What is so special about red velvet cake?

[chickenpatty]

Updating in case anyone else ever gets in a bind and finds making red velvet cake unavoidable....

I tried this recipe and on the first day, it was VERY boring in flavor. The texture was good - nice & moist. The next day, however, the chocolate flavor came alive, and when combined with the cream cheese frosting, it was actually pretty good. (I just told myself not to think about all the food coloring I had put in it.) So, I am happy and I know the bride will be happy. :D

 

 

I feel like I must be missing something. It seems so ho-hum. I like for my cakes to be extra delicious & totally not something you can get from a box, but all the red velvet recipes I've tried have been just... cake. I've tried Pioneer Woman's and allrecipes.com's highest rated recipe.

 

Any knock-your-socks-off red velvet recipes?? I need one for an upcoming wedding cake & I want something way above average.

 

Thanks!

Edited August 28, 2012 by chickenpatty

[angela in ohio]

What's special about it? Cream cheese frosting. :D

 

Seriously, though, the only red velvet I like is from the cupcake place in the city that won on Cupcake Wars. Whenever we go to an event with their cupcakes, I get a red velvet, because they don't have too much food coloring, it is light and fluff (probably not a true red velvet because of that, I suppose,) and it has the best cream cheese frosting.

Edited August 26, 2012 by angela in ohio

[Parrothead]

This is the one cake that I simply cannot eat. All that red food coloring is gross. I can taste it in every bite.

[BakersDozen]

I had it once...blech! That experience definitely made me wonder what the big deal is because I could have done without tasting that. I don't even like the way it looks!

[Caitilin]

:lurk5:

 

This may be heresy, but I would rather just have the chocolate cake without the food coloring to make it red. Couldn't one just have a really good chocolate cake?:auto:

[Caitilin]

What's special about it? Cream cheese frosting. :D

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

[chickenpatty]

LOL, I wish I could just make chocolate cake instead, but the bride has requested all red velvet.

[Classical Country Mama]

At the county fair today red velvet w/ cream cheese was one of the gourmet funnel cake options.

 

I love red velvet, but as a funnel cake....??

 

No recipes here either, but I'm feeling a bit inspired. Off to Google! And :bigear:.

[helena]

We make a vegan Red Velvet Cupcake. It's sooo good! I think it's the light cocoa powdered (not as chocolaty as a chocolate) combined with the almond and chocolate extract. It's just a little different.

 

I refuse to add the red coloring anymore.

 

Our recipe also calls for chopped pecans on top of the frosting... OOooooo mama!

Edited August 26, 2012 by helena

[WishboneDawn]

I don't get it myself. I think it's just got a good name.

[Swimtaxi234]

Dump the usually dry cake and just eat the icing. :D

 

What's special about it? Cream cheese frosting. :D

 

:iagree: :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

[SunnyDays]

I don't care for Red Velvet Cake. Give me chocolate any day, with lots of buttercream frosting!! :D

[brett_ashley]

I totally agree. Red velvet cake is not really tasty, just a vehicle for frosting. I found this one from Smitten Kitchen (basically just a super-moist chocolate cake with red food coloring) and it's very good.

 

Make sure you find out whether the bride prefers the traditional flour frosting (not sure why she is using the whip instead of the beater blade in those photos) or cream cheese frosting. People have VERY strong opinions about which is the "correct" red velvet frosting, I've learned.

[redsquirrel]

I don't get it either. It is just a chocolate cake (not a good one, btw) with a bottle of red food colouring. What is good about that? I guess it is an sentimental choice for some.

 

I'd rather make a delicious, rich, dark chocolate cake and add the frosting of choice. I prefer my own homemade butter cream, but other kinds will do.

[OrganicAnn]

Since red velvet cake is just chocolate cake with red food color, why not find the most delicious chocolate cake recipe and add food color to it?

 

I don't really understand the "I prefer chocolate" when they are basically the same.

[5 Hikers]

It is super similar to German Chocolate cake IMO. No red food dye and different icings, but the cake is a lot alike.

[Julie in CA]

Red Velvet Cake should be *texturally* different from other cakes, due to the buttermilk & vinegar in the recipe. Flavor-wise, I think it falls very flat, and I hope it's a trend that passes soon. Personally, I just don't see the point of a chocolate-ish cake that doesn't really have enough chocolate or cocoa to lend it much flavor.

 

Definitely ask what they would like with regard to the frosting, because the flour recipe frosting is more traditional, but cream cheese frosting is generally what people have come to expect these days.

[gardening momma]

What is so special about red velvet cake?

nothing :tongue_smilie:

 

I feel like I must be missing something. It seems so ho-hum.

:iagree:

[gardening momma]

:lurk5:

 

This may be heresy, but I would rather just have the chocolate cake without the food coloring to make it red. Couldn't one just have a really good chocolate cake?:auto:

There is nowhere near enough chocolate in a red velvet cake to make it acceptable as a chocolate cake. So just eliminating the food coloring is not enough.

[chickenpatty]

Thanks for your expert advice! I was hoping you'd chime in.

 

The bride wants cream cheese frosting, so I'm looking for one that's sturdy, but doesn't harden to the texture and flavor of cold butter (blech - btdt w/a Martha Stewart recipe).

 

Do you have a good one? I tried one tonight that was yummy, but a little too, I don't know what the word is... not fluffy.

[Mabeline]

We make a vegan Red Velvet Cupcake. It's sooo good! I think it's the light cocoa powdered (not as chocolaty as a chocolate) combined with the almond and chocolate extract. It's just a little different.

 

I refuse to add the red coloring anymore.

 

Our recipe also calls for chopped pecans on top of the frosting... OOooooo mama!

 

Ooh, can you share the recipe please!:bigear:

[LaxMom]

This is the one cake that I simply cannot eat. All that red food coloring is gross. I can taste it in every bite.

 

:iagree: And it always makes me wonder: they make no taste red food coloring, so why do they make the horrible tasting stuff? Is that what red velvet cake is supposed to taste like?

 

I have this thought about a lot of things. Infant Tylenol, for instance... They make dye free. Infants don't know the difference. Why continue putting dye in it? Does it bring something to the party? :confused:

[justLisa]

The entire bottle of coloring it takes? That just seems wrong and gross.

[redsquirrel]

Since red velvet cake is just chocolate cake with red food color, why not find the most delicious chocolate cake recipe and add food color to it?

 

I don't really understand the "I prefer chocolate" when they are basically the same.

 

They are not the same. Red velvet cake is a very mild chocolate. It doesn't have much cocoa in it and it doesn't taste the same as a dark chocolate cake. It can't have too much cocoa or the red won't show in that dramatic way. That is why I say I would rather have chocolate cake than red velvet. I want more cocoa in my chocolate cake!

 

Is red velvet always on the dry side? I can't decide if it is the nature of the recipe or if I have been given bad cake. I have made a lot of cakes but never bothered with red velvet.

[Cinder]

What's special about it? Cream cheese frosting. :D

 

Yes, the frosting. But I'd rather have it on carrot cake instead of red velvet. :drool:

 

Last year ds wanted a red velvet cake for his birthday but he wanted me to buy it from a store so he could be in denial about how much food coloring went into it. :lol:

[helena]

Ooh, can you share the recipe please!:bigear:

 

Sure, here it is: http://www.usuallyvegan.com/tag/vegan-cupcakes-take-over-the-world/

 

The cookbook calls for 1/3 c. finely chopped pecan to be sprinkled on top of frosting. They're excellent after a night in the fridge.

 

ETA: She seems to have left out the 1 tsp chocolate extract (add along w/ other extracts).

[djsmom]

Yes, the frosting. But I'd rather have it on carrot cake instead of red velvet. :drool:

 

Me too! I had Red Velvet once and once was more than enough.

[Belacqua]

I just saw a recipe that called for beets rather than food dye. I'm not sure whether that would taste at all good or not, but at least it uses actual food. And cream cheese frosting does, indeed, count as actual food. :)

[Audrey]

LOL, I wish I could just make chocolate cake instead, but the bride has requested all red velvet.

 

This is seriously dating me, but this reminds me of the red velvet armadillo from Steel Magnolias. :lol:

[LizzyBee]

They are not the same. Red velvet cake is a very mild chocolate. It doesn't have much cocoa in it and it doesn't taste the same as a dark chocolate cake. It can't have too much cocoa or the red won't show in that dramatic way. That is why I say I would rather have chocolate cake than red velvet. I want more cocoa in my chocolate cake!

 

Is red velvet always on the dry side? I can't decide if it is the nature of the recipe or if I have been given bad cake. I have made a lot of cakes but never bothered with red velvet.

 

No, red velvet cake isn't dry if it's made correctly. :001_smile:

 

I've never had it with cream cheese frosting and had no idea that was the trend these days. I agree that it's not a great cake; it's more about sentiment than anything else, so why use something other than the traditional frosting?

[Ferdie]

This is the one cake that I simply cannot eat. All that red food coloring is gross. I can taste it in every bite.

 

:iagree: My dh is allergic to red food dye. I just don't get why the cake need all that coloring.

[Hoggirl]

This is seriously dating me, but this reminds me of the red velvet armadillo from Steel Magnolias. :lol:

 

OMGoodness!

 

I was just thinking the EXACT same thing as I was reading this thread! With that nasty GRAY frosting! :lol: Great minds! :D And her colors were "blush" and "bashful," right?

 

I love red velvet cake! It's a Southern staple, not a "new" thing. However, now that I am paleo/primal in my diet, I shall probably never have it again!

[magic]

I think the Joy of Cooking has a good recipe in it but I am not sure. I know that I have a good one because it is one of my dad's favorites- I will try to find it. I think part of why people like it is sentimental. The history of Red Velvet Cake is one of necessity. During the Great Depression there was rationing and little cocoa to go around. Red food coloring was used in place of a majority of the cocoa so the cake would have a rich look to it at a small cost. If you google history of red velvet cake you will see recipes throughout history and the complete story behind it. I find that when I know the history of something- I appreciate it more.

[LaxMom]

This is seriously dating me, but this reminds me of the red velvet armadillo from Steel Magnolias. :lol:

 

In my mind, that's the only legit use of red velvet cake.

[Onceuponatime]

I just saw a recipe that called for beets rather than food dye. I'm not sure whether that would taste at all good or not, but at least it uses actual food. And cream cheese frosting does, indeed, count as actual food. :)

 

I would try this with beets, pureed. After all, beets are sweet. It might be good.

 

I don't touch typical red velvet. Too many bad memories of the Valentine's day my 8yo dd ate hot dogs with ketchup, red apples, red "juice, and red velvet cake at a friend's house. She threw up on the way home. We lived an hour away. It was 10 degrees outside. I had to have the heater on in the car. My husband was out to sea. etc. etc. etc.

 

It was not fun.

[Audrey]

In my mind, that's the only legit use of red velvet cake.

 

:iagree: A fan of red velvet cake I am not.

[cjzimmer1]

For cream cheese frosting, we use the recipe from Quiver's cinnamon rolls. I had leftovers once and slapped it on my dad's birthday cake. Now he doesn't want me to use any other frosting.

[kitten18]

I had it once...blech! That experience definitely made me wonder what the big deal is because I could have done without tasting that. I don't even like the way it looks!

:iagree: Ick!

 

 

 

This is seriously dating me, but this reminds me of the red velvet armadillo from Steel Magnolias. :lol:

:lol: Loved that movie.

[Rebel Yell]

This is the one cake that I simply cannot eat. All that red food coloring is gross. I can taste it in every bite.

:iagree: :ack2:

[catz]

I would try this with beets, pureed. After all, beets are sweet. It might be good.

 

I don't touch typical red velvet. Too many bad memories of the Valentine's day my 8yo dd ate hot dogs with ketchup, red apples, red "juice, and red velvet cake at a friend's house. She threw up on the way home. We lived an hour away. It was 10 degrees outside. I had to have the heater on in the car. My husband was out to sea. etc. etc. etc.

 

It was not fun.

 

I've made both brownies and chocolate cake with beets and both turned out great. Very moist and tasty! I'd start googling that! :001_smile:

[Forget-Me-Not]

Have you seen this one, colored with beets?

 

http://www.sophistimom.com/red-velvet-cake-all-natural-no-red-dye/

[In the Rain]

I've never had one that didn't taste like food coloring. :ack2:

[SunnyDays]

This is seriously dating me, but this reminds me of the red velvet armadillo from Steel Magnolias. :lol:

 

I thought of that too!! Great, great movie. And Hoggirl, yes... blush and bashful, LOL. I need to watch that again...

[twoxcell]

What is special about it is that it has so much red food coloring that you will worry after your kids eat it and they go to the bathroom.:ack2:

I made a red velvet cake from scratch once that I liked.

Edited August 26, 2012 by twoxcell

[justamouse]

This is the one cake that I simply cannot eat. All that red food coloring is gross. I can taste it in every bite.

 

:iagree:

 

All I see in that cake is Red # 40.

 

Now, a carrot cake carries cream cheese frosting just as well, and actually tastes incredible.

[redmom3]

My dd 18 is a red velvet expert. She has done a lot of experimenting and says the McCormick recipe is the very best ( must use McCormick food coloring too) and she using Paula Dean's cream cheese icing.

FYI--we have found men tend to enjoy this cake more than women:)

[chickenpatty]

Would it be possible to share her cake recipe? Pretty please??? :)

[chickenpatty]

Very interesting! I love reading about food history.

[Heather in Neverland]

The cake itself does nothing for me. It is definitely the frosting but I, too, prefer it on carrot cake.

 

Of course, I could also eat the frosting all by itself. :D

[Negin]

I used to love Red Velvet cake and now it really disgusts me. :glare:

I used to make Red Velvet waffles, pancakes, you name it. Now I don't even want to think about it. :glare: