Red Velvet Cake is one of my all time favorite things. And, cakes are one of my favorite things to bake. But, until this weekend, I had never made a Red Velvet Cake. The reason is… it was just too emotional.
From the moment I was introduced to Red Velvet Cake and started talking about it, I realized it was one of those foods that is always under debate. What makes a true Red Velvet Cake? Who has the BEST recipe? If it isn’t the traditional Southern recipe, is it even Red Velvet Cake? I have seen many different recipes and it was too overwhelming to decide which to try.
The other emotional barricade to making my own Red Velvet Cake was that I just love it too much. I have a problem. When I love a certain food too much and I look forward to eating it and the recipe or flavor is disappointing, I get upset. I cry. No kidding. There are a few good stories here but I will not digress.
Inspired by this beautiful dessert, the need to bring something to a Super Bowl party and the impending Valentine’s Day holiday, I decided to saddle up this weekend, brace myself and bake my first Red Velvet Cake.
I started by searching the web and continued to find some serious debate here. I have to admit that when I saw a credible source write “Red Velvet Cake is nothing more than white or yellow cake with food coloring” I felt angry. Not just perturbed. Angry. What about the touch of cocoa, the buttermilk… vinegar?! Anyway, I like oil cakes over butter cakes usually so I started with a recipe, increased a few things… decreased a few things, added my favorite Cream Cheese Frosting and made a layer cake as well as a few cupcakes.
The result was really quite good, especially when I popped the first warm cupcake in my mouth which was oozing with warm, melting cream cheese frosting. It was not amazingly GREAT. But, I didn’t cry.
So, there are a few courses of action for the readers that I will propose:
1. If you don’t care that much about this cake, move on.
2. If you love Red Velvet Cake but don’t like to bake, mail order one from here. You will not be disappointed.
3. If you have this Red Velvet Cake thing figured out, send me your recipe!
4. If you are a baker, try this recipe and please send your honest criticism or praise.
Red Velvet Cake with Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temp
2 large eggs
2 T red food coloring
1 t white distilled vinegar
1 t vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 - 9 inch cake pans or make cupcakes. Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, slat and cocoa. In another bowl whisk oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar and vanilla together until combined. Mix wet and dry ingredients together in a stand mixer with paddle attachment just until combined. Fill pans and bake about 30 minutes for cakes, 18-20 minutes for cupcakes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting
(this makes a lot of frosting - use half for cupcakes)
1 lb. cream cheese
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter
1 t vanilla
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
Mix softened butter and cream cheese together until fluffy. Add powdered sugar little by little. Mix in vanilla and then fold in nuts by hand. Put frosting in refrigerator until stiff enough to frost the cakes.
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February 5th, 2007 at 10:57 am
That is a lovely, lovely photo!
February 5th, 2007 at 11:01 am
It’s sad that the cake didn’t turn out great because the photo is lovely! I’ll try the recipe this weekend and let you know my results.
February 5th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
I love red velvet cake too, and I can’t decide whether I love the taste or the way it looks more. I don’t know how yours tastes, but it looks BEAUTIFUL and very Valentines-y!
February 5th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Funny coincidence…since reading O Magazine this month with a picture of a beautiful red velvet cake with what appeared to be cream cheese frosting, this cake has been on my mind. I have been searching for a recipe…dreaming about it…wondering what it tastes like. I must be honest, I’ve never had it before. It just looks so darn beautiful, and I seem to be drawn to red right now. I will give your recipe a try and let you know.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:56 am
I have to chime in too - that’s one gorgeous photograph! And as for the cake recipe, it looks like there’s a great one here: http://hulaseventy.blogspot.com/2006/12/self-portrait-40-red-velvet-cake.html. A little hard to read, maybe, but worth a shot!
February 6th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
Oooo I love red velvet cake. Yours looks super moist. Love the photo too, looks amazing!
February 19th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
[…] A week or so ago, I found some additional buttermilk in my refrigerator, leftover from the Red Velvet Cake I baked the week before. In the same way that I will see any movie starring Bill Murray because I am pretty sure I will love it, I will try any new recipe that includes buttermilk. My Dutch mother-in-law drinks it straight and I admit that my love affair has not gone that far. But, I have yet to find a recipe with buttermilk that I do not like. One of my favorites is the buttermilk pancake recipe that a friend gave me a couple of years ago. It is so easy and so delicious, I have not used a pancake mix since then. […]
March 2nd, 2007 at 7:34 pm
Had my first taste of red velvet cake (in cupcake form!) this weekend at a neighbor’s house. The neighbors introduced me to Saint Cupcake, a bakery with two locations in my fantastic city of Portland. Check out www.saintcupcake.com and your mouth will water. The red velvet was the most beautiful color, like that perfect shade of lipstick I’m always searching for, and it had a huge dollop of cream cheese frosting on it with a few springy lime green sprinkles. I’m not sure if it was the cake or the packaging, but it was the most fantastic thing I’ve eaten in a long time.
July 16th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
[…] If you have been reading for awhile, you know that I love EVERYTHING with buttermilk whether pancakes, cakes or muffins. When I first read this recipe, I knew that oats and buttermilk soaking overnight were a foundation for success. And, not only is this recipe moist and flavorful, it is quite healthy, made with all whole wheat flour and almost no fat. […]
August 21st, 2007 at 8:05 am
[…] Recipe: Red Velvet Cake with Nutty Cream Cheese Frosting […]
September 17th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
I tried your red velvet recipe today and just wanted to say that the frosting was fantastic and the recipe made the cakes so moist and fluffy. very very delicious. thank you.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:32 pm
[…] p.s. Speaking of Red Velvet Cake, it may be time to bake one up with Valentine’s Day on its way. (Seems like a good time to eat red cake.) I think I will revisit this Red Velvet Cake recipe, which i haven’t made since last year. Tags: billys bakery, magnolia bakery, new york bakery, red velvet cake […]