Classic Cakes That Need Resurrecting

[claire797]

I think I'll try Lane Cake first.  Can any  input, Alabamans?

oooh, let me know how it turns out maggie. I'm going to make the Lane Cake recipe that's in this month's Saveur this weekend.

Lotsa eggs: recipe calls for 12 yolks, 8 whites (I think, this is from memory). this recipe uses the filling as the frosting also.

Yes, Maggie. Do report back.

In light of this thread, I have decided to go on a quest for the perfect Red Velvet Cake. As I've mentioned, Red Velvet is one of my favorite cakes, but so many of them turn up either 1) too dry or 2) bastardized versions of chocolate cake. Red Velvet is not really a chocolate cake. It's a distinctly buttermilk/sour tasting cake with a hint of chocolate.

The standard recipe uses 1/2 cup shortening and 2 cups flour, but I've seen recipes with as much as 1 3/4 cup oil. {{ !!!!!!}} No doubt the version the second version is moist, but that's a ludicrous amount of oil. If anyone's interested, here's a link to a few red velvet recipes.

Red Velvet Cake (And A Few Others)

Edited May 1, 2003 by claire797 (log)

[ronfland]

My recipe is about the same - but made with butter.

Red Velvet Cake

1c butter softened

3c sugar

6 large eggs

1½ - 2 oz red food coloring (depending on how red you want it)

3Tb cocoa powder

3c all purpose flour

1c buttermilk

½tsp vanilla extract

dash of salt

1tsp baking soda dissolved in

1Tbsp white vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 8inch pans

In mixing bowl cream 1c butter with sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix food coloring with cocoa and add to mixture. Add flour alternately with buttermilk. Add vanilla and salt. Mix baking soda with vinegar and gently stir into mixture. Do NOT overmix.

Divide batter into prepared pans. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on rack for 10 minutes before removing from pans.

Frost with Cream Cheese icing.

[Marlene]

Here is ronfland's recipe forRed Velvet Cake.

[Jaymes]

So okay - here's mine.

It does use a large amount of oil - 2 cups, but it sure ain't "dry." I haven't made it in years, but in the "olden days" there were frequently "Red Velvet Cake cookoffs." This recipe won the blue ribbon at several state fairs.

Red Velvet Cake

2 1/2 C sifted cake flour

2 C sugar

1 C buttermilk

1 t soda

1 t vanilla

1 t salt

3 eggs

2 T cocoa

1 T white vinegar

1 oz red food color

2 C vegetable oil, "buttery flavor"

Combine all ingredients; mix well and pour into 1 large or two small buttered and floured cake pans. Bake 300º for about 40 minutes, or until done.

Cream cheese frosting:

1 stick butter

1 t vanilla

8-oz pkg cream cheese

1 box powdered sugar

dash salt

1 C chopped pecans

Cream well, then frost well-cooled cake.

[claire797]

Ronfland,

Thanks for the recipe. Yours is actually quite different. Aside from its being a bigger cake, it uses proportionately less buttermilk, more eggs, and less flour. It sounds great!

Right now, my front-runner is Gale Gand's. Here's her recipe. I frost it with my own cream cheese/sour cream frosting.

"Almost" Gale Gand's Red Velvet Cake (Edited and revised a bit, so the cookbook police won't come after me)

1 cup butter flavored Crisco

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons

1 1/2 -2 ounces red food coloring

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vinegar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix all flour, cocoa and salt (not soda!). Add dry ingredients to the shortening mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Add the vanilla extract and red food coloring. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack. Remove from pans

Edited May 7, 2003 by claire797 (log)

[Marlene]

And Jaymes' Red Velvet Cake.

[Jaymes]

And Jaymes'    Red Velvet Cake.

Six minutes. Damn you're good.

How do you DO that?

[claire797]

Jaymes,

I hate to be a jerk, but that is a @!%)#*%#$Q% &-load of oil.

Good Grief!

Part of me wants to try it, and the other part is quaking in my Keds. Damn.

2 cups of oil???? It does have 1 more egg and a bit more sugar, but still....there's almost a 1 to 1 ratio of oil to flour.

And "butter flavored" oil? Would that be the Orville Redenbacher stuff that they sell for popcorn? I've seen (and used) Butter flavor Crisco, but I've never seen butter flavored oil.

I'm going to have to make this.

[Marlene]

And Jaymes'     Red Velvet Cake.

Six minutes. Damn you're good.

How do you DO that?

practice, practice practice. Since I've entered over 100 recipes into the database, I can almost do it in my sleep. I knew you were watching for it

(ok, maybe a few more than 100

Edited May 7, 2003 by Marlene (log)

[Jaymes]

Right now, my front-runner is Gale Gand's.

Claire - I think we should appoint you the Official eGullet Red Velvet Cake authority.

Seek out and try all these recipes and compare.

Then, we'll post the best one as the winner of the eGullet Red Velvet Cake eCookoff.

[claire797]

Right now, my front-runner is Gale Gand's.

Claire - I think we should appoint you the Official eGullet Red Velvet Cake authority.

Seek out and try all these recipes and compare.

Then, we'll post the best one as the winner of the eGullet Red Velvet Cake eCookoff.

I plan on doing that, Jaymes.

My red velvet cake testing efforts are slightly stymied due to my on-going chocolate chip cookie experiments.

http://www.ginsberg.com/anna/blogchart.htm

Red Velvet will be next. Just think of the photos....

[Jaymes]

Jaymes,

I hate to be a jerk, but  that is a @!%)#*%#$Q% &-load of oil.

Good Grief! 

Part of me wants to try it, and the other part is quaking in my Keds.  Damn.

2 cups of oil????  It does have 1 more egg and a bit more sugar, but still....there's almost a 1 to 1 ratio of oil to flour. 

And "butter flavored" oil?   Would that be the Orville Redenbacher stuff that they sell for popcorn?  I've seen (and used) Butter flavor Crisco, but I've never seen butter flavored oil.

I'm going to have to make this.   

Well, this recipe did have its heyday in those bad ol' 70's, you know.

And after all, it IS CAKE, a dessert, the traditional refuge of guilty pleasures. I mean, it's not like I'm pouring a quart of oil into my squash and then talking about how good vegetables are for you.

And I also doubt that any recipe that calls for a bottle of red dye is masquerading as being a paragon of healthy eating.

As to the "buttery flavor" thing.

In the days when I and my compatriots were engaged in competitive hostessing, having the best food (tastewise) was most important. We were all hauling Red Velvet Cake to this function and that. It would have cost me dearly, reputation-wise, to have had the driest version in town.

Actually, this reminds me of my favorite Red Velvet Cake story. A friend was moving to Texas, and at their going away party, the erstwhile hostess thought it'd be terribly clever (considerable extra bonus points) if she made an "Armadillo Cake." So she did. And it wasn't a flat sheet cake, it was a rounded mound, frosted and decorated such that it did look exactly like an armadillo. Only the inside was Red Velvet Cake. So when you sliced into him, it looked just like you were indeed cutting open an animal (and a fairly unappetizing one at that - one that we were all accustomed to seeing as roadkill). Everyone screwed up their faces and in unison, went "Eeeeeeuuuuwww."

But back to the "buttery flavor" thing.

I had a friend that entered cooking contests for fun and profit. She won many, many awards. One of her most reliable entries was this Red Velvet Cake recipe. Finally I finagled it out of her (promising not to give it out or enter it into any contests, but here some 25 years later, I doubt she'll care). Her recipe just called for vegetable oil. I thought butter might give it a better flavor, and began experimenting with different amounts of butter. But the oil, 2 cups of it, invariably turned out a superior-textured cake.

So in the store one day, I saw that someone (one of the "biggies" - Crisco, Wesson, etc.,) had brought out a "buttery flavor" variety. Which I used, to great success.

I haven't made this cake in at least ten years, and so do not know if that buttery flavor is still being produced.

But thought I'd put it in there, just in case.

Good cooking, Claire.

I can hardly wait to hear your comparisons. If another recipe is superior to this one, rest assured I will jettison "mine" immediately. I carry no false pride or proprietorial interest in recipes. It's just food. And like always, I prefer the best. Even when it's someone else's.

Edited May 7, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[maggiethecat]

Bake Off time.

I have everything in the house to make Jaymsie's version except the oil...will check red food color level too, before I head to the grocery store.

I will make it this afternoon, and report later.

It's nice to Have a Purpose!

[Jaymes]

Bake Off time.

I have everything in the house to make Jaymsie's version except the oil...will check red food color level too, before I head to the grocery store.

I will make it this afternoon, and report later.

It's nice to Have a Purpose!

Terrific!

If you don't like it, please PM me.

If, on the other hand, you love it, please feel free to post an effusive, flowery, braggy report right here.

[claire797]

Bake Off time.

I have everything in the house to make Jaymsie's version except the oil...will check red food color level too, before I head to the grocery store.

I will make it this afternoon, and report later.

It's nice to Have a Purpose!

Maggie,

Let us know how you fare in your search for the butter flavored oil. Hopefully, you can find it at your local Jewel or Dominick's. If you don't see it right away, look near the popcorn. I think it's called "Orville Redenbacher Popping & Topping" Oil.

Jaymes,

Apparently you have never seen the movie, Steel Magnolias. There's a scene in the movie involving exactly what you described -- a red velvet armadillo cake. While I've never made an armadillo shaped red velvet cake, I did make an Elmo shaped red velvet cake for my daughter's birthday. The idea was the same -- cut into Elmo and you get a big chunk of red, Elmo flesh. ;).

[maggiethecat]

I did make an Elmo shaped red velvet cake for my daughter's birthday.  The idea was the same -- cut into Elmo and you get a big chunk of red, Elmo flesh. ;).

You Texans are sicko! (I guess it's Like Calling to Like...I laughed hard both times the cakes were cut!)

Thanks for the tip on the oil, Claire

[Jaymes]

Let us know how you fare in your search for the butter flavored oil.  Hopefully, you can find it at your local Jewel or Dominick's.  If you don't see it right away, look near the popcorn.    I think it's called "Orville Redenbacher Popping & Topping" Oil.

I'm not really much of a food chemist - and don't know how that "topping" oil would compare to a regular for-cooking vegetable oil, but I'd be a little hesitant to try it in a cake.

My "armadillo cake" incident took place in Panama in 1976. Probably like Steel Magnolias and your Elmo, when Red Velvet Cake was THE most popular type of cake, there were undoubtedly lots of similar gruesome stories regarding hostesses that thought they were being clever.

[claire797]

Let us know how you fare in your search for the butter flavored oil.  Hopefully, you can find it at your local Jewel or Dominick's.  If you don't see it right away, look near the popcorn.    I think it's called "Orville Redenbacher Popping & Topping" Oil.

I'm not really much of a food chemist - and don't know how that "topping" oil would compare to a regular for-cooking vegetable oil, but I'd be a little hesitant to try it in a cake.

My "armadillo cake" incident took place in Panama in 1976. Probably like Steel Magnolias and your Elmo, when Red Velvet Cake was THE most popular type of cake, there were undoubtedly lots of similar gruesome stories regarding hostesses that thought they were being clever.

That's the only butter flavored oil I know of. Although I suppose you could substitute with 2 cups of butter flavored Crisco. Emma and I are going to the store later. I'll look for butter-flavored oil. Hopefully, Maggie will have beat me to it and will have made her cake by then.

[Rhea_S]

IThe Perfect Cake by Susan Purdy.

Amazon got it to my door yesterday, and I must say it appears to be all Nightscotsman says. I am terrifically excited about baking form this book.

Have you tried anything yet from this book, Maggie? I made the Jeanette(?) Pepin pear cake this morning and brought it to work. It's fast to make and delicious. It's definitely more of a clafouti than a cake.

[alacarte]

This is a great thread!!

Or at least, it was until the "Elmo flesh" bit.

This would make a great book topic.

The only "dead cake" recipe that I have is the WWII staple, "Victory Cake." But I'm told that it tastes rather like the sole of an old shoe, so I'll refrain from posting it in this otherwise quite mouth-watering thread.

[claire797]

I did make an Elmo shaped red velvet cake for my daughter's birthday.  The idea was the same -- cut into Elmo and you get a big chunk of red, Elmo flesh. ;).

You Texans are sicko! (I guess it's Like Calling to Like...I laughed hard both times the cakes were cut!)

Thanks for the tip on the oil, Claire

Just got back from the grocery store. The only butter flavored oil was the Orville Redenbacher stuff and it was in the popcorn aisle. It's made from soybean oil and it looks very rich and buttery. It comes in a 12 oz bottle and costs about $2.00. My guess is that 2 cups of the stuff would add a lot of butter flavor -- maybe too much. Maybe you could use 1/2 cup of the Orville Redenbacher oil and 1 1/2 cups of regular oil? Or maybe you could use 2 cups of regular oil and a teaspoon or 2 of butter extract.

The obvious thing would be to use butter instead of oil, but since we're trying to stick to Jaymes' original recipe, I'm trying to find the closest thing to butter flavored oil.

Edited May 7, 2003 by claire797 (log)

[Jaymes]

Well, the original award-winning recipe only called for vegetable oil, so just go ahead and use that and see what y'all think. I only started using the "buttery flavor" because it looked so, well, buttery.

[maggiethecat]

Jaymes:

He who his mother-in-law calls Impossible to Please Lou is still cutting little snicks off the cake. Actually, I immediately halved it and took it to appreciative neighbours. Talk about girlish figure concerns! Two cups of oil, two cups of sugar.

This cake is redder than a Valentine's day garter belt. And almost as expensive. An ounce of red food coloring was 2.69. The butter oil (where you told me it would be, Claire) was 2.29. Toss in the nuts and cream cheese, and you'd find something fetching on sale at Victoria's Secret.

Man, is it good! And so mysterious tasting. I haven't had a piece of Red Velvet Cake since the Ford adminstration, and I'd forgotten how good it is.

Let me share a few absent minded mistakes I made---no I could not work for Christopher Kimball!

I doubled the amount of cocoa...maybe a good idea. I, (How the hell did I do this? Cogitating quarks? ) forgot the butter in the frosting. I did, however,( forgetting I was supposed to be doing a test), threw a big glob of crema in with the cream cheese. Good.

The cake took longer than 40 minutes to bake...more like seventy. And next time, I'll cut down the butter-flavored oil by half. But not delete it:it's a good idea.

The nuts in the frosting/filling is a great idea.

Jaymes: Shoud I need a bigger pair of jeans by Friday, you're getting the bill!. This cake rocks.

[elyse]

Would butter flavored Crisco work for the butter oil?

Sorry, I just saw Claire's post!

Edited May 8, 2003 by elyse (log)

[snowangel]

I checked The Perfect Cake out from the library, read it late into the night, and promptly went out and bought it (B & N fundraiser for my kids school).

Heidi will turn 9 later this month. She is a princess, so nicknamed by her younger brother when he was just over 1. The Coconut Layer Cake is just what this princess would order were she not non-verbal.

Question: It calls for making two 9" layers and cutting them in half. Is there any reason that a person could not make 4 thin 9" layers (I have 8 -- yes 8 -- 9" layer pans, thanks to my great grandmother ), adjusting baking time, of course?

And, as an aside, the only "classic" cake missing from the book was burnt sugar, but one merely has to go to here to obtain this one. It's always my choice for my birthday. My mom makes it for me. And, my mom always mentions how tough cooked frosting can be in early August when it's hot and humid.

Further to the cake thread, I have a set, made by my great aunt, of little candle-holder things -- they are ceramic and shaped and painted (also glazed) like little flat flowers -- pansies and such -- with one hole in the middle of each one just the right size for birthday candles. I'm sure Aunt Laura made them during her ceramics phase, and are of late 20's vintage. They will look lovely on Heidi's birthday cake.