Best Red Velvet Cake

The red velvet cake is quite mysterious, not just because of its unusual name and appearance, but also because of the discrepancy in its history. According to a famous legend, the red velvet cake was introduced by a baker at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Once a lady who came as a customer at the restaurant, requested for the recipe of the delicious cake that she tasted. Though she did receive the recipe, she had to pay USD 100 for it. This made her angry and she passed the cake recipe to all her friends through a letter and the red velvet cake became very popular. Though this story matches the fascination attached to the red velvet cake, its authenticity is seriously doubted. Just like this story, there are hoards of other stories that talks about the introduction of the red velvet cake, but there is no proof for any of them being true. Nevertheless, the red velvet cake recipe not only became a favorite among people, but also an inevitable constituent of meals on special occasions. So, here I have tried to bring together some of the recipes that claim to create the most delicious red velvet cake.

Ultimate Recipes for Red Velvet Cake
If you are looking for a recipe for making the most amazing red velvet cake from scratch, you can try this one..

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour, sifted, 2½ cups
• Eggs, 2
• White vinegar, 1 teaspoon
• White sugar, 1½ cups
• Red food coloring, 2 ounces
• Baking soda, 1½ teaspoons
• Buttermilk, 1 cup
• Salt, 1 teaspoon
• Cocoa powder, unsweetened, 2 tablespoons
• Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
• Shortening, ½ cup

For Frosting

• Milk, 8 ounces
• Butter, 8 ounces
• All-purpose flour, 5 tablespoons
• Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon
• White sugar, 8 ounces

Preparation

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix cocoa and food coloring together and keep it aside. In the same way, in another medium-sized bowl, take buttermilk, vanilla, salt and after they are fully combined, set it aside along with the other bowl.
2. Once this is done, take a large mixing bowl and beat shortening and sugar together till they become light and fluffy in texture. Add eggs, followed by the cocoa mixture, beating after every addition.
3. After this, fold in the buttermilk mixture, alternately with the flour and stir until all the ingredients are well combined. In another mixing bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda together and add to the large bowl containing cake batter.
4. Prepare two baking 9 inch round pans by greasing them. Pour the cake batter into these pans and bake in a 350 degrees Fahrenheit, preheated oven. After 30 minutes, take the cake out of the oven and conduct a toothpick test to see whether the cake is fully baked. Allow it to cool completely, before frosting the cake.
5. While the cake gets cooled, you can make the icing. For the frosting, take a saucepan and cook a mixture of flour and milk on a low flame. Stir continuously till the mixture begins to thicken. Keep aside and allow it to cool completely.
6. In another bowl, beat butter, vanilla and sugar till it becomes light and fluffy. When the milk and flour mixture has cooled, add it to the bowl and stir till you achieve the desired frosting consistency.
7. By the time you have made the frosting, your cake must have cooled fully. Now, you have to gently cut the two cakes horizontally, such that you get four cakes. Place one of the layers on a serving dish and apply a layer of frosting over it. When this is done, place another layer of cake over it and repeat the process till all the cakes are layered with frosting. Spread the icing on top as well as on the sides of the cake. Decorate the cake with crushed pecans or grated coconut and keep it in the refrigerator till serving time.

Red Velvet Cake Mix
If you do not have the time to make red velvet cake from scratch, you can try this recipe where the cake is made with the help of a cake mix.

Ingredients

• White cake mix, 1 box
• Milk, 1 cup
• White vinegar, 3 teaspoons
• Instant vanilla pudding mix, 1 box
• Red food coloring, 2 ounces
• Cocoa powder, unsweetened, 3 teaspoons
• Large eggs, 4
• Vegetable oil, ½ cup

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, cocoa, food coloring, oil, pudding mix, vinegar and eggs and beat on medium speed for four minutes. When you feel that all the ingredients are well combined, set the bowl aside.
2. Grease three pans and pour the cake batter into all three pans. Place the baking pans in the oven and bake for 30 minutes at a temperature of 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take the pans out and conduct the toothpick test on the cakes. Keep them for cooling and follow the same procedure as given above, to frost the cake.

Frosting Recipe
Apart from the above given frosting recipe, the one that is the favorite among most people is the cream cheese frosting recipe and hence, it is important to know the recipe of what is considered as the best frosting for red velvet cake.

Ingredients

• Cream cheese, 8 ounces
• Unsalted butter, softened, 8 ounces
• Confectioner's sugar, sifted, 4 cups
• Vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon

Preparation

1. In a large mixing bowl, take sugar, cream cheese and butter and mix them together with a hand held electric mixer.
2. On a low speed, combine these ingredients till they are fully incorporated. When this is done, you can increase the speed of the mixer till the mixture becomes light and fluffy. This will take you at least five minutes, but you have to stop in between and scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
3. Add the vanilla into the bowl and again blend it on a high speed till it attains a fluffy texture. Place the frosting in the refrigerator and use it on the cake when it becomes stiff.

I hope you are eagerly awaiting to try one of these recipes. If one of your friend's or family member's birthday is coming up, surprise them with the red velvet cake and I bet they would have never tasted such a delicious birthday gift ever.