Classic Red Velvet Cake

Woo! Very exciting Sweet Melissa Sundays today as I got to choose the recipe! No small feat when faced with all the delicious possibilities within the Sweet Melissa Baking Book. The thing I love about the book is the number of American classics it provides great recipes for. Case in point, the butterscotch pudding last week. In the UK, you hear all about the muffins, brownies, Devil's food cakes and pecan pies eaten in vast quantities over the pond. So it's so much fun getting to recreate these sweet treats alongside bakers who're familiar with what the real deal tastes like.

One cake that particularly intrigued me during my time spent in the US (Nashville to be precise) was the Red Velvet cake. Why a cake would be dyed red is still somewhat of a mystery to me but boy, does it look stunning! But what is it supposed to taste like?? It has cocoa in but doesn't have a strong chocolate flavour. This particular recipe also has cinnamon in but I'm not sure that's a typical addition. So I'm hoping that my dear fellow bakers will be able to elighten me as to whether this is an authentic representation of a red velvet cake or not...

But back to the recipe! So easy to put together and quick to make, this is definitely a winner. The texture was good - perfectly soft and moist - and it tasted great. But my cake didn't go red! It was kind of a brown colour... Now, I gather this is a common problem and theories abound as to why a red velvet cake might not turn red but I'm going to blame the food colouring. You see, in the interests of scientific research (and to get to eat more cake) I also made a comparison cake using the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook. For this cake, instead of boring old natural healthy food colouring, I used the red colouring derived from insects - cochineal. The good stuff. It does mean the recipe is no longer technically suitable for vegetarians, but wow was the cake red! As the actual recipe had very few differences (notably it used butter rather than oil) I think that the brand of food colouring used was what did it. So fellow UK bakers! Seek out the cochineal stuff and whack in a whole bottle to achieve the true red colour.

As for the Hummingbird cake vs Sweet Melissas, I'm on the side of the Sweet Melissas cake. I did slightly prefer the texture of the Hummingbird one (a bit more fluffy and crumby is that makes any sense) but the taste of the Sweet Melissas one was far and away the best. I think it was the cinnamon. So I'm looking forward to reading with interest the other reviews of the cake - do check them out too! Meanwhile, I have 2 cakes to work my way through so if you'll excuse me...

Rosy xx

Red Velvet Cake
from Sweet Melissa Baking Book

For the Cake
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp best-quality unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp red food colouring

For the Classic Cream Cheese Filling and Frosting
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups icing (confectioner's) sugar
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla extract

Before you start
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans. Line each pan with a 9-inch round of parchment paper.

Cake

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
2. In a small bowl, whick together the buttermilk and vanilla.
3. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a whip attachment, cream the sugar and oil. Add the eggs and beat well. Add the vinegar and food colouring and mix to combine.
4. Add the flour mixture to the batter in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk mixture. Mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat well for 10 more seconds.
5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake cake pans. Spin the pans to level the batter. Bake for 35-40 mins or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a wire rack to cool for 20mins before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

Frosting*

1. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese and icing sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
2. Add the butter and vanilla and mix until just combined, about 45 secs. Do not overbeat and use immediately to fill and ice the top and sides of the cake.

Serve the cake at room temperature. It keeps well in a cake saver at room temperature for 2 days or in the refridgerator for up to 5 days. Alternatively, the baked uniced layers can be stored tightly wrapped at room temp for 3 days or in the fridge for 5 days or freezer for 2 weeks. Do not unwrap before thawing.

* I tried this method but I think my butter was soo cool so didn't work at all. But I found it worked well by beating together the butter and cream cheese then adding the icing sugar and beating that in.