The Great Cake Bake – Day 1: Red Velvet

In every cook’s/baker’s life, a little disaster must fall from time to time. Mine was right in the beginning, when I found the small bowl for my ancient Oster mixer (which I love and still use regularly) had been broken. Thankfully, I rarely use it, so moving on.

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When it came time to decide what type of cake we’d have for the wedding, Red Velvet Cake was an obvious choice since the primary color for the wedding is red.

Besides, is there anything more luscious than a moist, tender cake with a hint of chocolate?

Yes, there is, actually! A RED luscious, moist, tender cake with a hint of chocolate.

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Please pardon my drool.

I had never made a red velvet cake from scratch before, and if I’m being totally honest, I’ve made very few from scratch. Before we began eating healthier, I’d just use a box mix and doctor it up.  Everyone always raved about my chocolate cake, and I just failed to mention it wasn’t some secret recipe; just a box, with a few secret ingredients.

I would need something special, interesting, and unique, so I scoured the Internet and old cookbooks. I lucked out and found one at www.divascancook.com, where you will be able to see the original recipe.  It sounded amazing, even with a cup of coffee, and amazing is what I’m looking for in a wedding cake.

The first time I made it, I found it too oily. In all fairness, I am not sure if it was the recipe or if I simply zoned out and measured it wrong. I removed 2 tablespoons from the original recipe and tried again. Voila! What came out was a perfectly delectable, moist, tender cake.  However, I don’t think it was the recipe; it was likely me being too loosey-goosey with the measurements.

In the first round, I also found that despite the oily feel, the cake stuck to the pan. I used parchment paper in the bottom of the cake pans the second time, which resolved the problem.

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Overall, this cake is incredible on all counts: texture, eye appeal, moisture, tenderness and, most importantly, taste. Your mouth waters as the whole house begins to fill with the smell of this cake. It even brought the guys out of their rooms to see what was baking.

Right out of the gate, we have a winner!  The other recipes had better be pretty amazing to even come close to measuring up to this one.

Red Velvet Wedding Cake
from www.divascancook.com

IMG_1719Ingredients:

    • 2 cups water
    • 1 teaspoon baking soda
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted (*see note below)
    • 2 cups sugar
    • 1 cup vegetable oil (I used 1-3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons)
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 cup buttermilk (**see note below)
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
    • 1/2 cup of prepared plain hot coffee (NOT optional!)

*I used regular cocoa powder in the initial baking.  When I added it to the mix, it clumped.  When I did the second baking, I sifted the cocoa before adding it to the mixture, which resolved the problem.  I also used a dark cocoa in the second baking, and the cake was still wonderful, although I thought it somewhat lost its reddish color and looked more like chocolate cake with a hint of red.

**When I decided to bake all these cakes, I ran out and bought a gallon of whole milk (organic, of course) and gobs of eggs. Then, I read the directions.  So me.  Every single one of these layer cakes calls for buttermilk! So, I put 1 Tbls. of lemon juice into the 1-cup measuring device. The whole milk was added to create 1 cup. Once you’ve added the lemon juice, let it stand 10 minutes; the milk will begin to curdle and you’ll have buttermilk. I recommend using buttermilk for the richness and flavor you don’t get with a substitute, but this will work in a pinch (or in the case of over abundance of milk).

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 325 degrees.

2. Grease and flour cake pans. I used 2 8-inch pans.  Line with a greased sheet of parchment paper.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.  Set aside. IMG_1728

4. In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil. IMG_17295. Add the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring to the sugar/oil mixture and stir to combine. IMG_1731IMG_1737

6. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients a little at a time, stirring just until mixed between additions. IMG_1738

7. Stir in the coffee and white vinegar. IMG_17398. Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans.

9. Bake 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake! The cake will continue to cook as it cools.

10. Run a knife around the edges of the pan to help loosen the sides; invert pan onto a cooling rack.

11. Let cakes cool.

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Or, you can do what the boys and I do, and just eat it warm, without any icing.? It is that good.

What happens to the cake next? You’ll have to wait to see!

Love,

Shari