Red Velvet Cake

[Jaymes]

If you don't like to add a lot of red food coloring, use less. My recipe only calls for 1 oz, and it's plenty red. Abra added 1 1/2 oz, and she still couldn't taste it.

Edited February 16, 2007 by Jaymes (log)

[maggiethecat]

If you don't like to add a lot of red food coloring, use less.  My recipe only calls for 1 oz, and it's plenty red.  Abra added 1 1/2 oz, and she still couldn't taste it.

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I agree. And I think that the only person who might taste it would be the baker, becuase he knew how much he added. I think next time I'll cut it back to 3/4 ounce -- I bet it will still be plenty red.

[andiesenji]

Uhm, maraschino cherry has a horrible fake flavor, to me, so that might have been the culprit, as opposed to the coloring.

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Abra,

That is the reason the Red Velvet cake recipe I posted uses canned cherries, not maraschino.

Of course Meemaw canned her own cherries, but I have had excellent results with regular canned cherries in light syrup, NOT the prepared pie filling cherries.

Meemaw's Red Velvet cake

[jlwquilter]

I made 2 red velvet cakes in the past few days... for a birthday cake order. I basically used Jaymes recipe (THANKS!). The first time the only change I made was to sub in 1/2 cup butter for part of the oil. I used 1/2 cup of the butter flavored popcorn oil as the recipe suggests. Cake batter was very thin. I did use an oversized pan on purpose and watched baking time like a hawk. End result was a very nice cake but the thinness of the layer made me go back to a standard 9x13 pan. Oh, I used 2oz of food dye. No after taste at all. Hubby has been eating this test cake.

The second cake, which was the one that went out for the order. I creamed the 1/2 cup of butter with the sugar and then beat in each egg seperately. I also used 1 cup of the butter flavored oil and 1/2 cup of regular oil. This was because I poured the butter oil first this time and goofed on the amount - but now think it was meant to be!

Anyway, the cake batter was thicker and seemed, I don't know, more like cake batter I guess. Cake baked up great. I froze it overnight and then defrosted the cake. I frosted it with vanilla cream cheese frosting... I did thicken half of the frosting with more confectioer's sugar so I could use it for piping a very simple design.

Cake was a HUGE hit at the birthday party. Even those that had earlier professed to not like red velvet cake really liked it. And those that like RVC said it was the best ever tasted! Yahoo!

So... thanks again Jaymes for sharing your great recipe!

[pastrypez]

recipegullet appears to be having some issues. Does anyone have a copy of the recipes for red velvet handy that could be e-mailed to me?

I have to make a few hundred cupcakes for a wedding next week and wanted to start experimenting.

[jlwquilter]

I've been having issues with accessing the recipes too, the past few days. I hope they get it fixed fast! I need a carrot cake recipe asap.

Here is Jayme's Red Velvet Cake recipe EXACTLY as it was posted. I did not add in any of my personal changes (as noted in my previous post) as I figure that's for you to experiment with.

Red Velvet Cake, Submitted by Jayme

It does use a large amount of oil - 2 cups, but it sure ain't "dry". Red Velvet Cake was ver populare back inthe late 60's & 70's and there were frequently "Red Velvet Cake cookoffs". This recipe won the blue ribbon at several state fairs.

2 1/2 c sifted cake flour

2 c sugar

1 c buttermilk

1 tsp soda

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

2 T cocoa

1 T vinegar

1 oz red food coloring

2 c vegetable oil - "buttery flavor" is good, but if you can't find it, add 1/2 to 1 cup of Butter Flavor Popcorn Topping oil (to make a total of C oil) - available in the popcorn section at the store.

Crean Cheese Frosting:

1 stick butter

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1 box powdered sugar

Dash salt

Cake - combine all ingredients; mix well and pour into 1 large or 2 small buttered and floured cake pans. Bake 300 degrees for about 40 minutes or until done.

Frosting - cream well, then frost well cooled cake.

[jlwquilter]

I just made this recipe again a few days ago... for anotehr order for the same people.

This time I baked half the batter in four 4 1/2" springform pans. Baking time was about 23 minutes... although I do think I overbaked them a tad. My hubby siad this cake was a bit drier than the last cake. Also he didn't taste that slight buttermilk tang as much... I think this may be due to my buttermilk this time around being much fresher than the last batch. I keep buttermilk on hand at all times (use if for my biscuits for our own meals) and sometimes it's in my fridge for a LONG time. The first cake used this older buttermilk, but I used it all up and had to buy a new container for the 2nd order.

Does this make sense? That the older buttermilk was more tangy? Is there a way to tangify (how's THAT for a word?!) fresh buttermilk.. add some vinegar to it??

[devlin]

People phone now and again asking for birthday cakes and the like, which I've never done, or anyway not traditional sorts of decorated cakes, and because red velvet seems to be such a popular thing, I decided to try it. I'm also finally teaching myself the very basics (6 year old level) of cake decorating, which at this point means layers and icings and some basic piping. The plan is to do a whole lot more with more complex stuff, but I'm just starting.

Anyway, two things here.... I made the red velvet cake according to the recipe in The New York Times article, which seemed pretty promising, given the accompanying article. I did everything exactly according to the directions. Frankly, by the time it was mixed and I was pouring it into the pans I was already worried. The color was good, but the batter was like heavy goo. By the end of bake, which was a good 15 minutes earlier than the recipe called for (and I have an oven thermometer in my oven for calibration), the cakes were like hocky pucks.

I tried another icing, a meringue-based icing, rather than the cream cheese, and it was really nice (though next time some flavor in it I think).

My infant-level cake decorating results. Note: because I was playing around with piping shells and then reverse shells, the results are a little ragged (or anyway that's part of the reason they're ragged, apart from my total incompetence):

and...

My husband and I were eager to try it, because, well, it's cake, and it did look sort of pretty in a homey sort of way, so.... It was the most godawful cake I've ever eaten in my life, I think. I mean, I know how to bake a delicious, flavorful, moister than believable cake, and some of my cakes get really good reviews just for that, but this was terrible -- dense, dry to the point that it seemed as if it had been sliced and sitting on the counter for three weeks. Hocky pucks. Awful. The frosting was pretty nice, though.

Here's a question, about the quality of the cake itself. Maybe it's a couple of things?... The differences in mixing ingredients and the length of mix?... Or the additional oil in some recipes?

Otherwise, wouldn't it make more sense to just take an already proven cake that's light and fluffy and moist and just add food coloring?

eta: the photo doesn't do justice to the actual redness of the red. It looks brown to me in that photo, when in fact it's a really rich, deep red.

Edited October 17, 2008 by devlin (log)

[Jaymes]

Otherwise, wouldn't it make more sense to just take an already proven cake that's light and fluffy and moist and just add food coloring?

That would "make more sense" if one wasn't interested in the taste of a traditional Red Velvet Cake. The vinegar, buttermilk, and underlying hint of chocolate make for the distinctive Red Velvet Cake taste that appeals most to the people that love it.

[devlin]

Otherwise, wouldn't it make more sense to just take an already proven cake that's light and fluffy and moist and just add food coloring?

That would "make more sense" if one wasn't interested in the taste of a traditional Red Velvet Cake. The vinegar, buttermilk, and underlying hint of chocolate make for the distinctive Red Velvet Cake taste that appeals most to the people that love it.

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But is it an inherently dry, dense cake? Or do I need to do something different? Because otherwise, if that's what it is, there's just no way I want to bother. I'm fine with the buttermilk, chocolate and hint of vinegar. The flavor's not the issue. It's the godawful result I got that was the most unbelievably dry cake I've ever had in my life. My husband said it was more cookie than cake, if that helps.

Edited October 17, 2008 by devlin (log)

[Jaymes]

Otherwise, wouldn't it make more sense to just take an already proven cake that's light and fluffy and moist and just add food coloring?

That would "make more sense" if one wasn't interested in the taste of a traditional Red Velvet Cake. The vinegar, buttermilk, and underlying hint of chocolate make for the distinctive Red Velvet Cake taste that appeals most to the people that love it.

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But is it an inherently dry, dense cake? Or do I need to do something different? Because otherwise, if that's what it is, there's just no way I want to bother. I'm fine with the buttermilk, chocolate and hint of vinegar. The flavor's not the issue. It's the godawful result I got that was the most unbelievably dry cake I've ever had in my life. My husband said it was more cookie than cake, if that helps.

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My personal recipe is most certainly not a "dry, dense cake." I have no way of knowing if that was supposed to be the result of the recipe you tried.

But I can't think Red Velvet Cake would have gained such popularity if the standard of the breed was dry and "godawful."

[mukki]

Otherwise, wouldn't it make more sense to just take an already proven cake that's light and fluffy and moist and just add food coloring?

That would "make more sense" if one wasn't interested in the taste of a traditional Red Velvet Cake. The vinegar, buttermilk, and underlying hint of chocolate make for the distinctive Red Velvet Cake taste that appeals most to the people that love it.

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But is it an inherently dry, dense cake? Or do I need to do something different? Because otherwise, if that's what it is, there's just no way I want to bother. I'm fine with the buttermilk, chocolate and hint of vinegar. The flavor's not the issue. It's the godawful result I got that was the most unbelievably dry cake I've ever had in my life. My husband said it was more cookie than cake, if that helps.

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No, it is not an inherently dry, dense cake. At least none of the ones I've eaten have been. You either had a bad recipe or did something wrong.

[robyn]

Since this thread is so long - I mentioned perhaps 3 years ago that if you only want to make red velvet cake once in a while - Duncan Hines makes a very good red velvet cake mix. I'd give it a B+ (as opposed to most recipes - which are C or worse). Note that red velvet cake isn't supposed to be dry or dense. Robyn

[Abra]

Devlin, try Jaymes' recipe. It's moist and delicious.

[prasantrin]

Just for comparison's sake, these are the ingredients and quantities from the NYTimes recipe.

Adapted from "The Confetti Cakes Cookbook" by Elisa Strauss (Little, Brown, to be published in May).

Time: 90 minutes, plus cooling

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

3½ cups cake flour

½ cup unsweetened cocoa (not Dutch process)

1½ teaspoons salt

2 cups canola oil

2¼ cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

6 tablespoons (3 ounces) red food coloring

1½ teaspoons vanilla

1¼ cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons baking soda

2½ teaspoons white vinegar.

The NYTimes recipe has more flour, more cocoa powder (quite a bit more), but almost the same amounts of buttermilk, oil, and eggs as Jaymes' recipe. No wonder that particular recipe was so dry! I haven't tried Jaymes' recipe, but I would give it a shot. It would definitely give you a much moister cake than the NYTimes recipe.

[Hard H2O]

But is it an inherently dry, dense cake? Or do I need to do something different? Because otherwise, if that's what it is, there's just no way I want to bother. I'm fine with the buttermilk, chocolate and hint of vinegar. The flavor's not the issue. It's the godawful result I got that was the most unbelievably dry cake I've ever had in my life. My husband said it was more cookie than cake, if that helps.

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Try the red velvet from the Bubble Room on Captiva Island, FL. It is the best cake I have ever had. It is a bit heavy but far from dry.

I made one once. It was someone's recipe that they recited from memory over the phone. It was the worst cake I have ever had. The recipe seemed a bit odd. In looking at some recipes later there were some major errors in memory and in my trust that lead to that travesty.

It has turned into a running family joke. I bragged up this cake to my in-laws. So I called up my friend's mother and she told me the recipe. I made it and served it to the in-laws. My father-in-law took a bite and said "That's not to bad. It's not to good either but it's not to bad."

My wife is going to get a recipe from the sister-in-law. I will have to steer her here to avoid andy problems.

[Hard H2O]

Google red velvet bubble room:

Bubble Room Red Velvet

[devlin]

The NYTimes recipe has more flour, more cocoa powder (quite a bit more), but almost the same amounts of buttermilk, oil, and eggs as Jaymes' recipe.  No wonder that particular recipe was so dry!  I haven't tried Jaymes' recipe, but I would give it a shot.  It would definitely give you a much moister cake than the NYTimes recipe.

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It occurred to me as I was measuring and adding the cocoa powder that it seemed excessive. I suspect (rather than the suggestion that I'd done something wrong) that is the culprit. I've read and reread the instructions several times and I keep scratching my head. Not that I never do anything wrong, but I always read and reread a recipe several times before I start a thing, make sure everything is measured and ready beforehand, and I refer to the recipe several times over as I go. I did everything according to the directions. When I went back and compared the NYT recipe to the other recipes here and elsewhere, I was surprised by the the marked difference in cocoa in the NYT recipe and also by the mixing instructions, which are also markedly different from what I'm used to performing for most every other cake I've made. I noted it as I went along, thinking to myself, That sounds off to me, but figured whoever wrote the thing must have known what they were doing.

As Abra and others have suggested I should do, I'll try Jaymes's recipe.

Thanks all.

Edited October 20, 2008 by devlin (log)

[Jaymes]

The NYTimes recipe has more flour, more cocoa powder (quite a bit more),

The traditional Red Velvet Cake shouldn't have too much cocoa powder, as it is not a "chocolate cake." It's supposed to have a bit of tang from the vinegar and buttermilk, and just an underlying hint of chocolate.

[christinajun]

hi all!

does anyone have a good recipe for red velvet cake? i've never made one before and just got a request...and don't have a lot of time to test!

thanks!

[maggiethecat]

Check RecipeGullet. I remember that Jaymes posted a dynamite recipe, which I made to great acclaim, a few years ago. It's perfect.

Here's the Recipe Gullet Help Topic:Enjoy!

Edited September 11, 2009 by maggiethecat (log)

[Jaymes]

Check RecipeGullet. I remember that Jaymes posted a dynamite recipe, which I made to great acclaim, a few years ago. It's perfect.

Here's the Recipe Gullet Help Topic:Enjoy!

Had kind of a hard time finding it what with the new formats and all, but it's here:

Red Velvet Cake

[christinajun]

Thanks! I had tried searching Recipe Gullet the other day but was having problems...

How is the cake without the butter-flavored oil? I'd probably be close to being fired if I tried to use it...

[Jaymes]

Just use a good-quality vegetable oil. Don't worry about the buttery flavor.

[Tri2Cook]

Red velvet cake + cream cheese icing = what ice cream?

Something to compliment or contrast cleanly. Whenever the owner at work knows her daughter and family are coming into town a red velvet cake w/ cream cheese icing is requested. They're coming into town next week and I was thinking maybe I'd do an ice cream to go with it as a surprise. For some reason I can't get this one sorted out in my head. I don't want to do a cream cheese ice cream with the cream cheese icing. I don't really want to do vanilla but I'm not ruling it out. I was considering buttermilk but I'm not sure how that will go over with the people who will be eating it... some of them are the owners grandkids. Maybe a very mild chocolate? The color of the cake often has people unfamiliar with it asking if it's strawberry or raspberry so maybe one of those to put the mouth and eyes on the same page? There's probably something obvious that I'm thinking myself into overlooking so I'm turning to the people who always come through when my brain goes on strike.