I have been hearing about it so much from Oprah and other US TV shows, especially on the Food Network. When I had the chance to taste a Red Velvet Cake, I grabbed a slice and nom nomed it to my heart’s delight. And it didn’t disappoint. It had a peculiar pleasant taste, a smooth texture, and a yummy, sweet frosting.

According to the Joy of Baking, Red Velvet Cake is actually a Devil’s Food Cake with red food coloring (source link) but it was originally made with beets which cause the red color. The taste comes from a hint of cocoa powder added into the dough. And the texture? It comes from buttermilk.

Another curious thing that got my attention when I looked for Red Velvet recipes was the inclusion of Red Wine Vinegar or other types of vinegar, depending on the recipe, in the ingredients list.

Yes, I looked for recipes. I was challenged to make one, you see. And I gladly accepted. And I braced myself for some hectic baking.

All of the recipes I found were similar. All required 2 9-inch round baking pans, buttermilk, red food coloring, vinegar, and some cocao powder, among others. Since there wasn’t any buttermilk available, I put one and a half tablespoons of white distilled vinegar in a measuring cup and poured in milk until the 1 1/2 cup mark. Then, I let it sit for a couple of minutes before I used it. The red coloring was a bit hard to take off my hands when I stained it. I used red wine vinegar for the recipe. Just to keep up with the red theme.

For the frosting, some recipes suggest a Whipped Cream Frosting, some a Cream Cheese Frosting. I chose the recipe with a unique ingredient: melted marshmallows.
The hard part of making the cake was in slicing the layers. Grrr… So next time I’m using shallower pans so all the layers would be even. But wait… before I sliced the layers, I refrigerated the cakes for a while so frosting would be easier.
Frosting was also quite a task as I am not used to frosting. And the harder part? Making it pretty. Good thing Nang Patring, our family baker for more than 30 years, was there to help me out.

So after some minor decorating…

Doesn’t it look yummy? Yes, it is!

One problem, it’s a heavy cake. Nang Pat weighed it, literally, and it’s more than 2 kilos. LOL! And it’s also a bit heavy to eat. So best to eat it with someone or get just a thin slice.

Next time, I’ll also try to make with less layers since the cake itself is already dense and compact. And also, less sweet frosting as the oldies complained the frosting is a bit too sweet.

It’s yummy, nonetheless, I think. Red Velvet Cake is the perfect cake for those who aren’t chocolate lovers but don’t want anything too plain or boring.

If you want to order a Red Velvet Cake from Kusina Maria, email to riajose at gmail dot com with the subject line “Red Velvet Cake.” May be ordered within Davao City only.