The Best Red Velvet Cake

The Best Red Velvet Cake

Click the photo at the bottom of the post for our other velvet cake recipes, White Velvet, Orange Velvet and Lemon Velvet.

Our Red Velvet Cake is a hybrid recipe taking its inspiration from several versions of this classic southern dessert cake that I've tried over the years. In general, I've found that the simpler the recipe, the better the cake. This recipe really could not be more simple; it just combines the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately and then brings them together to form a very pourable batter, which produces a very moist cake.

I've seen some recipes that also include an outrageous amount of red food coloring, which I am not particularly fond of using in general but infrequently will for special occasions and this recipe uses a very reasonable 1 1/2 tsp of liquid red food coloring. The upcoming Canada Day weekend seemed like a good time to feature the red in this cake with the white of our double cream cheese frosting, the two colors of our national flag.

Recipes also vary greatly on the amount of cocoa in a Red Velvet Cake, ranging from only a teaspoon to several tablespoons. I prefer the higher end of the cocoa scale for just a little more chocolate edge to this terrific cake. Some folks object to this because it produces a more brownish red cake so if this is a concern, you can cut back on the cocoa if you like but do not omit it altogether, the red velvet purists will hunt you down for that crime against cake! I've read from several sources that toasted pecans in the frosting between the layers is also a critical component. I'm going to call it optional but since I really love lightly toasted pecans, I think they add outstanding flavour and a crunchy component that I find irresistible.
Grease two 9 inch cake pans and line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

The Best Red Velvet Cake

Sift together and set aside:

• 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups cake flour
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tbsp cocoa

In the bowl of an electric mixer blend together well:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp liquid red food coloring
• 1 1/2 teaspoon white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix in the dry ingredients all at once and blend until smooth. Do not over mix the batter. As soon as it has no lumps in the batter, pour into the two prepared 8 inch cake pans.

Bake at 325 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Turn cakes onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper and allow to cool completely. When the cake is completely cool, you can cut the two layers into 4 using a sharp serrated bread knife if you like or just have 2 layers in you prefer. I think the four layers helps to get a good ratio of cake to frosting in each bite.

• 1 cup chopped toasted pecans

Fill all of the layers and the top of the cake with double cream cheese frosting, sprinkling each layer with 1/4 cup of the toasted pecans.

Double Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) cream cheese
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 kilo bag of icing sugar (About 8 cups)
• 1-3 tbsp milk; enough to bring the frosting to a spreadable consistency

Mix all the ingredients together and beat well until smooth and fluffy.

Click the photo below to see the other outstanding recipes in our 

VELVET CAKE COLLECTION

The Best Red Velvet Cake

The Ultimate Lemon Cake

The Ultimate Lemon Cake

With 5 different lemon components to this cake, it is not hard to see why I have dubbed it my ultimate lemon cake. I start with a homemade lemon scratch cake which gets brushed with some tangy lemon syrup, then filled with alternating layers of rich lemon curd and lemon buttercream frosting before being covered in more of the lemon frosting and finally garnished with homemade candied lemon zest. This is the perfect celebration cake for that lemon lover in your life.

Lemon Cake

Sift together and set aside:

• 2 3/4 cups cake flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Cream together until fluffy:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well after every addition;

• 4 eggs at room temperature

Beat in

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Fold in:

• zest of one large lemon, finely minced

Gently fold in the dry ingredients in three equal portions, alternately with

• 1 1/4 cups undiluted evaporated milk

When adding dry and wet ingredients alternately in any baking recipe, always begin and end with the dry ingredients.

Pour batter evenly into 2 well greased and floured 8 inch cake pans. Bake in a 325 degree F oven for about 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Watch it carefully, you will not want to over bake this cake, as soon as the toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the pans for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Candied Lemon Peel

Using a very sharp vegetable peeler remove the outside zest of 2 large lemons in large strips, avoiding the white part of the peel as much as possible. Add to a very small pot along with:

• juice of 2 lemons
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup water

Simmer together gently for about 15-20 minutes. Remove zest and let it drain on a wire rack. Reserve about half the syrup to brush on the cake layers.

Lemon Curd

In a small saucepan combine:

• 6 lightly beaten egg yolks
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
• zest of one lemon, finely minced

Cook slowly over medium low heat for about 10 minutes stirring constantly until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon.

Remove from heat and stir in the butter a few pieces at a time until completely smooth.

• 1/2 cup butter cut into small pieces

Cover with plastic wrap and chill completely in the fridge.

Lemon Buttercream Frosting

• 8 cups icing sugar (i.e. powdered sugar, confectioners' sugar)
• 2 cups butter

Using an electric mixer on low, mix the butter and icing sugar together until the butter breaks up and get evenly dispersed throughout the sugar in small pieces. The mixture will still appear dry at this point. This stage ensures even distribution and prevents butter lumps in your frosting.

Add

• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• zest of one lemon, finely minced
• Approximately 4-6 tbsp milk

Both of these liquid measures can be adjusted. The milk can be adjusted to make a thicker frosting by adding less or a more spreadable frosting by adding a little more. Use your own judgement here. The lemon juice can be adjusted to your own taste too.

When the icing reaches the desired consistently continue to beat it on high speed for 5 minutes to incorporate more air into the frosting to make it lighter and fluffier.

To construct the cake:

Split the two layers of cake horizontally to create 4 layers. Brush the reserved syrup onto the cut sides of the cake layers.

Place the first layer of cake on the cake plate and top with some of the lemon buttercream frosting. Add the next layer and using a piping bag, or a heavy plastic bag with a half inch opening snipped off the corner, pipe a ring of frosting around the perimeter of the cake. Fill the ring with half of the lemon curd. Add the next layer of cake and top with more of the frosting.

Add the final layer of cake. At this point frost the sides of the cake and pipe a border on the top and bottom. Add the second half of the lemon curd to the top of the cake and garnish the top of the cake with pieces of candied lemon zest. I use kitchen scissors to cut 1/2 inch pieces to decorate the border and then add a small pile of slivered zest to the center of the cake. Chill for several hours or overnight before serving.

Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting

This is my daughter's favorite frosting.  She happily gobbles it up on cupcakes.  

    

Vanilla Honey Buttercream Frosting

Rich and sweet, a little goes a long way.  It's so easy to make, it just takes minutes.

Equipment: Standing Mixer & Bowl/Hand Mixer, Spatula

• 1/2 cup pasture butter (See Resources)
• 1/2 cup + 2 T raw honey (I use local raw clover creamed)
• 2 teaspoons gluten-free organic vanilla extract 

1. Fit standing mixer with the flat beater (if you don't have a standing mixer, you could use a hand mixer or food processor instead) and mixing bowl.
2. Add butter, honey and vanilla to the bowl and mix on low speed until the butter starts to soften.  Increase speed and whip until creamed and it begins to have a lighter white color, about 1 minute.  Stop mixer and scrape down frosting with a spatula.  

It's ready!  Use now or store in a small bowl in the refrigerator.  

Yield: Makes about 1 1/2 cups frosting. 

Storage: If storing for later, make sure to take it out of the refrigerator about 20 minutes before frosting so it's not so hard and will spread easier.  

Serving Suggestions: Use this to frost Chocolate Cupcakes.  It's also wonderful on Carrot Cake, Vanilla Cake and frosted cookies.

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This post is part of Fresh Bites Friday @ Real Food Whole Health.