Red Velvet Cake

[Fay Jai]

I need a recipe for this cake, my wife wants to make it for her best friend and doesn't have a recipe....Pretty Please?

Thanks!

[Gifted Gourmet]

from our very own eGullet recipe treasury: here you are!

and then here is Sara Moulton's creation: red velvet cake recipe

and, perhaps best of all, Leite's Culinaria on this cake:right here

[robyn]

I need a recipe for this cake, my wife wants to make it for her best friend and doesn't have a recipe....Pretty Please?

Thanks!

I live in the south and make red velvet cake for Valentine's Day. I cheat and use the Duncan Hines mix. It's better than most I've had made from scratch. Robyn

[chefpeon]

Geeeeeeez!

What is it about that cake? I think it's the most disgusting thing on the planet.

The first time I had to make it for a client I thought I was gonna lose it when I saw how

much red food coloring went into it. Do people REALLY like the way it tastes?

I mean really?

[DiH]

An alternative to the red dye thing is the recipe that I use. The cake's color is derived from beets, of all things. Now before you go squinching up your noses, I promise that never in your wildest dreams would you guess that there were beets in this cake. The cake is absolutely delicious and ultra-moist... everybody who's ever eaten it has given rave reviews... and then I told 'em about the beets!

Red Velvet Cake

1-1/4 – 1-1/2 C. Beets; cooked, mashed and cooled

3 Eggs

3 oz. Cocoa

1/2 tsp Vanilla

1-1/4 C. Oil

15 oz. Flour; sifted

15 oz. Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1-1/2 tsp. Baking soda

Cream oil, sugar and vanilla; add in eggs. Add mashed beets; mix to blend.

Sift together three times all dry ingredients; add to oil mixture. Mix for 2 minutes on med-high speed, scraping bowl from time-to-time.

Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes.

Cool completely; frost with cream cheese icing.

[Redsugar]

I have baked this Red-Beet Chocolate Cake once every August for 20 of the past 25 years:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

1½ tsp. Baking soda

½ tsp. Salt

1½ cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1½ cups cooked, puréed beets*

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted & cooled

1 tsp. Vanilla extract

You know the procedure. Pour batter into greased 13 x 9 x 2” pan. Bake in preheated 350° F. oven for 25 minutes, or until cake test done. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cover loosely and let stand overnight to further develop flavour. Dust servings w/ confectioner’s sugar. Children also love this dessert – accompanied w/ ice cream, of course. This cake has a deep chocolate colour and a surprisingly mild flavour.

*Besides fresh corn cobs, I always cook beets in a pressure cooker.

[malarkey]

and, perhaps best of all, Leite's Culinaria on this cake:right here

LOL! The Neiman-Marcus cookie story has transfered to the Red Velvet Cake!!

I've had this cake once. The flavor was surprisingly light and very good, with hints of chocolate and vinegar coming through. IMO doesn't beat a Lane Cake though....

[Jake]

What's a Lane Cake, malarkey? Do you have a recipe?

[Redsugar]

A suitable birthday version of Red Velvet Cake is printed in commonly found Hershey's Chocolate Lover's Cookbook. It's made w/ cocoa powder and buttermilk and calls for 1 tablespoon of red food colour. The layer cake may be covered w/ the suggested Fluffy Vanilla Frosting.

Here is a retail source for all-natural, vegan food colouring:

http://tinyurl.com/5cxgn

[Ocean_islands]

Ok the beet thing intrigues me. I'm going to have to try this cake and maybe when I'm in France next month I'll make it for friends.*

* reference carrot cake thread (shocking French foodies is great fun).

Edited August 23, 2004 by Ocean_islands (log)

[malarkey]

What's a Lane Cake, malarkey? Do you have a recipe?

A Lane Cake is a southern tradition and my favorite recipe is the one in the book "The Gift of Southern Cooking" by Edna Lewis & Scott Peacock.

Its basically a simple white cake that serves as a delivery system for the incredible cooked frosting/filling consisting of: pecans, coconut & raisins + a dozen egg yolks + sugar + some bourbon

It is, hands down, my absolute favorite cake in the world.

[sugarhill]

ok... i have been contracted to make a 3 tier (stacked) red velvet wedding cake with the traditional cream cheese frosting. the party planner (this is actually for a surprise bridal shower for the couple that has now eloped) wants the cake decorated with a fall theme... leaves, flowers. again she wants the cream cheese frosting but i was wondering if i should just create the decorations out of fondant/gumpaste and apply directly onto the frosting or cover the entire cake with fondant and decorate it that way? gumpaste and cream cheese won't mix well, correct?

any suggestions? i did a internet search to do an informal poll... but didn't really get much info.

[chefpeon]

The thing about cream cheese icing is that it's not quite as easy to work with as buttercream is. It's harder to apply a nice smooth coating with cream cheese icing, and due to the translucent nature of it, darker cakes tend to show through it a lot. It also doesn't set up as nice and firm as buttercream, and if you do stick gumpaste flowers and leaves directly on it, as the cake warms up they will have a tendency to slide down.

My policy is that if the customer wants cream cheese icing, they can have it as the FILLING, but the outside will be decorated in buttercream/fondant/marzipan/modeling chocolate-whichever they choose. I always tell them that not everyone gets an "outside piece" of cake when it's cut anyway, and if you have cream cheese icing as the FILLING, then EVERYONE gets some. When I present it to them that way, they always go "Oh yeah.....I never thought of that." Then it's easy for me, because I don't have to deal with the headache of cream cheese icing as a finish.

I would tell my customer, "Ok, Red Velvet Cake, cream cheese filling. The outside will be finished in buttercream (or fondant or whatever) and I'll decorate it with fall flowers and leaves. I don't finish my cakes in cream cheese icing because as a finish it doesn't look as nice and there's a risk that the decorations could slip off."

Usually if you tell the customer WHY you need to do things a certain way, they understand. They only tell you they want certain things because they don't know any better. You need to educate them a bit.

Hope that helps!

[ojbowl]

I am not a baker so to forewarn you.

Is it possible to have cream cheese frosting as the filling and then have a butter cream/ cream cheese icing(a mix?) on the outside. Also, then apply your premade dried fondant decorations with just butter cream as glue.

Another idea. With your cream cheese icing you could mix in some sour cream to help with the see through issue and also to give it a more desireable consistancy.

Hopfully I am not making a fool out of myself with these ideas, possibly suggestions :wub:I dont know what I am talking about:wub:

Also for this task I might suggest decorating frozen cakes(but you might already do that?)

Edited November 3, 2004 by ojbowl (log)

[K8memphis]

Cream cheese icing can be trickier and you do have some good ideas already. Umm also, when I do cream cheese icing, I watch my additional liquid like a hawk, and I add cornstarch to help bulk/firm it up. I also deliver cold refrigerated cake. Sylvia Weinstock does too.

I love Wendy's freezer stories & methods - that stuff (the cold) is a great tool - use it!! The cold makes an invisible cohesive-ness - that no amount of nose in the air snodgrass shee-shee do you have any grey poupon Robin Leach shock & awe can replace.

Before I was smart/old enough to know how dumb this was, I did a carrot cake w/cr cheese icing stacked delivered in hot hunnerd degree Memphis heat with a hyperactive kid in the car and we circled (again that whole hawk like thing or was that the kid gonna swoop down on my cake??) we circled the reception hall for AN HOUR AND A HALF because I got directions but no address for the reception hall.

So that's a good idea too. Get the address. But I mean that was before the cell phone age & taking calls in between taking the vows & all that good stuff.

But it's very do-able. Gum paste decorations should be fine. Chocolate leaves would be rich on that. Fondant might be better than gum paste 'cause then they could eat 'em.

[chefpeon]

Is it possible to have cream cheese frosting as the filling and then have a butter cream/ cream cheese icing(a mix?) on the outside. Also, then apply your premade dried fondant decorations with just butter cream as glue.

That's what I was suggesting in my post (above).

Another idea. With your cream cheese icing you could mix in some sour cream to help with the see through issue and also to give it a more desireable consistancy.

Sour cream is not a good idea. It will turn your cream cheese icing into soup. I guarantee you.

I love Wendy's freezer stories & methods - that stuff (the cold) is a great tool - use it!! The cold makes an invisible cohesive-ness - that no amount of nose in the air snodgrass shee-shee do you have any grey poupon Robin Leach shock & awe can replace.

Yes, cold is a great tool. When you have control over your cake in the shop, it's invaluable.

But once the cake leaves your kitchen (like when you go to deliver it), you don't have that tool

anymore. Cakes need to be created with the idea that they will be sitting out at room temperature (or hotter) for a while. Customers are NOTORIOUSLY careless. In my career,

I have always tried to plan for the worst contingencies and spell things out VERY CLEARLY for

them, but they always seem to amaze me with idiocy. It's always something.

Trust me when I say, "you can never be too careful"!

[Redsugar]

As the name denotes, Velvet Cake is a beautifully textured cake, with a close crumb, almost like pound cake – but a little lighter. When iced and decorated, it makes an attractive & delicious bride’s cake. I believe that cake flour is de rigueur.

Have you considered making a cream-cheese buttercream? Or even a faux version using all-vegetable shortening. No worry about spoilage; especially if there’s a probability that, heaven forbid, you’ve been contracted by (to use chefpeon’s characterization, above) “notoriously careless” clientele.

[sugarhill]

hmm... cream cheese filling seems do-able. question... would the fondant just not stick to the cream cheese frosting if i was to use that instead of the buttercream?

just as an aside, i went to a baking supply store this weekend looking for premade gumpaste flowers and leaves and was shocked by how tacky and poorly made some of them were. this was a well known wilton supply house here in nyc too! where does one find nice gumpaste decorations? or are we fated to make our own?

[amyd]

hmm... cream cheese filling seems do-able.  question... would the fondant just not stick to the cream cheese frosting if i was to use that instead of the buttercream? 

←

I think that the fondant would not look as nice over a cream cheese icing. Fondant shows whatever lumps and bumps are underneath it. If you use cream cheese icing, you would have to work REALLY hard to get it to smooth out first. It's a lot easier smoothing buttercream or some kind of preserves before putting the fondant on.

[sugarhill]

thanks everyone for your input... i'll let you all know how it turns out.

[chefpeon]

I think that the fondant would not look as nice over a cream cheese icing. Fondant shows whatever lumps and bumps are underneath it. If you use cream cheese icing, you would have to work REALLY hard to get it to smooth out first. It's a lot easier smoothing buttercream or some kind of preserves before putting the fondant on.

Not only that, but cream cheese icing never totally sets up like buttercream. If you put fondant over it, you really risk having all the layers slide around on you.

[sugarhill]

thanks everyone for your assistance... i wanted to share with you all that the clients LOVED the cake and actually didn't want to cut it. hopefully i get some business out of the deal, but anyway.

i went ahead against your collective advice and still used the cream cheese buttercream-ish frosting. i didn't have problems with sliding etc, but i did manage to get a bubble in the top layer under the fondant.

but live and learn... right?

i'll try and paste a photo...

[tejon]

Here it is - beautiful cake, sugarhill!

(I went to your album, clicked on the image to get to the larger version, then right clicked. Selected "properties" and copied the location, then used that here - does that help?)

[chefpeon]

That truly is a beautiful cake.....I just LOVE the leaves.

Are they handpainted or thinly rolled cut outs that are applied to the fondant?

But I will say, that if you had used a pure buttercream for your outside finish, and let it set up firm before you covered it with fondant, you wouldn't have had so many bulges showing through.

I had to say that.

[K8memphis]

Sugarhill, your cake is stunning. The design is so smooth and understated and elegant. I love the interplay of color. Great stuff!!

Edited November 19, 2004 by K8memphis (log)