Red Velvet Dragonscale Cake

Cake decorated with dragonscales on a rustic cake stand.

4.87 from 15 votes

Red Velvet Dragonscale Cake

Use this simple decorating technique to create the perfect red velvet Dragonscale Cake and impress your Game of Thrones loving friends!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 2

Cook Time 30

Total Time 2 30

Servings

Calories 724kcal

Author Olivia

Ingredients

Red Velvet Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 tsp super red color gel
1/2 tsp white vinegar
3/4 cup buttermilk room temperature

Buttercream:

6 cups powdered sugar sifted
2 cups unsalted butter room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract or flavoring of your choice
1 Tbsp heavy whipping cream
black color gel
red color gel
moss green color gel
gold pearl dust

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Red Velvet Cake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour three 6" cake rounds, line with parchment.
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter until smooth. Add sugar and beat on med-high until pale and fluffy (2-3mins).
Reduce speed and add eggs one at a time, fully incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla, red color gel, and vinegar.
Alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk, starting and ending with flour (3 additions of flour and 2 of milk). Fully incorporating after each addition. Do not overmix.
Spread batter evenly into prepared pans. Smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake for approx. 30mins or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
Place cakes on wire rack to cool for 10mins then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Buttercream:

Prepare a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Whisk butter until creamy. Reduce speed to low and add in icing sugar 1 cup at a time until well blended. Increase speed to med and beat for 3 minutes.
Add vanilla and 1 Tbsp cream and continue to beat on medium for 1 minute.
- Reserve 1.5 cups of the white frosting to frost the inside layers and crumb coat the cake.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of the white frosting to color red.
- Reserve 1/4 cup of the white frosting to color green.
For the remaining frosting, add enough color get to get it to the desired shade(s) of dark grey. I ended up using the entire bottle to get 3 different shades. Once it got to a dark enough grey shade, I removed 1/4 of the buttercream, then I added more black and did the same one more time. With the remaining buttercream I added the rest of the color gel for the darkest shade.*
See tutorial pictures above for decorating technique.

Notes

*Note: all of the colors will darken over time. So much so that you can't really tell that I have 3 different shades of grey. You may want to save some time and just do one dark shade.
Inspired by this House Targaryen Cake.

Nutrition

Liv for Cake - https://ai-deterrant.org/game-of-thrones-dragonscale-cake/%3C/em%3E%3C/p%3E%3C/div%3E%3C/div%3E%3Cscript%3Ewindow.wprm_recipes = {"recipe-7508":{"type":"food","name":"Red Velvet Dragonscale Cake","slug":"wprm-red-velvet-dragonscale-cake","image_url":"https:\/\/livforcake.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/drangonscale_cake-thumb1.jpg","rating":{"count":15,"total":73,"average":4.87,"type":{"comment":15,"no_comment":0,"user":0},"user":0},"ingredients":[{"uid":1,"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"cups","name":"all-purpose flour","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"187.5","unit":"g"}},"id":556,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"cups","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1 1\/2","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"187.5","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":3,"amount":"1","unit":"Tbsp","name":"unsweetened cocoa powder","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"14.79","unit":"ml"}},"id":706,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"Tbsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"Tbsp","unitParsed":"Tbsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"14.79","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":5,"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","name":"baking powder","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"9.86","unit":"ml"}},"id":557,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"9.86","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":7,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","name":"salt","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"2.46","unit":"ml"}},"id":559,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"2.46","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":9,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","name":"unsalted butter","notes":"room temperature","converted":{"2":{"amount":"113.5","unit":"g"}},"id":555,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"113.5","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":11,"amount":"1","unit":"cup","name":"granulated sugar","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"200","unit":"g"}},"id":603,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"200","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":13,"amount":"2","unit":"large","name":"eggs","notes":"room temperature","converted":{"2":{"amount":"2","unit":"large"}},"id":584,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"large","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"large","unitParsed":"large"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"2","unit":"large","unitParsed":"large"}}},{"uid":15,"amount":"1","unit":"tsp","name":"vanilla extract","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"4.93","unit":"ml"}},"id":564,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"4.93","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":17,"amount":"2-3","unit":"tsp","name":"super red color gel","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"9.86","unit":"ml"}},"id":707,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2-3","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2-3","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"9.86","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":19,"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","name":"white vinegar","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"2.46","unit":"ml"}},"id":708,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1\/2","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"2.46","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":21,"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","name":"buttermilk","notes":"room temperature","converted":{"2":{"amount":"180","unit":"g"}},"id":604,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"3\/4","unit":"cup","unitParsed":"cup"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"180","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":24,"amount":"6","unit":"cups","name":"powdered sugar","notes":"sifted","converted":{"2":{"amount":"720","unit":"g"}},"id":639,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"6","unit":"cups","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"6","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"720","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":26,"amount":"2","unit":"cups","name":"unsalted butter","notes":"room temperature","converted":{"2":{"amount":"454","unit":"g"}},"id":555,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"cups","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"cups","unitParsed":"cups"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"454","unit":"g","unitParsed":"g"}}},{"uid":28,"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","name":"vanilla extract","notes":"or flavoring of your choice","converted":{"2":{"amount":"9.86","unit":"ml"}},"id":611,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"2","unit":"tsp","unitParsed":"tsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"9.86","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":30,"amount":"1","unit":"Tbsp","name":"heavy whipping cream","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"14.79","unit":"ml"}},"id":758,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"1","unit":"Tbsp","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"1","unit":"Tbsp","unitParsed":"Tbsp"},"unit-system-2":{"amount":"14.79","unit":"ml","unitParsed":"ml"}}},{"uid":32,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"black color gel","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"","unit":""}},"id":709,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":34,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"red color gel","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"","unit":""}},"id":710,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":36,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"moss green color gel","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"","unit":""}},"id":711,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}},{"uid":38,"amount":"","unit":"","name":"gold pearl dust","notes":"","converted":{"2":{"amount":"","unit":""}},"id":712,"conversion_item_snapshot":{"amount":"","unit":"","timestamp":1789967870000},"type":"ingredient","unit_systems":{"unit-system-1":{"amount":"","unit":"","unitParsed":""}}}],"originalServings":"12","originalServingsParsed":12,"currentServings":"12","currentServingsParsed":12,"currentServingsFormatted":"12","currentServingsMultiplier":1,"originalSystem":1,"currentSystem":1,"favorite":false,"unitSystems":[1,2],"originalAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"currentAdvancedServings":{"shape":"round","unit":"inch","diameter":0,"width":0,"length":0,"height":0},"collection":{"servingsUnit":"","servingsUnitRaw":"","originalServings":"12","originalServingsParsed":12,"type":"recipe","recipeId":7508,"name":"Red Velvet Dragonscale Cake","image":"https:\/\/livforcake.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/drangonscale_cake-thumb1-300x300.jpg","servings":12,"parent_id":"5776","parent_url":"https:\/\/livforcake.com\/game-of-thrones-dragonscale-cake\/","cachedAt":1789967870,"modifiedAt":1628003005}}}