Food Historian

Shortly after foodhistorian.com opened the electronic doors in 2008, we were asked for help determining the origins and ingredients for an authentic red velvet cake. Our findings were to be used to settle a brother-in-law / sister-in-law debate.

Here is our report with the red velvet cake basics, suggestions for exploring red velvet cake in more detail yourself, and links to various red velvet cake recipes we found. Our recommendation is to follow one or more of these recipes, enjoy the cake(s) with friends and family, and hope that settling all family debates is this simple and this delicious! Donielle - I hope this arrives in time to be helpful!

Red Velvet Cake

Red velvet cake is making a modern day comeback. It is without a doubt a beautiful, stand-out, almost exotic-looking dessert due to it's unusual red color.

According to our online and printed cookbook-based research:

• Red velvet cake is a most definitely an early 1900's cake from the south.
• Red velvet cake is iced with cream cheese frosting and is often adorned with toasted pecans or pecans are mixed into the frosting.
• The red color is said to have originally come from using beets as a sweetener during war times when sugar was scarce. These days, however, the red color comes straight from the red food coloring bottle.
• Most red velvet cake recipes call for both vinegar and buttermilk.
• The red velvet cake has just a HINT of chocolate flavor - just a hint!

For more red velvet cake history, Google "history of red velvet cake" and you'll be presented with a number of interesting links including wikipedia, bonappetit and more! There is also a concise history complete with timeline on What's Cooking America - visit http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/Cakes/DevilsFoodCake.htm for details.

Even Duncan Hines is wanting mainstream America to enjoy the taste of red velvet cake so you're invited to simply take the quick and easy way out by purchasing a Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix and serving it up.

Can't find this cake mix in your local grocery store? Simply Google "duncan hines red velvet cake" - there are several merchants on eBay that are happy to send one or more boxes of red velvet cake mix directly to your doorstep. The Duncan Hines web site also has a recipe for red velvet cake using their more traditional yellow cake mix:
visit http://www.duncanhines.com/displayRecipes/default.asp?recipeID=1489 for details.

Here are links to a number of red velvet cake recipes!

From ChefTalk: a food lover's link to professional chefs

Visit http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/recipes/29448-authentic-red-velvet-cake.html

"Be advised that there are multiple variations of red velvet cake; all authentic. Some red velvet cakes almost look and taste like devil's food; others are like a pound cake with food coloring. This one's probably what you're looking for, but beware, it'll stain a tablecloth."

From the Duncan Hines web site:

Visit http://www.duncanhines.com/newDuncan/pub/featured-recipes/displayMemberR...

Red Velvet Cake and Traditional Cream Cheese Icing

This is a modification of Sylvia's Red Velvet Cake Recipe from Sylviaís Family Soul Food Cookbook, by Sylvia Woods and Family, published by William Morrow, 1999

Red Velvet Cake - Adapted from "The Confetti Cakes Cookbook" by Elisa Strauss via the New York Times 2/14/07

Includes a discussion of Dutch vs non-Dutch processed cocoa.

All this said, I chose the Duncan Hines red velvet cake mix route and made my first red velvet cake for a birthday celebration. It was gorgeous and everyone was quite impressed. One of my Southern guests had made a red velvet cake from scratch many years back and declared my cake delicious.

My thoughts?
Bring on the Devil's Food cake - more chocolate, please! My first red velvet cake seemed really tasteless and not sweet enough to me. Maybe it was because of the mouth-watering color but I found myself wishing that it tasted more like chocolate! Guess I'd better try creating one from scratch before I cast my definitive vote.