Classic Way to Make Red Velvet Cake from Scratch at Home






by Anu Parsai


Red velvet cake obtained its high esteem in the 1940s. There are numerous theories and legends regarding the root of the red velvet cake recipe and each individual region has its own adaptation of them. Given below is a traditional style red velvet cake recipe from scratch which you can prepare in the comfort of your own home. The recipe takes about forty (40) minutes to prepare (thirty (30) minutes to prepare the cake and ten (10) minutes for the frosting) and thirty (30) minutes cooking time.

What you will need:

Two cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup of regular sugar

One teaspoon of baking powder

One large teaspoon of cocoa powder

One cup of fresh buttermilk at room temperature

One (1) cup of vegetable oil

Two (2) large eggs

2 tablespoons of red food coloring

One teaspoon of white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 teaspoons of vegetable oil for greasing the baking pans

9-inch baking pans - three (3)

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat a conventional oven to 180C.

2. Separate the egg whites and the egg yolks.

3. Bring together the sugar and the egg yolks and whisk well.

4. Then add the vegetable oil, buttermilk and vinegar and whisk well till the sugar is totally dissolved.

5. In a separate bowl, take the egg whites and whisk to get to dropping consistency.

6. Add the red food coloring to the egg whites, whisk some more and keep aside.

7. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla extract in a separate bowl.

8. Add this mix to the vinegar-buttermilk mix and then blend well. There shouldn't be any lumps left in the mix.

9. Next add the red-colored egg whites to the mix and fold gently 'til everything is well incorporated.

10. Grease the 9-inch baking pans with vegetable oil and dust the insides with some flour.

11. Pour the mixture evenly in all three pans.

12. Bake the cakes in the pre-heated oven for thirty (30) minutes. If your oven doesn't have a turntable then turn around the baking pans once about half way through cooking.

13. After the cakes are ready, turn them out on a wire rack and allow them to cool completely before applying the frosting.

Any red velvet cake is incomplete if served without luscious cream cheese frosting. Here's what you'll need:

Two (2) cups of cream cheese

4 cups of icing sugar

One teaspoon of vanilla extract

One cup of unsalted butter

To prepare:

1. Mix the cream cheese, icing sugar and butter, and beat well until fluffy.

2. Now add the vanilla extract and your cream cheese frosting is done.

To apply the frosting:

- Using a flat spatula, smooth out the frosting in between the layers of the cake.

- Press the cakes lightly to stick to the frosting.

- Use the remaining frosting to cover the cake on all sides.

- Let the cake cool for two (2) hours in the fridge ahead of serving.




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