Understanding RED VELVET CAKE

[letscook]

I have had red velvet cake several times and always been very good.
But I never understood the reason for the cake being red and adding all that food coloring.
What is the purpose or the history of famous red cake ? Why not make the cake and not add the food coloring, wouldn't it taste the same.
Food coloring has no benifit but making it red.
I am not knocking the cake as I said I have enjoyed it everytime I have had it. It's just one of those things you wonder about.

 

[Andy M.]

Early red velvet cake recipes did not contain food coloring. The red came from a chemical reaction with vinegar that was part of the early recipes. It was probably accidental.

 

[Alix]

You can still make it the traditional way and achieve the red color, although it isn't as pronounced as if you add the food coloring.

 

[Nyeer]

Do you have the traditional recipe?

 

[Alix]

I don't have one no. I do have several chocolate cake recipes that use vinegar and cocoa and have noticed the reddish color. If you want it REALLY red you will either need to use food coloring or perhaps beet juice to achieve the color. Otherwise its just basically chocolate cake with vinegar and baking soda used to give you some leavening.

 

[Selkie]

As I recall, and I may be wrong, but an ex-spouse said the vinegar was used to cut the bitterness/flavor/whatever from using so much red food coloring, and that if beet juice was used, the vinegar probably wasn't needed in the basic red velvet cake recipe, not the one that Alix is talking about. But this is from an imperfect memory.

 

[LPBeier]

The vinegar is needed in this style of cake to react with the baking soda for leaving (the cake rising). It is often used in chocolate cakes to react with the cocoa and soda to make a high moist cake.

 

[letscook]

Thanks for the information on this. My gramother has a recipe that she made called wacky cake - a chocolate cake that has vingear in it. Ill have to dig it up tonight

 

[LPBeier]

Wacky cake doesn't go red. There is a lot of cocoa in it and so the reaction is less noticeable. The only real way will get a noticeable red without food colouring is to have a lower ratio of cocoa so that the brown doesn't overpower it.

I am actually experimenting with this because I am trying to come up with a "purple velvet" cupcake. For purple, I do need to used food colouring but am trying to find a way to use less.

 

[Alix]

Hey LP, have you tried experimenting with beet juice? I hear it has great results.

 

[LPBeier]

No, but I plan too. That will at least cut out the red and I can just add less blue to get purple. Thanks, Alix.

letscook, if you want my recipe, let me know and I will PM it.

 

[bigdaddy3k]

Does anyone ever read the post titles and just get the wrong idea?

I used to work as a red velvet cake translator. I helped people understand red velvet cake.

Or

It's hard to find an understanding red velvet cake, they're usually so gruff and closed off.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

The reason most red velvet cake recipes use food coloring is that most cocoa powder available to us has been dutch processed. This involves using an alkali to neutralize the natural acid in cocoa, and to remove much of the oil. This results in a better flavor and easier mixing with liquids (fats don't mix well with water). Unfortunately, it was the non-dutch processed cocoa that reacted with the vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk that created the original red coloring, at least that's what I read when researching the subject. I looked through a host of red-velvet cake recipes and they all had about the same ingredients. And they all had vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk. I have to assume that if you can find non-dutch processed cocoa powder and use it in the following recipe, you could get the famous color without using beet powder, or juice, or red food coloring.

I took this ingredient list from a web recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350' F.
Combine the dry ingredients with a wire whisk in a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar together in a seperate bowl. Add the wet ingredients and beat with a hand mixer or immersion blender until smooth. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix for two minutes with a hand mixer or immersion blender. Pour into nin inch greased and floured cake pans and bake for 40 minutes. Test by inserting a clean toohtpick. When removed, if the toothpick comes out clean, it's done. Remove and let cool on rack.

• 3 1/3 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter at room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups of sugar
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder (IMPORTANT!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk (IMPORTANT!)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[mexican mama]

This thread is very informative...i had a red velvet cake for my bday and it was great,..baking cakes is not my strongest skill in terms of cooking and i really do want to learn how to bake a good cake...red velvet is one of my absolute favorite cake coz of the taste and the color... if y'all could share your recipes with me that would be great

 

[mexican mama]

thanks

The reason most red velvet cake recipes use food coloring is that most cocoa powder available to us has been dutch processed. This involves using an alkali to neutralize the natural acid in cocoa, and to remove much of the oil. This results in a better flavor and easier mixing with liquids (fats don't mix well with water). Unfortunately, it was the non-dutch processed cocoa that reacted with the vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk that created the original red coloring, at least that's what I read when researching the subject. I looked through a host of red-velvet cake recipes and they all had about the same ingredients. And they all had vinegar, baking soda, and buttermilk. I have to assume that if you can find non-dutch processed cocoa powder and use it in the following recipe, you could get the famous color without using beet powder, or juice, or red food coloring.

I took this ingredient list from a web recipe.

Preheat the oven to 350' F.
Combine the dry ingredients with a wire whisk in a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar together in a seperate bowl. Add the wet ingredients and beat with a hand mixer or immersion blender until smooth. Combine with the dry ingredients and mix for two minutes with a hand mixer or immersion blender. Pour into nin inch greased and floured cake pans and bake for 40 minutes. Test by inserting a clean toohtpick. When removed, if the toothpick comes out clean, it's done. Remove and let cool on rack.

• 3 1/3 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 sticks of butter at room temperature
• 2 1/4 cups of sugar
• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

thanks for sharing this recipe

 

[Cookbook Shop]

In the 1920's the red velvet cake was a signature dessert at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York. My mother told me this story in about 1960:

A woman (guest) having had the cake at the Waldorf asked the chef for the recipe which he gave to her. She was shocked when a bill arrived for $400. so she put an ad in the paper and offered the recipe for $1.00 to recoup the money.

I've read many slightly differing recipes but they are generally the same adding 2 oz red food coloring. Icing is either cream cheese (modern version) or the (older version) cooked flour/butter frosting which is the one mother always made. Beets were found in a WWII recipe, I'm sure to deepen the color and add sweetness. Also the end result using old fashioned cocoa (before Dutch process cocoa was available) would have been different than today. I understand the cake appeared more red in color naturally because the acid in the buttermilk and vinegar reacted to the cocoa, enhancing the natural reddish pigment. Interesting...

I tried the Duncan Hines Red Velvet Cake mix about a year ago and I didn't care for it as much as the old homemade version. For me it was drier and had a slight bitter taste --from the red food coloring I'm guessing. Now I'd like to try it without the food coloring, just have to find some old cocoa somewhere....

Cindy

 

[bethzaring]

Penzeys carries both types of cocoa; the dutch processed and the "natural" unprocessed cocoa. I buy both by the pound. I use the dutch processed in ice cream and hot chocolate and the natural in baking.

What is the difference between red velvet cake and devils food cake? I have my great grandmothers recipe for devils food cake and it calls for cocoa, buttermilk, baking powder and vinegar. It does not turn out red that I ever noticed. She would use a caramel icing but that icing recipe was not passed down.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Morning Miss Beth...IMO They are essentially the same cake in origins...Today however, they bare no resemblance in appearance...The Red Velvet loaded with red food coloring, and, white frosting/icing...The Devils food...no added coloring etc.

Devils Food ~~ Red Velvet

 

[Silversage]

The Waldorf Astoria story is just that - a STORY! It has long ago been debunked as an urban legend along with the Neiman Marcus chocolate chip cookies (same story, different details: someone asked for a recipe and was sent a bill).

Red Velvet cake has much less cocoa than Devil's Food. Purists insist that there is between 1 and 5 tablespoons, depending upon the recipe. It's NOT a chocolate cake, it's a buttermilk cake with just a touch of cocoa. When you eat it, you don't really taste chocolate, but you'll be hard-pressed to define the flavor. There's just enough cocoa to be elusive.

There are a million stories about how the red food coloring got into it, but alas, I don't think we'll ever know the real answer. Although you can try it with beets, it will usually come out a pinkish-purplish color, rather than red.

There is also a huge divide over the 'authentic' frosting. While some insist that only the traditional flour-thickened, fluffy vanilla frosting is correct, the newer trend is a rich cream cheese frosting.

These debates take place all over the South, and I don't think we'll resolve them here!!! Yes, every southern mother & grandmother makes the world's best red velvet cake!

One of the best recipes I've tried is from a blog called Smitten Kitchen. She also 'doesn't understand' Red Velvet Cake, but gave it a great try to please someone (her husband maybe?) She also did a Blue Velvet Cake and if you poke around her site, you'll find pics of it somewhere.

If you're concerned bout the dye, I'm sure you can get the same taste by replacing the coloring with water, but it will probably look a little pale.

 

[letscook]

I don't care if it turn out red or not, I was just saying that i could get the same texture and taste only without all the red food color hense the wacky cake.