BEST Southern Red Velvet Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes red velvet cake taste so good? ›

While red velvet cake is technically a cocoa cake, there is a key difference between standard chocolate cake and red velvet cake. Chocolate cake recipes traditionally use Dutch-processed cocoa, while red velvet cake uses unprocessed cocoa, a more acidic ingredient that produces a deeper, more intense chocolate flavor.

The buttermilk and vinegar give the cake that tender, light, and fluffy texture. Red velvet cake is also usually paired with white cream-cheese frosting.

Not Enough Fat:

Fat is essential for keeping baked goods moist and tender. If you use too little fat in your red velvet cake recipe, the cake can turn out dry. Make sure to use the amount of fat specified in your recipe, and do not substitute with lower-fat ingredients.

Cocoa powder contains an antioxidant called anthocyanin, which is pH-sensitive, meaning it reacts to acids and bases. When raw cocoa powder reacts with acidic ingredients such as buttermilk and vinegar, it turns dark red.

Red Velvet cake originates from the United States and is a red vanilla sponge made with buttermilk and cocoa to give its unique flavour and a light taste of chocolate.

The cocoa powder is used in less quantity and the taste develops by the mixing of vinegar and buttermilk with the cocoa powder. The recipe involves many ingredients in small quantity. The frosting- if used cream cheese is an expensive element in itself. It tastes wow if made at home without using any premix.

You can substitute white wine vinegar for white (sometimes called distilled) vinegar in the red velvet cake recipe. It is used in such small quantities that the subtle difference in flavor will not be noticed. In fact, any unseasoned vinegar should work.

“You can use substitutes for pretty much any of the ingredients,” King says. “I prefer apple cider vinegar for its subtle kick, but any standard vinegar will do. And if you'd rather swap sour cream or yogurt for the buttermilk, that works just as well.”

White vinegar substitute: If you need a different vinegar to substitute for white vinegar, use apple cider vinegar or malt vinegar. You could also swap in lemon or lime juice, depending on your recipe.

Oh yes, you sure can. This recipe has a combination of butter and oil to give off that nice buttery taste while keeping it soft and moist at the same time. Cake using pure butter tends to be more dense and dry compared to adding oil into the batter.

Why does my red velvet cake sink in the middle? ›

Overbeating, Overmixing, or Undermixing Your Cake Batter

Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

In my opinion, cream cheese frosting pairs best with red velvet's flavor and this frosting recipe is really simple. You need brick-style cream cheese, butter, confectioners' sugar, a splash of milk, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt to offset the sweetness.

If you're finding that your red velvet cake is turning out more brown than red, you may want to consider adjusting the amount of cocoa powder and red food coloring in your recipe. You could reduce the amount of cocoa powder or increase the amount of red food coloring to achieve a more vibrant red color.

These days, cocoa powder is often treated and neutralised. This means that there isn't enough acidity for the anthocyanin in cocoa powder to turn red. And that's why modern-day cocoa powder can't turn cake batter red. In fact, the more you add, the less red it will be.

Nicole Taylor, a cookbook author, described red velvet cake as a staple that only came out in Atlanta during special occasions, such as Christmas, Juneteenth, and other big celebrations. The color red also symbolizes joy, which explains its use as a celebration cake today in black communities.

People prefer red velvet cake over any other cake because it is made of Mild chocolate. A study showed that when the cocoa powder and buttermilk are put together, they result in the red color of this cake. For the mild chocolate flavor, you only need to add two spoons of cocoa powder.

The difference between Red Velvet Cake and other cakes are its ingredients and colors. No other layer cake uses buttermilk and vinegar in the recipe. When mixed with cocoa powder, the buttermilk and vinegar cause the chemical reaction that turns the cake red. The vinegar also helps preserve the cake's iconic color.

While Chocolate Cake is made primarily with cocoa powder and sometimes melted chocolate, Red Velvet Cake is made with a small amount of cocoa powder, but is also known for its signature bright red color, which is usually achieved by adding red food coloring to the batter.

Near the beginning of the 20th century, cooks noticed that the acid in buttermilk, vinegar, or baking soda combined with natural cocoa powder to produce a very slight reddish hue. Some cite this combination in recipes as the true beginning of red velvet cake.