with remaining buttercream. Garnish with sprinkles, if desired. Serve at room temperature.

    Notes

    Note: I recommend frosting the cake with a thin layer of buttercream and then chilling it well before spreading with a final, thicker layer of frosting.
    This is called a “crumb coat”, and basically glues crumbs to the cake. This allows for a cleaner, more hassle free frosting spread!
    Nutritional information is for LARGE servings, and does not include the frosting. Full nutritional info will vary based on what frosting you use.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 555kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 146mg | Sodium: 802mg | Potassium: 151mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 878IU | Calcium: 180mg | Iron: 1mg

    A green velvet cake cut  open to show two layers of dark green cake, with light green frosting in between and all around.

    A close up photo of a green velvet St Patrick's Day cake.

    A slice of green velvet cake on a plate in front of the rest of the cake.

    Related posts:

    3 Easy halloween Bat Cupcakes - Black Velvet Cupcakes with the dome cut off, frosted with brightly coloured icing - electric purple, lime green, and orange - then the halved dome of the cupcake is re-positioned on top to form bat wings. Bat Cupcakes 4 black velvet Halloween cupcakes frosted with brightly coloured icing - lime green, electric purple, and orange - are shown topped with royal icing spider webs and spiders. Spider Web Cupcakes 2 Black velvet cupcakes, frosted with bright icing - electric purple, lime green, and orange - and topped with a 3D pair of royal icing bat wings. Halloween Bat Cupcakes A plate of the ultimate cowboy cookies. Cowboy Cookies

    More All Recipes

    • 4 part image showing various different bagels. Overlaid text says 25 plus fantastic bagel recipes.
      Bagel Recipes
    • A sliced loaf of marbled chocolate and peanut butter banana bread.
      Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Bread
    • A plate of Greek Layered Dip, with Tzatziki cream cheese dip, hummus, a Greek salsa made of olives, cherry tomatoes, red onions, cucumber and fresh herbs, topped with feta.
      Greek Layered Dip
    • A chocolate bundt cake and a bag of homemade chocolate cake mix.
      Chocolate Cake Mix

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Beverly Kukhta-Jackson

      March 06, 2023 at 4:33 pm

      5 stars
      This is a delicious cake. It is flavourful and yet not heavy at all.

      Reply
    5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Marie Porter


    Evil Cake Overlord, All -Around Kitchen Badass!

    More about me →


    Join us on Social Media

    Bluesky Logo - White on Blue background. Pinterest Logo - White on red background. Youtube Logo - White on red background.

    More Than Poutine: A Uniquely Canadian Cookbook.
    Learn to sew with spandex

    Most Recent Posts

    • A yellow cake bundt cake, with a bag of homemade yellow cake mix.
      Yellow Cake Mix
    • A plate of eggless oatmeal banana cookies.
      Banana Oatmeal Cookies
    • A plate of St Patrick's Day rocky road brownies topped with toasted marshmallows, pecans, chocolate chips, and green tinted icing.
      Rocky Road to Dublin Brownies
    • A plate of moist and fluffy eggless banana muffins.
      Eggless Banana Muffins


    META

    Site Admin

    Logout

    Entries Feed

    Footer

    About

    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Contact
    • Media

    Newsletter

    • Click here to sign up for emails and updates

    Our Other Blogs

    • Beyond Flour
    • Low Carb Hoser
    • 2 Nerds in a Truck
    • Spandex Simplified
    • Marie Back on Ice
    • Autism Rants

    Note: This site is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for the site to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites. While I’ll only ever link to items that I, personally, wholeheartedly recommend, I do need to put that disclosure out there!

    Copyright © 2024 Foodie Pro on the Foodie Pro Theme

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.