Want to learn the history of Red Velvet Cake? Check out this well-researched piece on Gilt Taste: The Unknown History of Red Velvet Cake by pastry-chef and blogger Stella Parks. While my own recipe is not true to the original Red Velvet cake (which was actually more of a chocolate cake with a slight red hue due to the interaction of cocoa powder, buttermilk, vinegar), it is not — as Parks would say — “a crimson chalk-fest,” either.
Nope, mine is a simple recipe (as usual) that uses vanilla extract (no scraping vanilla bean pods here!), red food coloring (yes, I admit it), and your standard cream cheese icing. So maybe my recipe isn’t completely authentic. But so what? It’s easy. And delicious. And in my book, that’s what counts.
used this recipe to make a two-layer cake instead and it was great! really, really delicious!
I used this recipe to make a two-layer cake instead and it was great! I also omitted the red food colouring but still got the traditional pinkish/reddish hue for the natural reaction between the cacao and the acid in the vinegar. It turned out perfectly and was really, really delicious!
Hi Nicki! Thanks for taking time to leave a note! I’m so glad to hear that you enjoyed the recipe! Also glad to hear that you can still get a nice red hue without the food coloring. I will have to try that next time! Thanks again and best wishes, Marie