A Very Happy Birthday Boy
Remember how unenthused I was on Sunday aboutbaking another cake after just having had my fill? Well, here’s the very satisfying, vibrant and rich reason: Red Velvet Cake. After having tasted Two Little Red Hen’s red velvet cupcakes in NYC last year, and experiencing the glorious, moist, and delectable cake that found itself inside my cupcake wrapper, I knew I had to try my hand at recreating this cake. Not only is the batter bright, bright red when it goes into the oven (thanks to a full tablespoon of red food coloring(!)…more on that later…), it’s just as bright when it comes out- something I didn’t expect since cakes tend to slightly brown in the oven and I didn’t want to slice into something the color of that Chinese creation, fruity beef jerky (think: beef jerky glazed with red jam). I didn’t want reddish-brown velvet cake, I wanted red velvet cake. And luckily, that’s exactly what I got. Mixed with the cream cheese icing, this cake, with its hint of cocoa powder, Christmas red color (sorry, Rabbi, it’s what popped into my head…), and strawberries inside that melt into the second cake layer, D and I were in sugar heaven.
Since this was my first (but not last!) foray into red velvet cake baking, I used a highly starred recipe on Epicurious.com, found here. Since I don’t like just copying and pasting recipes, please click the link for the recipe in full. That way you can read some of the comments and see if you’re interested in taking some of the advice some commenters offer. There is a theme of them saying the cake needs more oil and cocoa, but I found the cake perfectly moist after using the original recipe. But it’s your choice- if you want to add extra cocoa (which will result in a less vibrant red color), then you must add more oil, since the addition of cocoa powder will dry out your batter. Also, if you want to make cupcakes, go ahead! Just be sure to raise the oven temp 10 degrees and check them after 15 minutes (they’ll take longer, but check anyway).
out of the oven and looking quite red still… hey- do my cakes match my kitchen towel? Never thought I’d see that happen!
mmm…innards! : )
So the only caveat I have for this whole recipe involves the red food coloring itself. Please, please, please, don’t use that gross food coloring you make sugar cookie icing with. It will tear your stomach apart. I have a weak stomach, D has a strong one, and after eating this cake with the regular food color added, we both felt pretty funky. Not like, violently ill, but off, you know? Yeah, so splurge on the natural, beet colored, food coloring and save yourself from any bodily harm. the only feeling you should get after eating this cake is happy. Enjoy!
Once again, the recipe is here. : )
p.s. I used strawberries instead of the other berries in the original recipe since that’s what looked good at the supermarket. It was a great combination, and next time, I would even add more strawberries by cutting each layer in two, creating four cake layers, and hence, three more places to hide strawberry slices in the cake- yum!
-M : )
