AI made a red velvet cake on Thursday- I use the Bobby Flay recipe but I do alter it slightly with the use of a dark chocolate cocoa and a little extra vanilla - people usually go GAGA over this when I make it. I also usually just pair it with a cream cheese frosting. The client I did this most recent cake for emailed me after they had cut the cake and said it didn't look or taste like what they had ordered. I was shocked when I looked at the piece of cake- there was not a drop of red left in the cake

did you taste this particular one before you iced it? and it was red before it went out? wow that's a stunner

AYou bet I did! It was a nice deep red and it tasted like it always does. I wish I had kept my scraps to show in comparison with the photo the client sent me. I am still in shock mode over this. It doesn't make any sense!

so i'm trying to think along your lines that there was a possible chemical reaction with something--like if it was torted--all the layers were discolored--not just the layer touching the bottom board for example--it was all the same color--and i'm just clutching at straws here--you don't think it was some kind of photography trick -- does she have any left? i would want to get that back into my possession--

undissovled salt has been known to make icing look polka dotted but...i've never heard of it dissolving food color

so something happened to it after it left your control--idk--that's weird

well red food color can dissipate for example if left in the sun or something--was it just one slice? like with icing when purple turns blue and i know pink can go white--i've never heard of straight up red cake changing color but i guess it could--could it have been left in the sun perhaps? and i wonder if that would make cake change

AYes it was a 3 layer cake and every layer was the same mildly brown color thanks to the cocoa powder. The icing in the filled portion as well as around the edge was all white- and a bright white- not even slightly discolored. I dirty iced Friday night and it was still red then and then covered in fondant Saturday. It was in my fridge overnight. The guilt over the flavor being off has led me to offering a new cake for free.

how much and what kind of red food color did you use?

I used McCormick Red Food Dye- for a 1 1/2 recipe, I used 1 1/2 TBSP of the red dye. The recipe also called for red wine vinegar which is why there is less red dye than you typically see in a red velvet.

you mean the stuff you buy at the grocery store? hmm, i used some of their neon colors in some vanilla cookies recently  but i haven't used any of the regular mccormick food color in forever--

but i think a professional food color will give you stronger more long lasting results--

i don't think red wine vinegar does all that much for coloring dark chocolate cocoa--how much cocoa and vinegar goes in there? 

this is just a thought but are you positive you multiplied and measured everything out correctly for the 1.5 recipe amount?

I had an issue with the color going a little brown for a while.  There was some off brand of red food coloring at work and it never gave the solid red that I'm used to.  I bought some Americolor super red and it works really well.  And, I use way less than before.  For a batch that makes two deep 10 inch layers, I only used 1/2 Tbs and it was plenty.  The original amount was 3 Tbs in the recipe. 

I just made a 3 layer red velvet cake for my sisters birthday and used the McCormick bottle of red food coloring. The recipe calls for 6 tablespoons but I only had 3 so I added that then a drop of Americolor red and the cake stayed red for a couple of days - and I used a dutch process dark cocoa. I think my icing had a little salt in it also (not cream cheese) so that is very odd what happened to yours!

Not much help but just wanted to say that I usually use that food color and my red velvet is always red!

Sorry this happened!

RJ