Red Velvet

The finished red velvet cake

Red Velvet seems to be the hottest and most popular flavor around these days. Red Velvet is EVERYWHERE- I have even seen it as an ice cream and a yogurt flavor! Red Velvet cake is essentially a chocolate cake, colored RED to give it its’ namesake hue. Originally, the red color came from beets, but today most people just use red food coloring to achieve this devilish color. Cream cheese frosting adds a fantastic decadent touch and acts to offset the red color of the cake very well.

Today, as a birthday present, I made my first red velvet cake. Most recipes call for buttermilk, which is not always the easiest ingredient to find in the small, poorly stocked NYC grocery stores. They also call for distilled white vinegar. Another ingredient I am not used to using in my basic cake recipes.

Here is the recipe I used:

Red Velvet Cake (taken from Martha Stewart’s website)

2 1/2 Cups Cake Flour

1 1/2 Cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups canola oil

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2-3 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup lowfat buttermilk

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons red food coloring

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Remember that you will be working with red food coloring, so if you are wearing something nice- CHANGE YOU CLOTHES.

Ok, now you are ready to go!

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt and cocoa.

In a mixing bowl, whisk sugar and oil. Once mixed, add eggs one at a time. Then add vanilla and food coloring.

add in the red food coloring and vanilla

Then add flower mixture and buttermilk- add part of the flour and then part of the buttermilk, alternating between the two until mixed in. Most likely, some will stick to the sides, so scrape down the edges and mix in.

add the flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating and mixing as you go

In a small separate bowl, combine the vinegar and baking soda. It will foam up. Add this to the batter and mix for another few seconds.

Pour batter into already prepared baking dishes. I prefer to use rounds. If you have extra batter, make a few cupcakes for sampling-yum.

Bake for 30-35 min at 350 F until cake is done. Let cool prior to frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting (from Ina Garten’s recipe)

1- 8 oz package cream cheese  (room temp)

1 1/2 sticks butter  (softened or room temp)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

With paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese, vanilla and butter. Once mixed, add the powdered sugar and mix until creamy and smooth. (Note: I doubled the recipe to have enough frosting for additional decoration- the basket weave around the sides)

For the cake, I used two 7″ rounds, which left me with extra batter. With this I made a few cupcakes, to taste and give away to friends. The cake was very light and airy, with a touch of cocoa flavor. The cream cheese was soft and creamy, and the perfect complement to the cake. I stacked the cake layers and incorporated a layer of cream cheese frosting between the two cakes for added flavor.

Red Velvet may be over-exposed, but it is still delicious and a great way to wish a fantastic person a Happy Birthday!