I just printed Cakeman Raven's Red Velvet cake recipe, and want to try it, BUT....
I never saw/ate (I think) a Red Velvet Cake!!!

MUST you add the red colouring and waht difference does a Ts of Cocoa Powder make to the taste? What makes this type of cake so special?
I have an order for a cake for a man, and was thinking of trying it out...but isn't it going to be pink?
Is it more a cake for a child?
Can you make it another colour as well?

Sorry, I know these are probably stupid questions - but I'm tickled pink!

Red Velvet is a kind of chocolate cake invented in the US, and most popular in the Southern states. It got its name because when three of the key ingredients would mix (vinegar, buttermilk, and cocoa), it would cause a chemical reaction that turned the batter a deep red. However, when companies switched to Dutch processing, it affected the color of the cake, so food coloring started to be added to get the red color back. It's very hard to get Red Velvet to be another color.

It's a very dark cake, not pink at all. It's used for all occasions. it's traditionally frosted with a roux (cooked flour and fat) icing, but in recent years cream cheese icing has become more popular, mostly cause it's easier to make.

It's not a stupid question

let me know if the recipe works for you, I have tried it but it was a complete disaster.

I dont know if its the altitude diff or if its different ingredients, but i havent had any sucess with US recipes. Thats why i would love some feedback

The cakes are normally as heavy as a brick and either sunken in the middle or not rising at all.

Where in SA are you?

I usually fill my red velvet cakes with cream cheese frosting then finish them with buttercream. Be aware that the cake is generally denser than others. I just looked at the Cake Man's recipe. The recipe I use has butter and turns out fabulous every time. Of course it is at work so I can't get it right at the moment.
It's very close to this one...
http://cakecentral.com/cake_recipe-6961-6-Old-fashion-red-velvet-cake-with-flour-and-milk-frosting.html

I recently did a red velvet cake for a man's retirement party. I think it's a great choice for a man, and in my experience most men really like it. I always use Martha Stewarts red velvet recipe and I use raspberry cream cheese filling and dark chocolate choco-pan fondant. Since the red velvet is essentially a chocolate cake the chocolate fondant goes well and I love a chocolate cake for a man, just looks masculine. Maybe that's why so many grooms cakes are chocolate!

I started to use Marthat Stewart's Red Velvet Cake recipe. I love the texture of the cake. I find it to be very moist. I noticed the taste really comes through the following day when wrapped in saran wrap and left at room temperature.

Just popped on to say HI to riana and PatrysV! I have a friend from S. A. visiting this week! She just saw her first snowfall and was so excited! But, she's also COLD!! LOL

Good Luck on your Red Velvet Cake PatrysV! I'm sure it will turn out fine.

Beth in KY

I made the Cake Man Raven recipe last week and everyone loved it (except me, more on that later). It was super moist. We gave my brother-in-law a dozen cupcakes made from the same batch and he ate them in a few days time. (The batch makes 3 8-inch round cakes.)

The color was a very bright red (it uses an entire bottle of food coloring). I think the re food coloring is what adds to the flavor. I have very sensitive taste buds and am able to taste the food coloring, especially in that high of a quantity. My tongue swelled up in the area where the cake touched it (I only chew on one side due to needing a root canal on the other!), which I'm pretty sure was a reaction to the dye. That surprised me, however, because I eat other things with red dye, such as M&Ms and never seem to have a problem. Hmm.

Anyway, as I said, it was a good cake. I even made a big mistake and put in baking powder instead of baking soda (exhaustion). Luckily my husband was able to figure out a conversion, we added an amount of the baking soda and the cake turned out fine (well, it just didn't rise quite as much as it could have, but considering I made that mistake, I think it was a success.)

CeeTee, Do you think if I used a non-Dutched cocoa that the red color will happen? I would love to be able to make this cake without the dye, because other than the dye, it was a good cake. Penzeys sells a natural high fat cocoa powder that is not Dutched.

Thanks for the info!!

If you have a problem with food dye, you can purchase natural food dye at http://www.naturesflavors.com

Thanks for the link izzybee. I just forwarded it on to a few friends that have kids with food dye allergies.

Have you ever used these before? Will they impart a flavor, such as the one made from tumeric? Can they be used to color fondant?

Thanks so much!

I have successfully made RV cake other colors than red. My friends wanted RV cake for their wedding cake, but they wanted the cake itself to be their wedding colors: burgundy, forest green, and midnight blue. It turned out tasting just like regular RV cake and the colors turned out perfect. I have not tried using colors that were not dark, but I imagine that with using a full ounce bottle of gel paste color, most any color would work, just remember the color will be bright and intense, not pastel.

I usually use the Wilton's no taste red in RV cake because I want the flavor of the cake to come through, not the food coloring (and we all know that a large amount of red has a very distinctive flavor).

If you want to use a BC with RV cake, I recommend white chocolate BC.

My RV cake recipe is posted in the recipes section (look for Promise's Red Velvet Cake). It makes a three-layer 9" cake. This is the recipe I used for my friends' wedding cake and doubles well.

Don't know if it's true but I was told that the original red velvet recipe got it's red color from pureed sugar beets. Sugar back then was hard to come by so they used the beets for sweetness and it added the color as well.
So much for the history lesson huh!!!