Red Velvet Cake (History & Recipe)
RED VELVET CAKE (HISTORY & RECIPE)
Red Velvet cake is a deliciously moist cake and a Southern favorite. This cake is known for its subtle hint of tanginess with a back-end hint of chocolate. I’m going to share a little background on the history of Red Velvet Cake along with the recipe to make it.
HISTORY OF RED VELVET CAKE
I bet you didn’t know that Red Velvet cake used to be made with beets! Yep, seems odd but, during the Great Depression in the 1920s food and ingredients were rationed. Bakers had to be creative, so they mashed up some cooked beets, added a little cocoa powder, sugar, vinegar, buttermilk, flour, eggs, and oil to make a cake batter.
Why Beets?
So you’re probably wondering – why beets? It’s brilliant really! Beets have a high sugar content and anything cooked with beet gets bathed in its beautiful rich red color. Mixing in a small amount of cocoa powder deepens that rich red color and adds flavor. Adding buttermilk and vinegar causes a bit of a chemical reaction making the cake mixture slightly more red in color.
These days you don’t usually find beets in red velvet cake recipes. The modern-day red velvet cake gets its beautiful crimson color from red food coloring and the addition of cocoa powder.
RED VELVET CAKE RECIPE
This Red Velvet cake recipe is made slightly different than the classic version of this recipe. I added a little Greek yogurt to add a bit of richness to the cake. If you happen to be out of buttermilk, check out my post on 6 DIY Buttermilk Alternatives.
The cake pans I used were 9″ inch round cake plans but you can make a smaller cake and use any leftover batter for cupcakes.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAKING RED VELVET CAKE
Start by combining all of the liquid ingredients in one bowl and the dry ingredients in another like this:
Liquid ingredients:
- Buttermilk
- Greek Yogurt
- Red Gel Food Color
- Vinegar
- Vanilla
Mix all of your liquid ingredients in one bowl and set it aside.
Dry ingredients:
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Cocoa Powder
- Salt
Mix all of your dry ingredients in a bowl using a hand whisk. Once you have the liquid and dry ingredients mixed, you can set those aside.
MIXING INSTRUCTIONS
Creaming Method
If you’re using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment. Blend the sugar and butter together for at least 3 minutes on medium-high speed until you have a fluffy mixture. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the sugar and butter are fully blended.
Next, start adding your room temperature eggs one by one with the mixer on low speed. This blending process will help create that soft pillowy texture of the cake.
Mixing wet/dry ingredients
Now that you have the sugar/butter/egg base ready, you can start adding in the wet and dry ingredients. You want to alternate adding wet/dry ingredients on a low speed so you don’t over-mix the cake batter.
Once you have added in all of the wet/dry ingredients, stop the mixer. Use a rubber spatula to gently scrape down the sides. Fold the batter over with the spatula starting from the bottom and folding over the top. This is done to make sure you have all of the ingredients fully incorporated.
Prepping your pans
Generously spray your cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottom with a parchment circle. Pour the batter into each cake pan but make sure you do not fill more than 2/3 full. This is so the cake batter doesn’t overflow as it increases in volume when it bakes.
Bake the cakes in a pre-heated oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow your cake layers to cool completely before you start to decorate with the cream cheese icing.
If you’re wondering what else I have in the oven in the photo above, I was baking a cheesecake. I created a layered cake of red velvet and cheesecake which is to die for! In case you’re looking for my easy cheesecake recipe here: EASY CHEESECAKE RECIPE
Tips for Making the Cream Cheese Icing
Cream cheese icing is the perfect icing to pair with Red Velvet Cake. It’s super easy to make but it can be temperamental if the cake is too warm. So I want to share a few tips for making the cream cheese icing.
- Butter and cream cheese must be at room temperature to ensure it blends together well.
- Make sure you cake has completely cooled off before icing your cake. Butter has a low melting point and it will start to melt if the cake is too hot.
- Use the creaming method to blend the butter and cream cheese together to one smooth mixture.
- Do not use granulated sugar because it will be gritty. Powdered sugar is perfect for making this icing because it is super-fine and absorbs moisture.
- Place cake decorated with cream cheese icing in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. Refrigerating also firms up the butter and cream cheese.
Red Velvet Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE RED VELVET CAKE
- 2⅔ cups Cake flour
- ¼ cup Unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1⅓ cups Buttermilk
- 1 Heaping tbsp Plain Greek Yogurt
- 1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
- 1½ tbsp Red gel food coloring
- 1 tsp Vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp. vanilla extract)
- 1¾ cups Sugar
- 1/2 cup Unsalted butter
- 2 large Eggs
- 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
ICING
- 16 oz. Softened cream cheese
- 1/2 cup Softened unsalted butter
- 2 cups Powdered sugar
- ½ tsp. Lemon extract
Instructions
PREP
- Preheat oven to 350°. Liberally spray two 9-inch cake pans with a non-stick cooking spray. Line the bottoms with a parchment round and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt. Note: whisking the flour mixture helps aerate and break up any lumps that may exist. Set the bowl aside
- Measure out buttermilk into a large measuring cup, greek yogurt, add in red gel color, vinegar and vanilla. Mix the liquid ingredients together until fully combined and set aside.
FOR THE CAKE
- Although I tend to use a stand mixer, you can make this recipe with a hand mixer or by hand as well.Add sugar and butter to the bowl of your stand mixer. Attach paddle attachment and cream the mixture for 3 minutes on medium-high speed. The mixture will be light and fluffy.
- Lower mixer speed and begin incorporating eggs until fully combined, then add oil and mix for one minute until fully combined.
- Begin adding dry flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately until all ingredients are fully combined. Mix for 1 minute, scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula, and mix for 30 more seconds.
- Divide red velvet cake batter evenly among cake pans and bake in oven at 350° until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Remove cakes from the oven and allow them time to cool before inverting onto a wire rack.
FOR THE ICING
- Place cream cheese and butter and bowl of mixer with the paddle attachment in place. Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth and lump free. Add in powdered sugar and extract. Continue mixing until you have a smooth fluffy icing.
So what do you think? I know the history of making a red velvet cake is a bit different than you or I are used to making.
Would you be willing to try a recipe with beets in it? Or are you ready to make this modern recipe for red velvet cake recipe instead?
Either way, I would love to know how the red velvet cake turned out for you. So leave me a comment and let me know if you love it as much as I do.
