I have someone who wants a cake with cream cheese icing, but doesn't want red velvet, but the cake that she is telling me that she would like sounds just like a red velvet cake without the red food coloring. She told me that she would like a yellow buttermilk cake.

I also know that the vinegar is used to cut the taste of the red food coloring, so should I take out the vinegar in the recipe? I use CMR recipe adjusted to my taste. So what I am looking for is a yellow cake with buttermilk. I think that I can use RV, but omit the red. Will this work?

Thanks for you advice and suggestions.

it was to my understanding that a red velvet is a chocolate cake with red dye. It's a light chocolate flavor though. Surely red food coloring holds no importance to the recipe, so if you have a good RV recipe use it minus the red.

It is a buttermilk cake. The cocoa used in it is also used to mask the taste of the red food coloring, that's why (at least my recipe) calls for such a small amount of both cocoa and vinegar. I think it will work okay just to leave the red food coloring out.

I agree with the others, but would want to do a test run if I used an actual Red Velvet recipe w/o the color since it is quite a bit of liquid added to the cake. Mine calls for 2 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons liquid red food coloring.

Just a thought for anyone wanting to make RV without the bitter taste of the red food coloring - there are natural food colors that probably don't have that bad red taste. India Tree makes a red and also Naturesflavors.com makes four different shades of red (using beets, cabbage and elderberry). Natures Flavors a bit expensive but probably worse it if you are really do not like the normal red food color.

Thanks for the suggestions. RV is not a chocalate cake because I only use 1 tsp and 1 tsp vinegar should I omit the coco and vinegar too? I will do a test run before making the cake.

A red velvet cake is because of probably two different reasons that can't quite be verified.

One is that beets were used when sugar was scarce during one of the world wars and the red color came about from using the beets in a cake.

The other reason is that the combination of the buttermilk, vinegar and chocolate reacting give off a red color. This is also what is supposed to give red velvet cake its unique flavor This doesn't happen so much anymore due to the way cocoa is now made. The new process takes out the acidity that helped it to turn red naturally.

I made Bobby Flay's recipe without the red dye and got a light brown cupcake.

The vinegar does hide the red dye flavor. Vinegar has been added to recipes long before food color was introduced to the recipe to make it red.

Interesting, I do not get a chemical taste in my red velvet cupcake, and they have been tested several times by a lot of people. No one has come back with the feedback that they can taste the chemical taste or bitter taste of food coloring.

Eliminate the vinegar and cocoa and you have nothing but a buttermilk cake. Make it without the food coloring and see what color you get. Add more cocoa if you want to.

The true flavor of red velvet is so ambigious that I don't think anybody can pinpoint the true flavor that should come out. If you want a darker color add a little bit more cocoa and take out the same amount of flour you put in. Cocoa powder acts like flour in a cake recipe. That is why when you add cocoa you should also take out the equivalent amount in flour. 1 Tblsp won't matter, but anything over 1/4 cup you should take out a 1/4 cup of flour.

I have been testing red velvet recipes for a better part of a month now. The one I like the best is my own recipe. This is the one all my tester like the best. In fact I am told it should be my signature cake from now on, red dye and all.

BTW, the darker the red velvet cake the more cocoa is in it. Just in case you are looking at different recipes.

Sorry no. Not yet.

I am going through the process of possibly opening a bakery or selling them at farmer's markets to start. I am still writing out a business plan.

If that doesn't work out I may consider sharing, or I may try and submit them for a cookbook. Or I may just share them here. I haven't decided yet. I do feel strongly that there is not information out there for us "home" bakers to be able to have success in cupcake baking and am thinking of writing something from that angle.

Or at the very least, teaching baking too.

Red velvet is NOT a chocolate cake...there should be very little cocoa in a RV cake. To me it tastes like a butter cake with a bit of a tang (more than likely due to the vinegar and buttermilk). I never taste the food coloring so I imagine it would taste the same without it.

LindaF144-Eliminate the vinegar and cocoa and you have nothing but a buttermilk cake-

That's exactly what I want! So I think that it will work! Thanks for the help.

the milk frosting is Ermine, and it is de -vine (LOL). Why even bother with a redvelvet recipe, There are plenty of yellow cake recipes that call for buttermilk....

Buttermilk Cake Layers

from Nick Malgieris Perfect Cakes
makes two 9-inch round layers

Ingredients

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
Instructions

1. Line 2 (9″ cake pans with buttered parchment paper. Position rack in the middle of oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

2. Stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, mixing well.

3. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for about 5 minutes, or until very soft and light. Beat in the vanilla, then beat in the eggs one at a atime, beating well after each addition.

4. Reduce the speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture, then half the uttermilk, stopping and scraping down the bowl and beater after each addition. Beat in another third of the flour, then the remaining buttermilk, stopping and scraping again. Finally, beat in the remaining flour mixture.

5. Scrape the bowl well with a large rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and smooth the tops.

6. Bake the layer for about 30 to 35 minutes, until they are well risen and firm and a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean. Cool the layers in the pans on racks for 5 minutes, then unmold onto racks to finish cooling.