RECIPE / ONE REALIZATION
The Adams "Original" Red Velvet Cake recipe significantly contributed to the cake’s increase in popularity during the twentieth century. Its main ingredient is, of course, the Adams Red Food Color. If you cannot get your hands on Adams Extract Company’s products, any other brand will do.
← Back to the dish overviewRECIPE INGREDIENTS
METHOD
Preheat the oven at 350°F/180°C.
Start working on the batter by creaming the shortening and the sugar.
One at a time, add the two eggs to the creamed mixture and keep beating it until the eggs are well incorporated.
Next, add the vanilla and butter flavors to the mixture.
In a separate bowl, make a paste out of cocoa and food coloring and blend it into the shortening mixture.
Sift the dry ingredients together and alternately with half of the buttermilk, add them to the mixture.
Then, add the vinegar and the remaining half of the buttermilk to the batter.
Lastly, pour the mixture into three 9 or 10-inch (23-25 cm) greased and floured pans and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Before covering the layers with frosting, let them cool for at least ten minutes.
For the icing, sift the confectioners’ sugar and blend half of it with the two flavors, salt, and shortening.
Then, alternately, add the rest of the sugar and milk to the mixture until a smooth spreading icing is formed.
OTHER REALIZATIONS
One of the origin theories says that the red velvet cake was created at New York's Waldorf-Astoria, but the truth is they just capitalized on what was already there and offered their version of the cake. While most modern red velvet cake recipes call for cream cheese frosting, this Waldorf-Astoria recipe uses the traditional ermine (butter roux) icing.
Today, red velvet cake is considered a Southern classic, although there is no connection between the cake and the South per se. However, what solidified it as a Southern icon was the 1989's Steel Magnolias, which featured the red velvet armadillo cake as the groom's cake. In this variant, the cake is layered with a tangy cream cheese frosting and decorated with crushed pecans.
The red velvet cake can easily be made without the use of food coloring. The answer lies in beet juice, which was often used in the time after World War II when cocoa was scarce. However, not only does beet juice make the cake visually pop, but, despite the common misconception, it adds to the sweetness of the cake without compromising its traditional flavor. The following recipe gives instructions on beet juice-colored sponges and cream cheese frosting.
Red velvet cupcakes were a big deal in the early 2000s, primarily thanks to New York's Magnolia Bakery, who first put them on the menu. In this recipe, the cream cheese frosting on top tempers the sweetness of the cupcakes, which take almost no time to prepare.
USEFUL NOTES
To ensure your ermine icing’s perfect texture, make sure to stir the mixture of flour and milk constantly as it cooks. Oftentimes, the lack of stirring creates lumps in the mixture, and you want to avoid that.
While mixing the ingredients, occasionally turn the mixer off and scrape down the bowl’s sides to ensure that all ingredients are well incorporated. Before spreading the frosting over the cake’s layers, keep it in the refrigerator until it stiffens up a bit.
Red Velvet Cake has a very authentic texture. It is moist, fluffy, and splendidly buttery. The key ingredient for achieving the traditional Red Velvet Cake texture is buttermilk. It is an ingredient that the Red Velvet Cake cannot do without. If you do not have buttermilk, combine one and a half teaspoons of fresh lemon juice or white vinegar with enough whole milk to fill a liquid measuring cup, to make your own sour milk.
In its nature, the Red Velvet Cake is a very simple concoction. Therefore, the best way to decorate it is to use leftover cake crumbs and sprinkle them both on the top and the sides of the cake. This way, you will add more vibrance to the cake’s look, as well as a more rustic feel.
To ensure the best possible texture and taste of the cake, leave it in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours. Then, before serving it, take it out of the fridge and leave it at room temperature for ten minutes.