Ok so my very first consultation happened on Saturday. Other then me being so nervous I totally told her the wrong sizes, and then undercharged her for those sizes, then had to e mail her and let her know I screwed up, and then had to lower my price even more to the point where I am taking a loss on this cake *doh!* everything else went smooth ... other then her asking if I can make the middle tier red velvet .. well of course I can .. cant I? Actually I have never made it before in my life, never even tasted such a cake .. how strange .. anyways, I was wondering what the best recipe for red velvet cake is, and if my regular buttercream dream icing that I am going to use will be ok as a filler and icing for the cake?? Don't let me down now guys .. I already look like a doof to her!

Basically, red velvet is a vanilla cake with a little cocoa in it (not enough to be really chocolatey), and whole boatload of red food coloring. Red velvet cake, if I recall correctly, emerged because of a deep red cocoa that was available at the time, and went from there.

The other part of the "red velvet equation" is that it's always frosted with a cream cheese frosting. If it's going to be a layer in a tiered cake, I would use cream cheese frosting in the middle, and then your usual buttercream on the outside to match the rest of the cake.

I've actually never made a red velvet from scratch; only from a box mix. In the cakes class I took, the instructor said that red velvets are actually trickier to make than you think, because you need a TON of food coloring, and it can upset the chemistry balance in the cake. With the box mix, it is a STARTLING red color both as a batter and as a cake.

is there a particular boxed cake mix you prefer? I make all of my cakes from boxed mixes, but have never tried this at all. Also, do you have a certain cream cheese filling that you prefer to use? Thanks for any help!

I used Duncan Hines...not so much a preference that just on sale when I needed it I'm not much of a cake box user. I just use them for the Wilton courses I'm taking, to cut down a little on time. The folks at work liked it.

My "standard" cream cheese frosting is 10 ounces cream cheese, 6 ounces butter, 2 lbs sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2-3 tablespoons gran marnier. I like a little zing of orange in with the cream cheese - just a preference.

do you just mix everything together to get your cream cheese frosting?

If your customer is a true southern, red velvet cake from a mix is NOT red velvet cake! (it is too light and fluffy) A true red velvet cake is rich and creamy (such the word Velvet) It has extra buttermilk in it..I make mine with dutch chocolate..huge difference in flavor! I use the americolor red red and you dont have to put so much dye in it that way. (Be careful you don't use the any dyes that aren't flavorless or the cake will taste bitter)

I agree though, make sure you use cream cheese filling. It really adds the kick to the cake!

I'd give you my recipe I know you have it already!
And you know I add the vinegar and use butter cream dream icing if cream cheese icing is not wanted.

well I e mailed my bride and she said any red velvet cake would do, I don't believe she is southern, probably born and raised right here in MI ... she is somewhat allergic to nuts, I offered the wasc cake and she told me she better not have that there ... so I don't want to add nuts to the cream cheese filling .. I noticed some fillings have pecans in it ... I hope I can make a nice sample for them to taste before the wedding ...