Red Velvet Cake for Valentines Day

A forgotten, but famed-again cake, the Red Velvet. The 2-page color spread in my Cooks Country Jan issue drew me in as a must-make, perfect for valentines day. The surprise of laptop batteries this cake is deep red cake hidden beneath the white, billowy cream cheese frosting, making its appearance only as it is sliced into.

New York Times also reported on the cake in the article So Naughty, So Nice. Through the article, I learned the orgins of the cake were from The South, and that Jessica Simpson had one as her wedding cake, propelling the cake back up to popularity in recent years. The flavor of the cake is unique, not vanilla and not chocolate but with a hint of cocoa that is used in creating the red coloring. Some bakeries and restaurants refused to make the cake, since it would require using artificial coloring, violating their creed. The cake was originally developed using the deep red of how long does it take to get weed out of your system beets for coloring, and they have recreated that in their cakes.

This was a particularly labor-intensive cake. Cakes are already complicated and fussy, with many steps of preparation, and much bakeware equipment used. I bought these Magi-Cake strips that can be affixed to the side of the cake pan to help it rise evenly and not form a dome shape in the middle. The aluminized fabric sided strips are moistened before use, and they worked pretty well. I didnt have to torte (cut off the top of the cake) it as much as before to make it level. To color the cake, a paste is made from 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and 1 oz of red food coloring. Mixing the two separately from the batter ensures no cocoa spots show up in the cake. Cocoa is used to deepen the red color. The mixture, blood-red And the batter turning red as my mixer

one finished cutie cupcake

My Lessons Learned 1. Line the sides of the cake pan with parchment paper toohelps to achieve smooth sides and easy removal of the cake 2. Dont be fancy and weigh all the ingredients for the cake, measuring cups are easier and much less time-consuming 3. Make less frosting than you think you need. I always use less than they create the recipe for. 4. Dont cut the cake with a pie server, it give it a jagged edge. 5. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl throughout the mixing. 6. Place the butter out to soften long before you need it, to create correctly creamed butter. 7. Be careful with food coloring, it stains everything.