The Original Red Velvet Cake

1 - I can do better 2 - Jury's out 3 - Pretty darn good 4 - Splendiferous 5 - Awesometastic by 11 people | Log in to rate

Ranked #492 in Food, #7,951 overall

The Recipe for Red Velvet Cake

When I was growing up, we knew it was a really special occasion if Mom made Red Velvet Cake. It appeared at Christmas, Thanksgiving, and certainly on Valentine's Day. The rich red brightened any holiday table, and that wonderful chocolate flavor mixed with the creamy smooth boiled frosting was so decadent!

Photo by food in mouth

The Recipe for Red Velvet Cake 

There are a lot of different recipes for Red Velvet Cake. Here is the one that I grew up with and still use. I have to say, it's worth buying a couple of heart-shaped cake pans just for this cake. It's a perfect Valentine's Day dessert.

1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon vinegar
1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 bottles of red food coloring
3 Tablespoons cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
2-1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Light oil and flour 2 9-inch cake pans.

Mix vinegar and baking soda in small cup. Let stand until settled.

Cream sugar, shortening, and eggs until light.

Make paste of cocoa and red food coloring. Add paste to shortening mixture. Combine.

Combine buttermilk and vanilla in a cup.

Combine salt and flour in small bowl.

Alternate adding the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture to shortening.

Add soda and vinegar mixture to batter. Mix just until blended.

Divide batter between the prepared pans, and bake for about 30 minutes or until cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.

Cool on baking rack. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to loosen cake. Invert pan and remove cake. Frost as desired.

The Recipe for Boiled Frosting 

Cream cheese frosting is also very popular.

Photo by LauraFries

red velvet cake by laurafries
3 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Cook flour and milk on low heat til thick, stirring constantly. Cool.

Cream sugar, butter and vanilla until fluffy.

Add to flour-milk mixture.

Beat until frosting is consistency of whipped cream.

Spread on cake layers.

Red Velvet Cake on Wikipedia 

Interesting facts and history.

Category: File - :Red velvet cake slice.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Red velvet cake

A Red velvet cake is a rich, moist, sweet cake with a dark red, bright red or red-brown color which is most common in the Southern United States. It is usually prepared as a layer cake somewhere between chocolate and vanilla in flavor, topped with a creamy white icing. Common ingredients are buttermilk, butter, flour, cocoa, and either beets or red food coloring. The amount of cocoa used varies in different recipes. A typical frosting is a butter roux (also known as a cooked flour frosting). Cream cheese or buttercream frostings are also used.

James Beard's 1972 reference American Cookery describes three red velvet cakes varying in the amounts of shortening and butter. All use red food coloring, but the reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa. Before more alkaline "Dutch Processed" cocoa was widely available, the red color would have been more pronounced. This natural tinting may have been the source for the name "Red Velvet" as well as "Devil's Food" and similar names for chocolate cakes.

While foods were rationed during World War II, bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes. Boiled grated beets or beet baby food are found in some red velvet cake recipes, where they also serve to retain moisture.

A red velvet cake was a signature dessert at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City during the 1920s. According to a common urban legend a woman once asked for the recipe for the cake, and was billed a large amount. Indignant, she spread the recipe in a chain letter.

In Canada the cake was a signature dessert in the restaurants and bakeries of the Eaton's department store chain in the 1940s and 1950s. Promoted as an "exclusive" Eaton's recipe, with employees who knew the recipe sworn to silence, many mistakenly believed the cake to be the invention of the department store matriarch, Lady Eaton.

A resurgence in the popularity of this cake is partly attributed to the 1989 film Steel Magnolias in which the groom's cake (another southern tradition) is a red velvet cake made in the shape of an armadillo.

The Perfect Cake Pans for Red Velvet Cake 

Just click on the images to shop at Amazon or get more information

Chicago Metallic 6-Cup Heart Cupcake Pan

Amazon Price: $24.00 (as of 11/09/2009) Buy Now

Wilton 6-Cavity Silicone Heart Mold Pan

Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 11/09/2009) Buy Now

Wilton Excelle Elite 9-Inch Heart Springform Pan

Amazon Price: $21.49 (as of 11/09/2009) Buy Now

Wilton Heart 4-pc. Cake Pan Set

Amazon Price: $39.99 (as of 11/09/2009) Buy Now

Wilton Excelle Elite 9-Inch Heart Pan

Amazon Price: $13.99 (as of 11/09/2009) Buy Now

Feeling Creative? 

Click on the image to shop at Amazon

Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

Amazon Price: $9.32 (as of 11/09/2009)Buy Now

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

The Cake Bible at Amazon 

You can buy this now. Just click on the image to shop at Amazon

The Cake Bible

Amazon Price: $25.20 (as of 11/09/2009)Buy Now

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Other Versions of Red Velvet Cake Recipe 

Southern Red Velvet Cake from Sara's Secrets on Food Network
3 layers and not very chocolately with a cream cheese frosting.
Red Velvet Cake from a Mix
Now THIS is easy.
Red Velvet Cake from Joy of Baking
This recipe uses butter. Also has some good explanations.

What Do You Think? 

Loading poll. Please Wait...

Red Velvet Cake on Amazon 

Who knew you could buy these things?

Click on the images to shop at Amazon.

Duncan Hines Cake Red Velvet 18.25 oz - 6 Unit Pack

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $19.50 (as of 11/10/2009) Buy Now

My Lip Stuff- Red Velvet Cake, Pot

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: $4.00 (as of 11/10/2009) Buy Now

Red Velvet Petits Fours - Wisconsin Cheeseman

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/10/2009) Buy Now

Colonial Candles Red Velvet Cake 22oz

Avg. Customer Rating: Amazon Rating

Amazon Price: (as of 11/10/2009) Buy Now

Red Velvet Cake on Flickr 

Mmmmm.  Cupcakes. by Just Jefa

Mmmmm. Cupcakes.

Crazy cupcakes by Don Nunn

Crazy cupcakes

Cake and cards by trekkyandy

Cake and cards

Red Velvet Cake by Southern Foodways Alliance

Red Velvet Cake

Red Velvet Cake by tomeppy

Red Velvet Cake

Red velvet cupcake by WordRidden

Red velvet cupcake

Red Velvet Heart 021409 by vmiramontes

Red Velvet Heart 021...

Red Velvet Cake & Acapulco Cake by TheGirlsNY

Red Velvet Cake &...

red velvet by sha in LA

red velvet

Velvety! by trekkyandy

Velvety!

red again by kio

red again

Cake! by tomeppy

Cake!

Red Velvet Cake by Svenstorm

Red Velvet Cake

Cake Decorators by Kris Cohen

Cake Decorators

automatically generated by Flickr

A Few of Bee's Food Lenses 

Your Turn! 

I love to read your comments...

...so leave me a note.

glowchick wrote...

This is such a great cake! Thanks for sharing 5* and favorited do I can give it a try..

ReplyPosted June 02, 2009

Tiddledeewinks wrote...

A great dessert!

ReplyPosted March 21, 2009

enslavedbyfaeries wrote...

Woohoo, I am featuring red velvet cake recipes on my Twilight Vampire Party lens!! I'll be updating this weekend and I'll be sure to feature your lens. Until them I'm adding to my favorites and rolling it. Duh, next time I need a recipe I'll be checking with you first. 5*

ReplyPosted September 06, 2008

spirituality wrote...

Looks very yummy.

ReplyPosted September 06, 2008

JasonE wrote...

Great lens, Bee! Red velvet cake: certainly one of my favorites! I desperately wanted a homemade one for my birthday this year, but had to settle for a store-bought red velvet cake. (Sigh . . . It wasn't the same.) I'm a sucker for any kind of chocolate cake, though.

ReplyPosted September 05, 2008

ThomasC wrote...

That is the reddest cake I have ever seen! Sounds great though! Great Lens!
ThomasC

ReplyPosted September 04, 2008

ThomasC wrote...

That is the reddest cake I have ever seen! Sounds great though! Great Lens!
ThomasC

ReplyPosted September 04, 2008

rms wrote...

This looks lushcious!

ReplyPosted September 04, 2008

vbright105 wrote...

Why must you tempt me so with sweet delicious dessert recipes? Great lens

ReplyPosted September 04, 2008

by beeobrien

I'm an author, a cook, an artist and a mom, not necessarily in that order. Dog lovers should check out the best dog-related gifts at Great Gift Ideas... (more)

Explore related pages

Create a Lens!