Holiday Tastes: Red Velvet Cake

image uploaded by Patent and the Pantry on Flickr

Is it just me or has Red Velvet Cake become insanely popular in the last couple of years?  I blame the cupcake trend…  I grew up with this cake — my mom would make it every Christmas and for my sister’s January birthday.  It is, and has always been, her favorite cake, and it was always topped with silver dragees.

I find it interesting that this cake was originally red through a natural chemical reaction of cocoa powder and the acids in butter milk.  The more processed cocoa powder we use today does not present as strong of a color, and over time it has become common practice to add red food coloring to make the color more pronounced.  There is a longer version to the history of this southern dessert but I’ll spare you the full history and chemistry lesson.

The following recipe has been handed down through my mom’s family in New Orleans.  My copy is actually a photocopy of the red food coloring-stained copy typed up by my grandmother on her old type-writer.  This recipe skips a few important tips (for example, mixing the dry and wet separately, and in certain orders) that are detailed in other versions I have found online.  I highly recommend following those extra steps so you can create a lighter and more moist cake.  My mother’s explanation for the lack of steps detailed in my grandmother’s recipe is that recipes were written more simply in the past with the expectation that women just knew those important steps instinctively.  Hmmmm.  I’m not sure I want to know what my grandmother would say about my lack of cooking skills. 

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 oz. red food coloring

Cream the butter, add sugar gradually.  Cream until fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time until light.  Add food coloring.  Blend Well.  Add:

1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup water
1 tbl vinegar
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/3 cups cake flour
2 tbls cocoa
1 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients, using lower speed of electric mixer.  Pour into two 9″ pans; bake 25 mins at 350 degrees or pour into two 8″ pans and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the frosting, my gradually add 1 cup milk to 3 tbls flour to make a smooth paste.  Cook over medium heat to thicken, stirring all the time to prevent lumping.  Remove from heat an stir until cool.

In another bowl, cream 1 cup butter, 1 cup plain sugar and 1 tsp vanilla until fluffy.  Add cooled paste.  Beat on medium speed of mixer for 10 minutes.