To many, red velvet is a mystery. A lot of people have never had it before and for those who don't live in the US or haven't eaten it before, red velvet can seem.....confusing (Is it chocolate? Is it vanilla? Does it have beetroots?) and to be honest, I don't like to be confused by my cake. You may even be suspicious that the amount of food colouring is dangerous. I can kinda see why....
It's kinda brightly coloured.
But once you eat eat it, you will neither be confused or worried about about the implications for your health. I mean, come on, it's cake. If your that worried about your health then well, cake isn't for you.
I love red velvet- soft and moist with subtle chocolate, buttermilk, butter and vanilla flavours, complemented by a delicious cream cheese frosting.
Let's talk about the cake. The buttermilk gives it's soft and moist texture, along with the use of both oil and butter. The colour does indeed come from food colouring- the amount varies depending on the type and strength of your colouring. If using liquid, I recommend about 4 tbls. Gel can be unpredictable- something like Dr Oetkers needs 3 tubes, whereas Wilton, Sugarflair or any high quality gel colour would need less. Compare the colour of the batter to your desired colour and work accordingly. Just remember to add it in small amounts.... you could end up with bitter batter that tastes horrible if you add to much. Taste the batter before it goes in the tins. (Tip: make sure your food colouring doesn't contain salt. I say that from a bad experience with powder colour bought at a corner shop. *facepalm* It was designed for making Chicken Tikka Masala.) Also remember to fold the egg whites in gently as not to beat the air out and end up with an undesirable texture.
You'll see a lot of the words 'room temperature' in the recipe. Ingredients usually combine and bake better at the same temperature, unless stated differently in the recipe or when whipping cream (which whips better whilst cold).
For the frosting, you can use either normal cream cheese or mascarpone. Whichever you prefer. Again, remember to use room temperature butter (I sound like a broken record. I'm sorry! It's important...) and beat until soft and slightly paler in colour- this avoids butter lumps in the frosting. Ick.
Red Velvet Layer Cake.
One of my favourite cakes of all time. Simply delicious and semi addictive ;)
Ingredients
Cake
3 cups (345g) cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 Tablespoons (10g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (115g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
1 cup (240ml) vegetable oil(you could use canola, walnut or any relatively flavourless oil)
4 large eggs, room temperature and separated
1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (22ml) vanilla extract
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
liquid or gel red food coloring (see notes for quantity)
1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, room temperature
Frosting
2 cups (16 oz, 450g) cream cheese or mascarpone
1/2 cup (1 stick, 115g) butter, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups (500g) icing (confectioners, powdered) sugar
2-3 tbls full (heavy) cream
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups (500g) icing (confectioners, powdered) sugar
2-3 tbls full (heavy) cream
1/4 tsp salt
Method
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and set aside two 9 inch, round, springform cake tins. Spray or lightly butter the tins and line the bottom with parchment/baking paper. Spray or lightly butter the sides.
Beat the butter until pale, then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Next, pour in the oil slowly, then slowly increase the speed and beat on high for around 2 minutes. If it looks... lumpy, don't worry. This is just because the oil hasn't combined. It will later on. Scrape the bowl down and beat again for a few seconds.
Now add in the vanilla and egg yolks and beat on medium-high until combined. Then add the vinegar and food colouring- see the text for recommendations and advice.
Then alternate the dry ingredients and buttermilk mixing each addiction until just incorporated- being careful not to over mix. Finally, beat or whisk the egg whites until light and foamy (soft peaks, search soft peaks if you don't know what that is) and very gently fold the egg whites into the mixture with a large metal spoon or a rubber spatula. Make sure to go around the bowl and fold it over, not mixing or stirring. After it is mostly combined, divide the mixture equally between the two tins and place in the oven for 30-32 minutes, checking at 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick, skewer or even a knife into the centre. If it comes out wet, or with wet crumbs, leave them in the oven for a fews more minutes. But keep making sure the cakes aren't drying out or burning on top. When the cakes are done, remove them from the oven using oven gloves and leave them to cool until mostly cold, before releasing them and turning them onto a cooling rack. if the are domed, place the domed side down.
For the frosting:
Beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed using the whisk or paddle attachment until combined before reducing the speed to low and slowly adding the icing sugar. Once all of the icing sugar is mixed in, add the vanilla and salt. Depending on how stiff the frosting is, add 1 tbls of cream at a time. Only add the third if it is still very stiff- a thick consistency is desired for frosting the cake.
Assembly:
Place one of the cooled cakes on your chosen serving plate or cake stand. Again, if it still has a dome, cut it off using a bread knife or place the dome side down and push gently on it. Add a dollop of the frosting to the middle, then use a pallet knife to spread it almost to the edges. Make sure not to use to much at this point or you will have trouble covering the rest of the cake. If the second cake has a dome, flatten it by cutting of the top. Set this cake aside for later. Carefully place it on top before adding another dollop to the top and spreading it. If the frosting is the right consistency, you should then be able to take some frosting using the pallet knife and spread it around the sides. If not, put it all on top and gently coax it onto the sides using the knife. To achieve the pattern on the sides of the cake shown, use the pallet knife or a spoon and press on the icing, moving upwards from the base of the cake. Now clean up the edges of your serving plate.
Once the cake is frosted, you might want to put it in the fridge, especially on a hot day. The pattern may even be easier to achieve with cooler icing. Then collect any trimming or cutting or crumbs, crumble them up and use them to decorate your cake.
You're done. Enjoy!
Preheat the oven to 350F/180C and set aside two 9 inch, round, springform cake tins. Spray or lightly butter the tins and line the bottom with parchment/baking paper. Spray or lightly butter the sides.
Beat the butter until pale, then add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Next, pour in the oil slowly, then slowly increase the speed and beat on high for around 2 minutes. If it looks... lumpy, don't worry. This is just because the oil hasn't combined. It will later on. Scrape the bowl down and beat again for a few seconds.
Now add in the vanilla and egg yolks and beat on medium-high until combined. Then add the vinegar and food colouring- see the text for recommendations and advice.
Then alternate the dry ingredients and buttermilk mixing each addiction until just incorporated- being careful not to over mix. Finally, beat or whisk the egg whites until light and foamy (soft peaks, search soft peaks if you don't know what that is) and very gently fold the egg whites into the mixture with a large metal spoon or a rubber spatula. Make sure to go around the bowl and fold it over, not mixing or stirring. After it is mostly combined, divide the mixture equally between the two tins and place in the oven for 30-32 minutes, checking at 30 minutes by inserting a toothpick, skewer or even a knife into the centre. If it comes out wet, or with wet crumbs, leave them in the oven for a fews more minutes. But keep making sure the cakes aren't drying out or burning on top. When the cakes are done, remove them from the oven using oven gloves and leave them to cool until mostly cold, before releasing them and turning them onto a cooling rack. if the are domed, place the domed side down.
For the frosting:
Beat together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed using the whisk or paddle attachment until combined before reducing the speed to low and slowly adding the icing sugar. Once all of the icing sugar is mixed in, add the vanilla and salt. Depending on how stiff the frosting is, add 1 tbls of cream at a time. Only add the third if it is still very stiff- a thick consistency is desired for frosting the cake.
Assembly:
Place one of the cooled cakes on your chosen serving plate or cake stand. Again, if it still has a dome, cut it off using a bread knife or place the dome side down and push gently on it. Add a dollop of the frosting to the middle, then use a pallet knife to spread it almost to the edges. Make sure not to use to much at this point or you will have trouble covering the rest of the cake. If the second cake has a dome, flatten it by cutting of the top. Set this cake aside for later. Carefully place it on top before adding another dollop to the top and spreading it. If the frosting is the right consistency, you should then be able to take some frosting using the pallet knife and spread it around the sides. If not, put it all on top and gently coax it onto the sides using the knife. To achieve the pattern on the sides of the cake shown, use the pallet knife or a spoon and press on the icing, moving upwards from the base of the cake. Now clean up the edges of your serving plate.
Once the cake is frosted, you might want to put it in the fridge, especially on a hot day. The pattern may even be easier to achieve with cooler icing. Then collect any trimming or cutting or crumbs, crumble them up and use them to decorate your cake.
You're done. Enjoy!
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